The History Of Everyday Objects: Cat's Eyes

The story of what is probably the cheapest life saving technology in modern history.
Link to interview with Percy Shaw:
The Road From Rose Linda's - Alan Whicker Meets the Cats' Eyes Man (1968) Whicker's World (youtube.com)

[@elgerifico]

Always amazing to find a design so good that it has stood the test of time and has remained virtually unchanged since it was first introduced.

[@warmbrucuriosity]

Couldn't agree more!

[@Dave5400]

In the name of cost-effectiveness, many of these (especially on motorways and resurfaced roads) are now being replaced with plastic stick-on or bolt-on reflectors. They're great in terms of being much more reflective, but they hardly last a few years as they just crack and get flown off, never to be seen or replaced again.

[@joearnold6881]

“I wasn’t swerving because I’ve been drinking, officer. I was cleaning the reflectors!!”
I wonder how that’d work on American cops lmao

[@sterling557]

In the USA we also have "BOT'S DOTS."
White plastic clamshells glued to the road to mark the edges of a lane.

[@yaboyalaska7550]

if percy lived today he'd have a mattress on the floor and 7 monitors showing different veiws of the same football game

[@warmbrucuriosity]

Very true!

[@arivaldarivald3212]

Some other countries use reflective paint on the road, and on the signs. And to make paint reflective, they add a lot of minuscule glass beads.

[@Heimbasteln]

Yes, here in Germany we don't have cats eyes in the road, or at least I have never seen them.
All of our road markings and signs are retroreflective, so cats eyes aren't needed really.
We also have plastic posts outside of settlements on both sides of the road, they also have retroreflectors, and since the reflectors are raised, they even work when the road is covered by snow.

[@potatosfortots9909]

in america we have "reflectors" which use a similar material as the reflectors on car tail lights (so that the car is visible at night without its lights on). they arent self cleaning and often times go missing on roads that havnt been repaved in a while, but they do work well

[@MilesDeep]

Love your videos, very interesting to learn some more British history. Thanks from the USA!

[@warmbrucuriosity]

Thanks for watching. You'll find videos about amazing American inventers as well.👍 www.youtube.com/@warmbrucuriosity

[@mancroft]

Fascinating. Thank you.

[@warmbrucuriosity]

Thank YOU for watching!

[@jam-yq3kf]

Since when are British people animal lovers? I thought tea was just plants.

[@MassimoShire1981]

We call the same name in italy😂

[@warmbrucuriosity]

Indeed.