INVENTIONS

Conservationist John Muir’s Youthful Hobby: Inventing Amazing Alarm Clocks

John Muir was more than a great explorer and advocate of national parks—he was also an ingenious inventor.

15 Products That Totally Flopped From the New Museum of Failure

A new museum in Helsingborg, Sweden showcases corporate duds.

National Museum of the United States Navy

The Craft That First Took Humans to the Deepest Part of the Ocean

What do you do when you want to go to the deepest part of the ocean? Build a bathyscaphe, of course.

8 Medical Inventions Created by Nurses

Without nurses, we wouldn’t have a number of tools regularly used today in both hospitals and homes.

How Thomas Edison Jr. Shamed the Family Name

Asked to evaluate his son's abilities as an intellectual, the elder Edison said that he was, "absolutely illiterate, scientifically and otherwise.”

This 300-Year-Old 'Detector Lock' Reveals an Intruder's Presence

English craftsman John Wilkes created the clever gadget, currently displayed in Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum.

10 Great Things Invented by Working Moms

The achievements of these inspiring ladies are worth recognizing.

11 Lesser-Known Inventions by Famous Inventors

Because not every invention can be a home run.

David Joyce via Flickr Creative Commons // CC BY-SA 2.0

How Used Coffee Grounds Could Save Refugee Lives

A recycled, coffee-based fuel log eliminates the need for women and children to embark on dangerous trips to collect firewood for cooking.

Watch This 40-Minute Documentary About Canned Food from 1956

"This is the miracle of the can." -Narrator hired by the American Can Company

On This Day in 1948, the First Polaroid Camera Was Sold

It would cost $900 in today's dollars.

10 Attempts to Build Better Mousetraps

With thousands of mousetrap patents in the United States, it seems people can’t resist innovating new ways to slay vermin.

Tuesday on American Experience: Tesla

All about the "patron saint of geeks."

Apple Just Patented a Shopping Bag

It's reportedly part of Apple’s larger effort to go green.

The Later-Day Lives of 8 Fad Inventors

Whatever happened to the guy who invented the Slinky?

Watch a Bratwurst-Grilling Robot Serve Up Perfectly Seared Sausages

Germany's traditional food gets a high-tech twist.

7 Things Introduced at World's Fairs

Where would the Ferris Wheel, Cherry Coke, and IMAX be without them?

15 Swab-Worthy Facts About Q-Tips

Stuck zipper? Let a Q-Tip assist.

Garrett Morgan, the Prolific Inventor Behind the 3-Phase Traffic Signal

Even if you’ve never heard his name, you’ve likely benefited from Morgan's most famous invention.

8 Things Invented by Famous Writers

When Margaret Atwood got tired of long book tours, she developed a pen that would sign books for her long-distance.

How to Make Fire-Starting Drills from Scratch

Stone Age tools + YouTube = Fascinating.

The Smallest Discman Ever Made Was Smaller Than a CD

What could possibly go wrong?

28 Interesting Facts About Inventors

In this episode of mental_floss' List Show, John Green reveals a few things you probably didn't know about Tesla, Nobel, and more.

The Time Ben Franklin Casually Invented a Form of Kitesurfing

The Founding Father's other kite invention was extreme in its own right.

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