Patents

Pearls have been a symbol of extreme wealth for thousands of years.

Here's Why Pearls No Longer Cost a Fortune

Coming up with ways to lower the price of pearls—either through culturing or by out-right fakery—took centuries

Amazon may be coming to a garden near you.

Amazon Now Has a Patent For a “Garden Service”

The massive online retailer might recommend recipes and tools based on pictures of your plot

This is not what the world's first industrial robot looked like.

How Robots Left the Lab and Started Helping Humans

Computers were the size of refrigerators--or larger--but robots were on their way

Winter recreationists circa 1975.

The Snowmobile Changed How Americans Did Winter

As the cold comes in, snowbound communities are tuning up their vehicles and recreationists are making speedy winter plans

Sperry today sells a variety of footwear beyond the iconic deck shoes.

The Story of the Sperry Top-Sider

Paul A. Sperry's innovative boat shoes were inspired by his dog

An Eagle Brand Condensed Milk ad from 1891.

Like Condensed Milk? Try the ‘Meat Biscuit’

The meat biscuit was a practical idea but Gail Borden, also the inventor of condensed milk, never made it work

A familiar-looking image from the Uncrustables patent.

Can a Sandwich Be Intellectual Property?

This is the story of a patent war over PB&J

A Hybrid III model crash test dummy.

These Dummies Gave Us a Crash Course on Auto Safety

Many of your car's safety features owe a lot to these inanimate people

Could This Bionic Vision System Help Restore Sight?

The technology gives hope that blind patients, who lost sight from disease, might one day emerge from the dark

A mid-century Band-Aid tin.

Get Stuck on Band-Aid History

Small injuries are a commonplace problem, but before the Band-Aid, protecting papercuts and other such wounds was a huge hassle

The inspiration for the bendy straw came while Joseph Friedman was watching his young daughter try to drink from a tall glass.

Why You Should Appreciate the Invention of the Bendy Straw

It's the straw that bends, not the person

The stretchable keyboard cover is designed to make typing truly tactile.

This Keyboard Cover Lets Users Actually Feel the Letters They Type

Two college students found a way have a keyboard tap into our muscle memory of the alphabet

The compound eyes of a robber fly

These New Solar Cells Are Modeled After a Fly's Eye

Stanford University researchers may have found a way for perovskites to compete with silicon in the solar panel market

Unlike Samuel Morse's one-key telegraph, Baudot's used five keys.

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

Rebecca Richards-Kortum was named a MacArthur Foundation Fellow of 2016.

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

A Piggly Wiggly in 1939.

The Bizarre Story of Piggly Wiggly, the First Self-Service Grocery Store

What's in a name?

The familiar home vacuum was immediately predated by the carpet sweeper.

The Vacuum Cleaner Was Harder to Invent Than You Might Think

The original vacuum cleaner required a number of improvements before becoming the household staple it is today

And you thought your alarm clock was rough.

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

Philo T. Farnsworth got his big idea while plowing a field. He was 14, by the way.

The Farmboy Who Invented Television

The inventor of television’s career presages many of the good and bad things about Silicon Valley

The first can opener was a blade that sawed around the can's edge, leaving a jagged rim.

Why the Can Opener Wasn't Invented Until Almost 50 Years After the Can

The first 'can opener' was a hammer and chisel

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