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Which patent did Joseph Durham and Edward O'Reilly file together?

Question #149372. Asked by BigTriviaDawg.
Last updated May 27 2023.
Originally posted May 27 2023 9:12 PM.

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Answer has 3 votes
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psnz star
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Answer has 3 votes.

Currently voted the best answer.
Durham and O'Reilly patented the mortarboard (graduation headwear).

Joseph Durham was a Catholic priest, while Edward O'Reilly was an inventor. They used fibreglass to increase the stiffness of this piece of "graduation gear."
Mortarboards are shaped like a square, perhaps to give them a scholarly appearance like a book or to represent the shape of a quad on the campus of England's Oxford University, where many graduation dress customs are believed to have originated. Typically, the mortarboard is worn with one corner facing forward, like a diamond.
link https://www.hammondandharperoflondon.com/the-catholic-origins-of-the-graduation-cap/

May 27 2023, 9:20 PM
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