151 World’s Greatest Inventions

Earlier video cameras were immobile and could not be transported out of a studio or a particular location. The introduction of Betacam in 1982, improved the mobility of the operator by removing the need of cable between the camera and the recorder. Betacam was soon used for in-studio video editing as well as broadcast news. […]

The compass was discovered in the Qin Dynasty around 200-206 BC. The use of the compass during the Qin Dynasty was not for direction but for ‘Feng Shui’ and fortune telling. The ancient Chinese used a type of stone called a lodestone, which is mineral self-possessed with iron oxide for their Feng Shui board. But

In 1791, while working at Bologna University, Luigi Galvani discovered that the muscle of a frog contracted when touched by a metallic object. This phenomenon became known as animal electricity, as the theory was later disproven. Prompted by these experiments, Volta initiated a series of experiments using zinc, lead, tin or iron as positive plates.

Bridges are physical support to cross an obstacle of your way. Bridges differ in their designs, the purpose they are built for and material used. The first bridge was made by Nature itself like stones in the river or fallen logs over a stream. The first bridge made by humans was wooden logs cut in

Bottle openers come in various forms and varieties. It is used for the simple task of opening bottles by using a blade or lever that is placed under the pleated rim of the bottle and applying pressure by pivoting the opener. They fall under 4 main categories, namely churchkey, simple bottle opener, speed opener and

Alexandre Goldefroy invented the blow dryer in the year 1890. His invention was an inspiration from the principles of the vacuum cleaner. In fact, before the invention of the hair dryer, men and women used vacuum cleaners to dry their hair. Goldefroy invented this device to make use of it in his hair salon in

The patent for a ballpoint pen was given on 30 October, 1888 to John Loud, who was a leather tanner. He was attempting towards making a replacement to fountain pens that couldn’t write on leather, which was then an essential. Initially in the 20th century, many patents were filed for registering a ballpoint pen but

Barbie or the Barbie doll was invented in the year 1959 by the co-founder of the Mattel Company, Ruth Handler. His daughter’s name was Barbara, which was known to be the inspiration. The first Barbie was offered for sale in New York City at the American Toy Fair as a teenage fashion doll. The first

The ancient bicycle was a wooden scooter-like machine called a celerifere. It was invented by Comte Mede de Sivrac, France, in 1790. In 1816, Baron Karl Von Drais de Sauerbrun, Germany, invented a bicycle model having a steering bar which was attached to the front wheel. He named it Draisienne. It featured two wheels; the

Earle Dickson of Johnson & Johnson is the creator of band-aid. The creation arrived as a necessity, for his wife Josephine who would very often burn and cut herself when she would cook. In order to solve this minor issue Dickson came up with the concept of band-aid so that his wife could have the

Atom bomb is always a burning topic among general people as it is one of the most dangerous weapons of the time. It works mainly on the theory of E=mc2 (energy=mass times the speed of light squared) which was given by physicist Albert Einstein. He was the main reason behind the invention of atom bomb

The invention of the automobile is a result of years of research and a combination of technologies that was done over time. The first working steam-powered vehicle was said to have been designed by Ferdinand Verbiest, a Flemish member who belonged to the Jesuit mission in China around the year 1672. The credit for the

Aspirin in its pure form has been manu-factured as well as marketed right since 1899s. In the year 1899, Felix Hoffmann made a particular formula and presented it to his father who was suffering from severe arthritis pain. The result was very effective and Hoffmann went ahead to market this drug to spread this miracle

The creation of automated teller machine (ATM) or self-banking developed through individual efforts by some noteworthy names in Sweden, Japan and United Kingdom. Luther George Simjian is credited in the United States for creating the first ATM or automated teller machine. He is presumed to have worked on the concept before 1939, although he applied

Valdemar Poulsen invented the first answering machine in the year 1898. It was the very first known practical equipment that was used to record the telephone conversations. It was initially called as a telegraphone. It was this device, which laid the foundation for the common answering machines that we see nowadays. However, there is a