I don&#x27;t think they made any sense from the get go, not even in the steam age.<p>In general, the first implementation of a good idea was a bad one, of limited use, not a well refined concept. And then the patent-holder sat on the patent until it expired, and then - finally - the whatever-it-was became a vital and widely used commodity as creativity started to be applied.<p>So all it did was slow the pace of change.