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
Nigger in the woodpile Nigger in the woodpile A nigger in the woodpile or fence is a figure of speech originating in the United States meaning "some fact of considerable importance that is not disclosed—something suspicious or wrong". Commonly used in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, usage has declined since then, and use of the phrase by public figures has often been followed by criticism over the racism of the term "nigger". Thus, the phrase has been supplanted by the similar (though not entirely synonymous) phrase "skeletons in the closet" which carries no such connotations. Both the "fence" and "woodpile" variants developed