Superbrain of Africa
Theo ran to his room to put on his clothes and shoes. His mother took
one look at him and said, "Theo, where are your shoes? And those
clothes are all wrinkled, son. I must iron them." However, when she
reached for the ironing board, it was no longer there.
You see Sarah Boone, a black woman, invented the ironing board, and
Jan E. Matzelinger, a black man, invented the shoe lasting machine.
"Oh well," she said, "please go and do something to your hair." Theo
ran in his room to comb his hair, but the comb was not there. You
see, Walter Sammons, a black man, invented the comb.
Theo decided to just brush his hair, but the brush was gone. You see
Lydia O. Newman, a black female, invented the brush.
Well, this was a sight: no shoes, wrinkled clothes, hair a mess. Even
Mom's hair, without the hair care inventions of Madam C. Walker, well,
you get the picture.
Mom told Theo, "Let's do our chores around the house and then take a
trip to the grocery store." Theo's job was to sweep the floor. He
swept and swept and swept. When he reached for the dustpan, it was
not there. You see, Lloyd P. Ray, a black man, invented the dustpan.
So he swept his pile of dirt over in the corner and left it there. He
then decided to mop the floor, but the mop was gone. You see, Thomas
W. Stewart, a black man, invented the mop. Theo yelled to his Mom,
"Mom, I'm not having any luck."
"Well, son," she said, "Let me finish washing these clothes, and we
will prepare a list for the grocery store." When the wash finished,
she went to place the clothes in the dryer, but it was not there. You
see, George T. Samon, a black man, invented the clothes dryer.
Mom asked Theo to go get a pencil and some paper to prepare their list
for the market. So, Theo ran for the paper and pencil but noticed the
pencil lead was broken. Well, he was out of luck because John Love, a
black man, invented the pencil sharpener.
Mom reached for a pen, but it was not there because William Purvis, a
black man, invented the fountain pen.
As a matter of fact, Lee Burridge invented the typewriting machine and
W. A. Lovette the advanced printing press. Theo and his mother
decided just to head out to the market.
Well, when Theo opened the door, he noticed the grass was as high as
he was tall. You see, John Burr, a black man, invented the lawn
mower. They made their way over to the car and found that it just
wouldn't go. You see, Richard Spikes, a black man, invented the
automatic gearshift, and Joseph Gammel invented the supercharge system
for internal combustion engines. They also noticed that the few cars
that were moving were running into each other and having wrecks
because there were no traffic signals. You see, Garrett A. Morgan, a
black man invented the traffic light.
Well, it was getting late, so they walked to the market, got their
groceries, and returned home. Just when they were about to put away
the milk, eggs, and butter, they noticed the refrigerator was gone.
You see John Standard, a black man, invented the refrigerator. So,
they just left the food on the counter.
By this time, Theo noticed he was getting mighty cold. Mom went to
turn up the heat, and what do you know? Alice Parker, a black female,
invented the heating furnace. Even in the summertime, they would have
been out of luck because Frederick Jones, a black man, invented the
air conditioner.
It was almost time for Theo's father to arrive home. He usually takes
the bus, but there was no bus, because its precursor was the electric
trolley, invented by another black man, Elbert R. Robinson.
He usually takes the elevator from his office on the 20th floor, but
there was no elevator because Alexander Miles, a black man, invented
the elevator.
He also usually dropped off the office mail at a near by mailbox, but
it was no longer there because Philip Downing, a black man, invented
the letter drop mailbox, and William Barry invented the postmarking
and canceling machine.
Theo and his mother sat at the kitchen table with their heads in their
hands. When the father arrived, he asked, "Why are you sitting in the
dark?" Why? Because Lewis Howard Latimer, a black man, invented the
filament within the light bulb.
Theo quickly learned more about what it would be like if there were no
black people in the world, especially if he were ever sick and needed
blood. Dr. Charles Drew, a black scientist, found a way to preserve
and store blood, which led to his starting the world's first blood
bank.
Well, what if a family member had to have heart surgery? This would
not have been possible without Dr. Daniel Hale Williams, a black
doctor, who performed the first open-heart surgery.
So, if you ever wonder, like Theo, where would we be without black
people? Well, it's pretty plain to see. We would still be in the
DARK!
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This is a story of a little boy name Theo, who woke up one morning and
asked his mother, "Mom, what if there were no Black people in the
world?" Well, his mother thought about that for a moment, and then
said, "Son, follow me around today and let's just see what it would be
like if there were no Black people in the world." Mom said, "Now go
get dressed, and we will get started."