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Inventions & Everyday Things

107 curious, true stories.

A vintage black typewriter with round keys sitting on a wooden deskInventions & Everyday ThingsThe First Typewriter Keyboard Was Alphabetical. Then Its Inventor Kept Shuffling the KeysIllustration of a yellow sticky note on a deskInventions & Everyday ThingsA Scientist Tried to Make a Super-Strong Glue. He Accidentally Made the OppositeIllustration of a vintage newspaper page with the letters O.K. printed in boldInventions & Everyday ThingsThe World's Most Popular Word Started as a Newspaper Joke in 1830s BostonIllustration of a vintage wooden and copper dishwasher in an old-fashioned kitchenInventions & Everyday ThingsChipped Heirloom Dishes After a Dinner Party Drove One Woman to Invent the Dishwasher
Illustration of a pair of classic blue jeans showing the small front pocketInventions & Everyday ThingsThat Tiny Pocket on Your Jeans Was Made for Something Few People Carry AnymoreIllustration of a Victorian woman in a long skirt riding a bicycle down a country laneInventions & Everyday ThingsSusan B. Anthony Said This Invention Did More for Women Than Anything Else in the World
Illustration of a classic three-color traffic light glowing red at a quiet small-town intersectionInventions & Everyday ThingsRed, Yellow, Green: The Colors on Every Corner Were Borrowed From the RailroadIllustration of prickly burrs stuck to a dog's furInventions & Everyday ThingsA Swiss Engineer Came Home From a Hunting Trip With a Burr-Covered Dog. He Got Curious
A close-up of a vintage brass zipper on a worn brown leather jacketInventions & Everyday ThingsThe Zipper Flopped at the 1893 World's Fair. A Pair of Rubber Boots Gave It Its NameIllustration of a shiny safety pin resting on a piece of fabricInventions & Everyday ThingsA New York Inventor Owed a Friend $15, so He Twisted a Piece of Wire Into HistoryIllustration of a wall of clocks showing different timesInventions & Everyday ThingsBefore 1883, Some Train Stations Had a Separate Clock for Every RailroadIllustration of a close-up sheet of clear bubble wrapInventions & Everyday ThingsBubble Wrap Was Never Meant for Packing. Its Inventors Had a Very Different Room in Mind
Illustration of a Victorian lady holding a delicate white lace umbrella on a garden pathInventions & Everyday ThingsIn 1700s London, Men Who Carried Umbrellas Got Jeered. One Man Refused to QuitIllustration of a vintage brown teddy bear with button eyes sitting on a shelfInventions & Everyday ThingsA President Refused to Do One Thing on a Hunting Trip. The World Got the Teddy BearIllustration of a single silver paper clip resting on a stack of old documentsInventions & Everyday ThingsDuring World War II, a Tiny Paper Clip on a Coat Was a Quiet Act of DefianceA pile of sharpened yellow pencils on a deskInventions & Everyday ThingsAmerica's Pencils Are Yellow Because of One Fancy Pencil Dipped in Gold
Illustration of a large vintage brick-style cell phone with a long antennaInventions & Everyday ThingsThe First Cell Phone Call Was Made on a New York Sidewalk to the Inventor's RivalIllustration of a black and white barcode printed on a grocery item at a checkout counterInventions & Everyday ThingsThe First Barcode Was Drawn in Beach Sand. The Idea Behind the Lines Was BorrowedIllustration of a vintage light bulb with a glowing filament against a dark backgroundInventions & Everyday ThingsEdison Gets the Credit for the Light Bulb. A Home in England Was Lit by One FirstIllustration of two people shaking handsInventions & Everyday ThingsA Stone Carving Nearly 3,000 Years Old Shows Two Kings Doing Something We Still Do Daily
