Speaking calendar/Pistol Patent Day
February 25th · Cultural Insight

Pistol Patent Day

The mechanical moral. Commemorating the 1836 patent of Samuel Colt's revolver. This is a high-stakes debate on innovation vs. impact and whether a person can be held morally responsible for an invention that changes the world for the worse.

SPEAKING LESSONB1 / B2Discussion · Vocabulary · Activities
01 / LET’S TALK

Speaking Discussion

  1. Should inventors be legally responsible for how their inventions are used 100 years later?
  2. Is the revolver a symbol of freedom and protection or a symbol of fear and oppression?
  3. How does technology change the morality of war? Is it better to fight with a sword or a drone?
  4. If you invented something that could save 1 million lives but kill 1,000, would you patent it?
  5. Does innovation always require a dark side to be successful?
02 / PUT IT INTO PRACTICE

Activity 1: The Ethics Committee

The Task: You are a patent officer in the year 2050. A scientist brings you a memory eraser. Write 3 sentences arguing for or against granting the patent.

Activity 2: Rapid Fire Debate

Is knowledge always good, even if it is dangerous?