Inventions Facts for Kids
Genius facts about great inventions
Colossus, built at Bletchley Park in 1943, was the world's first programmable electronic computer. It was used to crack encrypted German messages during the Second World War.
mRNA vaccine technology, used in several COVID-19 vaccines, was the result of decades of research. Biochemist Katalin Kariko spent years overcoming funding rejections before her work proved transformative.
The very first escalator was installed at Coney Island in 1896 as a novelty ride. People paid five cents just to ride it!
LED light bulbs use about 75% less energy than traditional incandescent bulbs and can last over 25,000 hours. They earned their inventors the 2014 Nobel Prize in Physics.
The wheel was invented around 3500 BC in Mesopotamia, which is now modern-day Iraq. It was first used for pottery before people realised it could move vehicles.
Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press around 1440, making it possible to produce books quickly and cheaply. Before this, books had to be copied out by hand, which took months.
Thomas Edison developed a practical incandescent light bulb in 1879 after testing over 1,000 different materials for the filament. His bulb could glow for 13.5 hours.
Alexander Graham Bell made the first telephone call in 1876, saying 'Mr Watson, come here — I want to see you.' His patent for the telephone is one of the most valuable ever granted.
Velcro was invented in 1941 by Swiss engineer George de Mestral after he noticed how burrs stuck to his dog's fur. Under a microscope, he saw tiny hooks that gripped loops — and copied the idea.
Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin in 1928 by accident when mould contaminated one of his petri dishes and killed the surrounding bacteria. This led to the first true antibiotic medicine.