Inventions Facts for Kids
Genius facts about great inventions
The first bristle toothbrush was invented in China in 1498, using coarse hairs from a pig's neck attached to a bone handle.
Before films existed, people used a spinning device called a zoetrope to create the illusion of moving pictures. It was invented in 1834.
Bubble gum was invented in 1928 by Walter Diemer, an accountant at a chewing gum company who was just experimenting for fun.
Miller Reese Hutchison invented the first practical electric hearing aid in 1898. It was called the Akouphone and used a carbon transmitter to amplify sound.
People still say 'tin foil', but actual tin foil was replaced by aluminium foil in the early 1900s because aluminium doesn't leave a metallic taste on food.
The rubber traffic cone was invented in 1940 by Charles Scanlon, who wanted a flexible marker that cars could bump without causing damage.
In 2004, scientists used ordinary sticky tape to peel ultra-thin layers of carbon off graphite, discovering graphene — a material stronger than steel but only one atom thick. They won the Nobel Prize.
The first bicycle, invented in 1817, had no pedals! Riders pushed themselves along with their feet on the ground, like a big scooter.
The barcode was inspired by Morse code. Its inventor, Norman Woodland, drew dots and dashes in the sand and then stretched them into the thin and thick lines we see today.
Most household smoke detectors contain a tiny amount of the radioactive element americium-241. It ionises the air inside the detector, and when smoke particles disrupt this process, the alarm sounds.