July 7, 1936: Get a Grip — Phillips Screws Up the Toolbox | This Day In Tech | Wired.com: Phillips was a Portland, Oregon, businessman who invented something to solve a problem that few home-repair folk or do-it-yourselfers even knew existed. In those days, if you wanted to drive a screw into a hole, you just grabbed the right-size slotted screwdriver and did the deed.