Inventions Facts for Kids
Genius facts about great inventions
Crayola crayons have been around since 1903. The first box had just eight colours!
One of the first powered vacuum cleaners was so large it had to be pulled by a horse and parked outside while long hoses were fed through the windows.
Volvo engineer Nils Bohlin invented the modern three-point seat belt in 1959 and the company gave the patent away for free so that all car makers could use it and save lives.
Percy Spencer discovered microwaves could heat food when a chocolate bar in his pocket melted while he stood near a magnetron radar device.
The ballpoint pen was patented in 1938 by Hungarian journalist László Bíró, who was fed up with fountain pens smudging on newspaper.
The rubber traffic cone was invented in 1940 so that roads could be marked without damaging cars.
GPS works by receiving signals from at least four satellites orbiting Earth. Each satellite sends the time and its position, and the receiver calculates your exact location using the tiny differences in signal arrival times.
Mr Potato Head was the first toy ever advertised on television, in 1952.
The standardised shipping container, introduced in 1956, revolutionised global trade by allowing goods to be transferred between ships, lorries, and trains without being unpacked.
Fridge magnets were invented in the 1960s to hold notes and shopping lists. Today, some people collect thousands of them!