Inventions
Planes, traffic lights, sticky notes: even ordinary things have unexpected origin stories.
32 articles
Were sticky notes born from a failure?
Stick it, peel it off, stick it again. The little square of paper that now lives on every desk did not have an easy birth.
When was the bicycle invented?
The bicycle is so familiar that we rarely think of it as an invention at all. Yet the very first one looked quite different from the bikes we ride today.
Who invented the ballpoint pen?
There is one in every pencil case, every bag and every office drawer. Who came up with the pen that writes so smoothly with nothing but a tiny ball at its tip?
Was the QR code invented in Japan?
From ordering at restaurants to paying at the register, those black-and-white squares are everywhere now. Their birthplace is not where you might expect.
Why are keyboards laid out QWERTY?
On computers and smartphones alike, the top row starts Q, W, E, R, T, Y. It is not alphabetical, so where did this odd arrangement come from?
Did Edison invent the light bulb?
The light bulb is the first thing people name when they think of the great inventor. But trace the story of its birth, and a slightly different picture emerges.
Was “escalator” originally a brand name?
We ride them every day in stations and department stores. But when, and by whom, was the name of this moving staircase coined?
Why are traffic lights red, yellow and green?
Red means stop, green means go. When and how did this rule, understood all over the world, come about?
Was Gutenberg the first to print with movable type?
Gutenberg’s printing press is a fixture of every world history class. But look east, and the idea of setting type to print a page turns out to have a much older story.
Who invented instant noodles?
Just add hot water and wait. The world now eats more than 120 billion servings of instant noodles a year, but whose bright idea were they, and where did it come from?
What was the world’s first car?
The names usually credited with inventing the car belong to German engineers. Widen the meaning of “car” a little, though, and the story goes back much further.
Were animals the first to ride in a balloon?
People were rising into the sky in hot air balloons 120 years before the Wright brothers’ airplane. So who were the very first passengers to climb aboard?
Was the three-point seat belt patent free to use?
The first thing we do in a car is click the seat belt shut. Where did that familiar diagonal-plus-lap design come from, and how did it end up in cars all over the world?
Why do bullet trains have such long noses?
The newer the bullet train, the longer and sleeker its nose. And it isn’t just because a long nose looks cool or fast.
When was the wristwatch invented?
Today wristwatches are on wrists everywhere. Yet until about a hundred years ago, a man wearing one seems to have been a slightly embarrassing sight.
Was the can opener invented after the can?
Cans, but nothing to open them with. That awkward situation lasted for decades. So how on earth did people get into their canned food?
What was the first computer?
Computers now fit in our pockets. Try to name the very first one, though, and the trail runs from 19th-century blueprints to wartime secrets and into a courtroom.
How do airplanes fly?
Hundreds of tonnes of aircraft held up by nothing but air. And the familiar explanation you learned in school may be a little shaky.
Why don’t elevators fall?
In the movies, an elevator whose cable snaps plunges straight down the shaft. Real elevators, though, carry on a trick invented more than 170 years ago.
Did Alexander Graham Bell invent the telephone?
Behind the name in the textbooks stand a rival who filed papers at the patent office on the very same day, and a man who tried to send voices down a wire years earlier.
Who invented braille?
Station handrails, can lids, elevator buttons: the tiny rows of raised dots found all over town began with one boy’s ingenuity.
How did people keep things cold before refrigerators?
Life without a refrigerator in the kitchen is hard to imagine today. Before electricity, people went to astonishing lengths to get their hands on a little cold.
When was the zipper invented?
Jackets, bags, pencil cases: we open and close zippers almost every day. Getting this little mechanism right took more than 20 years of trial and error.
When was the umbrella invented?
On a rainy day, an umbrella is indispensable. But trace its long history back far enough, and it turns out it wasn’t made for rain at all.
Did people use bread as an eraser before rubber?
Make a mistake, and you rub it out with an eraser. It seems obvious today, but people once made do with something from the kitchen table.
What was the first photograph?
We snap dozens of photos a day on our phones. But taking the very first one in the world called for extraordinary patience.
Did vending machines exist in ancient times?
Drop in some coins, press a button, and out comes a cold drink. Trace the idea behind the vending machine back far enough and you end up nearly 2,000 years ago.
When was the toothbrush invented?
We pick up a toothbrush every morning and night without a second thought. Before it existed, how did people keep their teeth clean?
Was hook-and-loop fastening inspired by a plant?
Shoes, bags, even blood pressure cuffs: we rip it open and press it shut every day. The idea behind this fastener was lying beside a country path.
When were eyeglasses invented?
We wear them every day as if they were part of our face. Thanks to one friar’s sermon, we know surprisingly well when this little device was born.
Why are railway tracks 1,435 mm apart?
Much of the world’s railway network runs on tracks an oddly specific 1,435 mm apart. Have you heard that the measurement goes back to the chariots of ancient Rome?
Was the barcode born on a beach?
The black-and-white stripes that beep at every checkout are everywhere. But when, and how, did someone first think of them?