The machine that became the supercharger predates the practical internal-combustion car by decades. Created by brothers Philander and Francis Roots, the Roots Blower was born out of an attempt to make a better water wheel. The brothers developed a mechanism with two lobed impellers meshed together and spun in opposite directions. When testing the machine, so the story goes, it blew someone’s hat off and they realized they’d accidentally made something very good at moving air.
