In 1886, Waterloo's Jacob Ball submitted a patent for an attachment to a privy (outhouse) seat which would close the hole of the seat until the user was seated there. It would thereby keep smell and gas from escaping when it was not in use.
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McKee Brothers
The McKee One Man Harvester allowed a farmer to harvest and store his crop of hay single-handedly using only one tractor rather than more labour-intensive baling equipment.