Tanya Weaver looks back at a famous archeological feat, a gasoline pump lacking cars to fill up and a legendary plane’s final flight.

139 years ago

Foot on the gas

On 5 September 1885 the first gasoline pump was invented. However, the car had not yet been created.

The pump, which featured marble valves, a wooden storage barrel and a wooden plunger to reliably dispense kerosene, was sold by its inventor Sylvanus Bowser of Fort Wayne, Indiana, to the owner of a nearby grocery store, where it was used to dispense kerosene for use in lamps and stoves. His design helped reduce dangerous spillages.

Having patented his pump in 1887, Bowser later improved upon his ‘filling station’ design and began selling it to the first automobile-repair garages in 1893.

Image credit | Getty21 years ago

Last flight of the Concorde

On 24 October 2003, Concorde took to the skies for its final commercial flight.

This supersonic passenger jet flew for the first time in a test flight in 1969 and entered service in...