A white toilet paper roll on a wall-mounted holder with the loose end hanging over the frontInventions & Everyday ThingsA Toilet Paper Column Drew 15,000 Letters. The Original Patents Hint at an AnswerIllustration of a red stop sign on a country roadInventions & Everyday ThingsStop Signs Weren't Always Red. And Their Eight Sides Solve a Problem You've Never NoticedIllustration of a vintage horse-drawn vacuum cleaning wagon on a city streetInventions & Everyday ThingsOne of the First Powered Vacuums Was So Big It Had to Be Pulled Through London by HorsesIllustration of a person looking at their reflection in a bathroom mirrorInventions & Everyday ThingsYour Mirror Seems to Swap Left and Right, but It's Actually Flipping Something Else
Illustration of an open box of adhesive bandages on a bathroom counterInventions & Everyday ThingsShe Kept Cutting Her Fingers in the Kitchen. Her Husband's Simple Fix Went WorldwideIllustration of an open box of wooden matches with one match lit and glowingInventions & Everyday ThingsThe First Strike-Anywhere Matches Were So Toxic That Workers' Jawbones Glowed in the DarkIllustration of a shiny metal spring toy walking end over end down a carpeted staircaseInventions & Everyday ThingsA Navy Engineer Was Working on Ship Equipment When a Spring Fell. It Changed ToysIllustration of a vintage portrait of a man with big sideburnsInventions & Everyday ThingsEvery Man With Sideburns Owes the Name to One Union General's Very Bold Whiskers
An antique wooden stethoscope resting on an old leather medical bookInventions & Everyday ThingsA Doctor Felt Too Uncomfortable to Do His Exam the Usual Way. So He Grabbed Some PaperIllustration of a pile of assorted screws with different head shapes on a wooden workbenchInventions & Everyday ThingsFlat, Cross, Square, Star: Every Screw Head Shape Exists to Solve a Different ProblemIllustration of a vintage car with windshield wipers in the rainInventions & Everyday ThingsA Snowy Streetcar Ride Gave Mary Anderson an Idea That Companies Brushed OffIllustration of a soda can standing on a kitchen tableInventions & Everyday ThingsFlip Over a Soda Can and You'll See a Dome. It's Doing a Surprisingly Important Job
Illustration of a shiny vintage chrome toaster with two golden slices of toast popping upInventions & Everyday ThingsThe Pop-Up Toaster Was Invented Because a Factory Cafeteria Kept Burning the ToastIllustration of a classic white toggle light switch on a softly lit wallInventions & Everyday ThingsFlip a Light Switch Up in America and It Turns On. Much of the World Does the OppositeIllustration of a vintage pack of chewing gum with a few sticks sliding outInventions & Everyday ThingsPeople Were Chewing Gum 5,000 Years Ago. Archaeologists Even Found Their Tooth MarksA glowing carved jack-o'-lantern sitting on a porch at duskInventions & Everyday ThingsLong Before Pumpkins, People Carved Spooky Faces Into Turnips
Illustration of an old-fashioned brass alarm clock with twin bells on a nightstandInventions & Everyday ThingsAmerica's First Alarm Clock Had One Setting, and It Wasn't Exactly Sleeping InIllustration of a vintage push-button telephone with its twelve-key keypadInventions & Everyday ThingsThe Star and Pound Keys Were Added for Businesses. Then Phone Companies Found New UsesIllustration of an open box of colorful wax crayons lined up in neat rowsInventions & Everyday ThingsBefore Crayola Made Crayons, Its Founders Made Pigment for Barn Paint and TiresIllustration of a coat with buttonsInventions & Everyday ThingsMen's and Women's Shirts Button on Opposite Sides, and Nobody Is Completely Sure Why
A round white smoke detector mounted on a ceiling with a small indicator lightInventions & Everyday ThingsThe Smoke Detector Owes a Debt to a Frustrated Scientist and His CigaretteIllustration of a fabric roll measuring tapeInventions & Everyday ThingsThe Machine-Gun Story Behind "The Whole Nine Yards" Falls Apart. Here's What Experts FoundIllustration of a vintage wire shopping cart inside an old-fashioned grocery storeInventions & Everyday ThingsThe First Shopping Carts Flopped So Badly a Grocer Had to Hire People to Push ThemIllustration of a vintage wooden escalator inside an elegant department storeInventions & Everyday ThingsThe Word Escalator Was Invented, Trademarked, and Then Lost in a Famous Legal Fight
