Science and invention in Birmingham pen nibs per week. 1915: William Mills develops the first "safe grenade" meaning it is safe for the soldier throwing it rather than his opponent. It is named the Mills bomb, and is adopted by the British Army as its standard hand grenade in 1915. 75,000,000 grenades are supplied during The Great War. 1918: Much work is carried out by Oliver Lucas's company on the design and improvement of the military search light, he also designs a signalling lamp after experiences at the Somme and the design is later used by the British Army. 1920: Charles Henry Foyle invents the
Transport in Birmingham navigable. Birmingham is often lauded as having more miles of canal than Venice, true by a margin of nine miles (Venice has 26 miles). Birmingham however includes many semi-urban parts and is far larger than Venice making for a much lower canal density (concentration). The type of waterway is inland providing the main access to few properties. This contrasts to Venice's broad coastal canals providing the main means of access, surrounded by a lagoon of the Adriatic Sea. By water volume (taking into account depths), Birmingham has more cubic meters of water in its canals than any other city in