Everyday Inventions
The surprising origins of things we use without thinking: the barcode, karaoke, nigiri sushi, a restaurant guide and the printed page.
- inventions
- everyday
- innovation
Some of the stories included
The Ice KingIn 1806, Boston's Frederic Tudor shipped 130 tons of frozen pond water to the tropics, launching a global trade that vanished with refrigeration.
The Story of ChocolateHow a bitter Aztec drink, made from beans that doubled as money, became the sweet, solid chocolate bar over 350 years of European tinkering.
Daisuke Inoue and the First Karaoke MachineIn 1971, a Kobe drummer built the first commercially successful karaoke machines but never patented them, missing a fortune.
The Theremin's Strange LifeInventor Leon Theremin created a touchless instrument, spied for the Soviets in New York, and designed a bug hidden in the US Great Seal.
The Rubik's CubeIn 1974, a Hungarian professor made a puzzle he initially couldn't solve. This is the story of the Rubik's Cube.
The History of BeerThe history of beer, from possible brewing traces about 13,000 years old through Sumer and Egypt, hops and Bavaria's 1516 purity law, to refrigeration and the pure yeast behind modern lager.
The History of The Michelin GuideHow the Michelin brothers' free 1900 motoring handbook became a paid restaurant guide, with its star ratings, anonymous inspectors, a 1944 reprint for Allied officers, and its record-setting Tokyo edition.
The History of CheeseCheese from Neolithic Polish sieves and Egyptian tombs to Roman rations, monastery cheeses and the first American cheese factory in 1851.
The Invention of the BarcodeHow a sketch in Miami sand in 1949 became the barcode, from Woodland and Silver's bullseye patent to IBM's UPC and the first supermarket scan in 1974.
The History of Daylight Saving TimeHow daylight saving time came about, from George Hudson's 1895 proposal in New Zealand and William Willett's campaign to wartime adoption in 1916 and the American arguments that followed.- The Printing PressJohannes Gutenberg's press used a special metal alloy and oil-based ink to print 250 sheets an hour, sparking a revolution in knowledge.
Hanaya Yohei and the Invention of Nigiri SushiHow Edo street vendor Hanaya Yohei came to be credited with hand-pressing fish onto vinegared rice in the 1820s, creating nigiri sushi, and how the style spread across Japan.
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