Illustration of a yellow wooden pencil with a pink eraser on the endInventions & Everyday ThingsThe Pencil Eraser Started With a Patent Worth $100,000. Then the Supreme Court Stepped InIllustration of an ornate vintage vending machine with brass trim standing on an old train platformInventions & Everyday ThingsAmerica's First Vending Machine Sold Just One Thing, on New York Train PlatformsIllustration of an old tin can next to an antique can openerInventions & Everyday ThingsEarly Canned Food Came With Instructions to Use a Hammer and Chisel. No Opener ExistedA vintage brass ear trumpet resting on a lace tablecloth beside an old photographInventions & Everyday ThingsLong Before Tiny Hearing Aids, People Held Giant Horns to Their Ears, Even Beethoven
Illustration of a vintage rotary telephone ringing on a wooden tableInventions & Everyday ThingsAlexander Graham Bell Wanted Us to Answer the Phone With a Sailor's Word. Edison WonIllustration of a moth taped in an old logbookInventions & Everyday ThingsA Moth Was Taped Into a 1947 Computer Logbook. The Word 'Bug' Is Even OlderIllustration of a credit card resting on a leather walletInventions & Everyday ThingsEvery Credit Card in Your Wallet Is the Same Size, Down to a Fraction of a MillimeterIllustration of a vintage sunburst electric guitar leaning against an old tube amplifierInventions & Everyday ThingsThe First Electric Guitar Was Nicknamed the 'Frying Pan,' and It Changed Music Forever
Illustration of a classic clear ballpoint pen with a blue cap lying on a deskInventions & Everyday ThingsThat Tiny Hole in Your Pen Cap Isn't About the Ink. It Was Added to Protect LivesIllustration of a vintage aluminum TV dinner tray with turkey, peas, and sweet potatoesInventions & Everyday ThingsThe Famous Story Says Leftover Turkey Created the TV Dinner. Not Everyone AgreesA pair of antique spectacles with smoky quartz lenses on an old wooden tableInventions & Everyday ThingsChinese Judges Wore Smoky Quartz Glasses Centuries Ago. Glare Wasn't the Only ReasonIllustration of an old pair of round wire-rimmed spectacles resting on a bookInventions & Everyday ThingsThe Inventor of Eyeglasses Kept the Secret to Himself. A Friar Gave It Away
Illustration of several sheets of sandpaper in different grits resting on a wooden workbenchInventions & Everyday ThingsSandpaper Got Its Name for a Reason. On Most Modern Sheets, the Sand Is GoneIllustration of a 1940s family gathered around a large wooden radio in their living roomInventions & Everyday ThingsBefore TV, Families Gathered Around One Box Every Evening. It Changed American LifeIllustration of a vintage lipstick tubeInventions & Everyday ThingsFor Much of the 1800s, a Respectable Woman Wouldn't Dare Wear Visible LipstickA colorful pile of rubber bands of different sizes on a white surfaceInventions & Everyday ThingsThe Humble Rubber Band Was Patented in 1845. Its Story Starts Thousands of Years Earlier
Illustration of a vintage postage stampInventions & Everyday ThingsBefore 1840, Whoever Got a Letter Paid the Postage. A Little Black Stamp Changed ThatIllustration of a wooden jigsaw puzzle being assembled on a tableInventions & Everyday ThingsThe First Jigsaw Puzzles Weren't Pretty Pictures. They Were School Lessons in DisguiseIllustration of a smiling woman in 1950s clothes spinning a bright hula hoopInventions & Everyday Things25 Million Hula Hoops Sold in Under Four Months. The Idea Came From Down UnderIllustration of a large antique wall clock with ornate hands and Roman numeralsInventions & Everyday ThingsClock Hands Move the Way They Do Because of a Shadow in the Northern Hemisphere
