Inventions Facts for Kids
Genius facts about great inventions
Stainless steel was discovered by accident in 1913 when English metallurgist Harry Brearley noticed that some discarded steel samples with added chromium had not rusted.
The first digital camera, built by Kodak engineer Steven Sasson in 1975, weighed about four kilograms and took 23 seconds to record a single black-and-white photo.
Duct tape was invented during the Second World War to keep moisture out of ammunition cases. Soldiers called it 'duck tape' because water rolled off it like off a duck's back.
The word 'escalator' was originally a brand name owned by the Otis Elevator Company, but it became so commonly used that it lost its trademark status.
The earliest known vending machine was described in first-century Egypt by the engineer Hero of Alexandria. You put in a coin and it dispensed holy water.
The lawnmower was invented in 1830 by Edwin Budding, who got the idea from a machine used to trim the nap on cloth in a fabric mill.
When crisps were first sold commercially in the 1920s, they came in waxed paper bags with a tiny sachet of salt that you added yourself.
The first passenger lift (elevator) was installed in a New York department store in 1857. Before lifts, the upper floors of buildings were the least desirable.
Pencils have never actually contained lead. They use graphite, but people called it 'lead' because they thought it was the same thing when it was first discovered.
The sandwich is named after the Earl of Sandwich, who supposedly asked for meat between two slices of bread so he could keep playing cards without getting his hands greasy.