Inventions Facts for Kids
Genius facts about great inventions
Elisha Otis invented the safety elevator in 1852, which included a brake that would stop the lift falling if the cable snapped. He demonstrated this by cutting the cable while standing in the elevator himself in front of a crowd.
The first bristle toothbrush was invented in China around 1498, using hairs from the back of a wild boar's neck attached to a bamboo handle. European travellers brought the idea back to Europe, where horse hairs were used instead.
The trampoline was invented by gymnast George Nissen in 1936, inspired by watching trapeze artists bouncing in their safety nets. He named it after the Spanish word 'trampolin' meaning diving board or springboard.
Bubble gum was invented in 1928 by Walter Diemer, an accountant who experimented with chewing gum recipes in his spare time. The reason it is traditionally pink is simply that pink was the only food colouring Diemer had available at the time.
The adhesive plaster (sticking plaster) was invented in 1920 by Earle Dickson, a cotton buyer at Johnson & Johnson, to help his wife who kept cutting herself in the kitchen. His boss was so impressed he put the product into mass production.
Rubber ducks became popular bath toys in the late 1800s after vulcanised rubber made them squeezy and soft. Artist Peter Ganine patented a modern floating rubber duck design in 1947, which sold 50 million copies.
The glue stick was invented in 1969 by Henkel, a German company, inspired by the twist-up design of a lipstick container. It made school craft projects far less messy than liquid glue and became a classroom staple worldwide.
The first Crayola crayons were created in 1903 by cousins Edwin Binney and Harold Smith, who mixed paraffin wax with pigments. The name 'Crayola' was coined by Edwin's wife, combining the French word for chalk ('craie') with 'oily' (oleaginous).
Roller skates were invented by Belgian Joseph Merlin in 1760, who famously introduced them at a masquerade party in London while playing the violin. He could not stop himself, crashed into a large mirror, and broke it — as well as his violin and himself.
Sliced bread was invented in 1928 by Otto Rohwedder in Chillicothe, Missouri, USA. When it went on sale, a local newspaper called it 'the greatest forward step in the baking industry since bread was wrapped' — and that is where the phrase 'the best thing since sliced bread' comes from.