Illustration of a vintage parking meter with a round glass dial standing beside a 1930s street curbInventions & Everyday ThingsThe World's First Parking Meter Went Up in 1935. Not in New York, but in OklahomaIllustration of an old electrical outlet on a wallInventions & Everyday ThingsMany of Us Call the Wall Outlet a Plug. Technically It's Something Else EntirelyAn early wooden camera on a tripod pointed out of a high window toward rooftopsInventions & Everyday ThingsThe World's Oldest Photo Is Famous for Its 8-Hour Exposure. It May Have Taken DaysIllustration of a vintage board game boxInventions & Everyday ThingsDuring World War II, Some Monopoly Sets Sent to Prison Camps Hid More Than Play Money
Illustration of white bowling pins with red stripes standing on a polished laneInventions & Everyday ThingsBowling Pins Have Looked Like Little Vases for a Very, Very Long TimeIllustration of an elegant fountain pen and a simple ballpoint pen lying side by side on a sheet of paperInventions & Everyday ThingsA Newspaper Editor Tired of Smudged Pages Invented the Pen You Use Every DayIllustration of glowing birthday candles on a frosted cake in a dim roomInventions & Everyday ThingsWe Blow Out Birthday Candles Every Year. The Custom Goes Back Centuries to GermanyIllustration of a vintage cash machine set into a brick bank wallInventions & Everyday ThingsThe First Cash Machine Didn't Take Cards. It Took Slightly Radioactive Paper Slips
An antique toothbrush with a bone handle and natural bristlesInventions & Everyday ThingsFor Centuries, People Brushed Their Teeth With Hog Bristles From SiberiaIllustration of clean white plates and glasses lined up in a dishwasher rackInventions & Everyday ThingsThat Little Dishwasher-Safe Icon Under Your Plate Is Warning You About Something SpecificIllustration of a wooden rocking chair on a welcoming front porch at golden hourInventions & Everyday ThingsThe Rocking Chair Was Born Outdoors. That Helps Explain Why It Feels So Right on a PorchIllustration of a classic wooden yo-yo with its string looped around a fingerInventions & Everyday ThingsYou May Have Heard the Yo-Yo Started as a Weapon. The Story Has a Sneakier Origin
Illustration of a vintage ladies' wristwatchInventions & Everyday ThingsFor About a Century, Wristwatches Were Made Almost Only for WomenA big, shiny pink bubble gum bubble against a bright, simple backgroundInventions & Everyday ThingsBubble Gum Is Pink for a Surprisingly Ordinary Reason. Blame an Accountant in 1928Illustration of a box of tissuesInventions & Everyday ThingsKleenex Wasn't Invented for Runny Noses. It Started as Something for WartimeIllustration of a cozy blanket spread across a neatly made bedInventions & Everyday ThingsThe Electric Blanket Is Older Than You Think, and the Soldier Story Doesn't Hold Up
Illustration of the black and white keys of a grand piano keyboard in warm lightInventions & Everyday ThingsMozart's Piano Had Far Fewer Keys Than Yours, and Composers Kept Begging for MoreIllustration of a vintage reel push mower on a freshly cut green lawnInventions & Everyday ThingsA Machine From a Cloth Mill Inspired the Lawn Mower. It Ended Up Reshaping the SuburbsIllustration of an old typewriter-style keyboard key printed with the @ symbolInventions & Everyday ThingsThe @ Sign Was an Obscure Shopkeeper's Symbol Until One Programmer Gave It a New JobIllustration of a brown flat-bottomed paper grocery bag full of vegetables on a kitchen counterInventions & Everyday ThingsA Man Stole Her Paper Bag Design and Patented It First. She Fought Back and Won
