On Feb. 11, 1809 Robert Fulton received his patent for the steamboat. That reminds me of a story I used to tell about the maiden voyage of the steamboat. The story might be apocryphal, but it is true to human nature.
In 1806, Fulton prepared to launch his steamboat, the Clermont. The ship was docked on the Hudson River and Fulton promised to sail upstream. A large crowd gathered to watch the miracle. Most of the crowd were skeptical. When the designated hour arrived, Fulton started the engine, but it sputtered and died. At this point, the crowd began to taunt the inventor. “It’ll never go! You’ll never get it to run!” Fulton ignored the jeers and worked on the engine. After a period of time, the engine roared to life and the ship sailed into the channel, heading upstream. At this point the crowd began to yell “It’ll never stop! You won’t be able to stop it!”
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