Inventions
The Roots of Computer Code Lie in Telegraph Code
Émile Baudot, born a year after the first long-distance telegraph message was sent, helped advance the technology
The Professor With a Genius For Global Health
Rebecca Richards-Kortum and her students at Rice University are designing low-cost devices that can help mothers and babies in a big way
11 Cool, Funny or Just Plain Strange Patents for Back to School
From alarm clocks that pummel you in the head to ingenious devices to save your crayon nubs, a peek into the patent archives for back to school season
The Farmboy Who Invented Television
The inventor of television’s career presages many of the good and bad things about Silicon Valley
Why the Can Opener Wasn't Invented Until Almost 50 Years After the Can
The first 'can opener' was a hammer and chisel
How America’s First Adding Machine is Connected to ‘Naked Lunch’
William Seward Burroughs (no, not that one) was the first man to invent a commercially practical calculator
Chemist Hazel Bishop's Lipstick Wars
Bishop said her advantage in coming up with cosmetics was that, unlike male chemists, she actually used them
From Lightbulbs to Mutual Funds: Tim Harford on Inventions That Changed the Modern Economy
Paper, the gramophone, double-entry bookkeeping, and barbed wire all make the list
Blink Once For Yes: You Can ‘Talk’ to This New Computer Interface With Your Eyes
A tiny sensor mounted to eyeglasses can track eye blinks, allowing communication from locked-in patients
America's Oldest Coal-Powered Steamboat Chugs Along
After a two-year restoration, the 109-year-old Sabino is ready to sail for many years to come
Telephones Were Silenced for One Minute After Alexander Graham Bell Died
By the time Bell died, he had moved on to other inventions. But the telephone made a huge mark on American society
The Dizzy History of Carousels Begins With Knights
Practice makes perfect–but nobody said it couldn't be fun
The First Self-Cleaning Home Was Essentially a 'Floor-to-Ceiling Dishwasher'
Frances Gabe, who died late last year, channeled her frustration with housework into a futuristic design to end the drudgery of cleaning
How Hoop Skirts Led to Tape Measures
Eighteenth-century ladies would recognize some things about the modern contractor’s tool
New Assistive Stairs Put a Spring in Your Step
Inventors design a staircase that recycles energy to assist users
Take a Look at the Patents Behind Sliced Bread
It took a surprising amount of technological know-how to make the bread that birthed the expression
Motorized Ice Cream Cones and Floating Campgrounds: 14 of the Wackiest Summer Fun Patents
Inventors never stop thinking of new ways to have fun, as these 14 patents show.
You Should Thank This Man for Inventing Jet Boats
In 1954, a man named Bill Hamilton invented the water-jet propelled boat, ideal for exploring the shallow rivers of his native New Zealand
In a Fit of 1940s Optimism, Greyhound Proposed a Fleet of Helicopter Buses
"Greyhound Skyways" would have turned major cities into bustling helicopter hubs
Meet Pedro the “Voder,” the First Electronic Machine to Talk
Pedro was an experiment in reproducing speech electronically, but took on a kind of life of its own
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