Illustration of a vintage TV remote control with a cordInventions & Everyday ThingsOne of the First TV Remotes Was Named Lazy Bones. It Was Tied to the Set by a WireAn antique metal safety razor lying beside a shaving brush on a marble sinkInventions & Everyday ThingsA Bottle Cap Inventor Gave King Gillette One Piece of Advice. It Changed How Men ShaveIllustration of a classic rural mailbox on a post with its red flag raisedInventions & Everyday ThingsThat Little Red Flag on Your Mailbox Once Worked for the Mail Carrier TooIllustration of a yellow rubber duck in a bathtubInventions & Everyday ThingsThe First Rubber Ducks Couldn't Even Float. It Took Decades to Make Them Bath Toys
Illustration of an ancient stone sundial casting a shadow in the sunInventions & Everyday ThingsWhy 24 Hours and Not 10 or 20? The Answer Goes Back to Stars Over the NileIllustration of a vintage plaid thermos bottle pouring hot coffee into its cup lid on a picnic tableInventions & Everyday ThingsThe Thermos in Your Lunch Pail Started Out as a Tool for Freezing Cold Lab ExperimentsIllustration of a pair of classic white canvas sneakers with rubber solesInventions & Everyday ThingsSneakers Got Their Name From One Sneaky Quality That Old Leather Shoes Couldn't MatchIllustration of a glowing vintage jukebox in a classic American dinerInventions & Everyday ThingsThe Word Jukebox Has a Rowdy Past. Manufacturers Tried for Years Not to Use It
A cozy kitchen with the stove, sink, and refrigerator arranged near each otherInventions & Everyday ThingsYour Kitchen Is Probably Laid Out in a Hidden Triangle. A 1920s Efficiency Expert Is WhyIllustration of a glass snow globe with a tiny snowy village scene insideInventions & Everyday ThingsA Man Trying to Build a Better Surgical Lamp Ended Up Making Snow Globes FamousIllustration of ice cubes in a glass, some cloudy in the center and some crystal clearInventions & Everyday ThingsYour Freezer Makes Cloudy Ice Cubes. Fancy Bars Serve Crystal-Clear Ones for a ReasonIllustration of a vintage electric fan on a tableInventions & Everyday ThingsBefore Air Conditioning, a Sewing Machine Motor Helped Bring America an Electric Breeze
A fire hydrant with a colored cap standing on a city street cornerInventions & Everyday ThingsWe Picture Fire Hydrants as Red, but the Official U.S. Recommendation Is a Different ColorIllustration of a green garden hose watering a colorful flower bedInventions & Everyday ThingsYour Garden Hose Has a Surprising Ancestor: Leather Tubes Built to Fight City FiresIllustration of a wooden rocking horse in a nurseryInventions & Everyday ThingsThe Rocking Horse May Have Roots in Knights' Jousting Practice. Then Kids Took OverIllustration of an old brass stapler on a wooden deskInventions & Everyday ThingsThe Real Stapler Story Involves Patents, Brass Fasteners and a Philadelphia Fair
Illustration of a vintage wind-up alarm clock with twin bells and a big snooze button on a nightstandInventions & Everyday ThingsEver Wonder Why Your Snooze Button Gives You 9 Minutes, Not 10? Blame the GearsIllustration of neatly stacked brown cardboard boxes in a sunny storeroomInventions & Everyday ThingsA Ruler Slipped in a Brooklyn Print Shop, and It Changed How the World Ships ThingsIllustration of a vintage manual typewriter carriage with paper rolled inInventions & Everyday ThingsThat Cheerful Typewriter Ding Was a Warning, and Your Computer Still Carries a Trace of ItA yellow and green kitchen sponge resting beside a sinkInventions & Everyday ThingsYour Kitchen Sponge Has Ancestors That Lived on the Sea Floor
Illustration of a pink ceramic piggy bank surrounded by scattered coinsInventions & Everyday ThingsThe Oldest Pig-Shaped Money Banks Weren't Made in Europe. They Came From a Tropical IslandIllustration of a vintage jointed teddy bear sitting on an old wooden chairInventions & Everyday ThingsThe Teddy Bear Began With a President and a Cartoon. The Grown-Up Twist Came EarlierIllustration of a cozy vintage recliner with its footrest raised in a warm living roomInventions & Everyday ThingsAmerica's Favorite Recliner Started as a Porch Chair Mocked Up From Orange Crates