DID YOU KNOW…
Wheels of Fortune: Your Rolling Luggage Is Younger Than You Think!
Despite seeming like a timeless travel companion, the first patent for wheeled luggage wasn't granted until 1970, meaning travelers struggled with heavy bags for centuries before that simple innovation.
Bernard Sadow, a luggage company executive, received the patent after observing an airline worker effortlessly move heavy equipment on a wheeled dolly. His "Rolling Luggage" design, featuring four casters, was initially marketed primarily to women, who were seen as more burdened by heavy bags. However, it was a Delta Airlines pilot, Robert Plath, who truly popularized the upright "Rollaboard" with an extendable handle in the 1980s, making wheeled luggage ubiquitous, first among airline crews and then the general public.
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