Humanity is all about evolution, so no wonder people are trying to invent something new all the time. It all started thousands of years ago when the ancient human grabbed a stone to use as a tool. Then there was the wheel, the steam machine, the printing press, radio, electricity, and now here we are, living in the digital world with information running at the speed of light all around us. Some inventions are more important, others are less so, but all of them change the world around us one way or the other. Here are 10 unique inventions that we often take for granted, but that have changed our lives for the better.
Teflon
Many people can’t remember the days when food used to stick to the pan, or get over or undercooked (although that mostly depends on the skill of the person cooking). Teflon became a great game-changer and transformed the way we cook today. Non-stick frying pans can now be found in any kitchen!
Barcodes
Barcodes may seem of no importance to most people, but they have actually changed the way we shop today. These boring black-and-white lines contain data that can be quickly scanned, thus, making our shopping a whole lot easier. As barcodes are unavoidable nowadays, many companies get creative with their designs, making their product look more unique.
Pacemaker
Pacemakers have saved more lives than we can count. This small medical device helps maintain adequate heart rate when the heart’s natural pacemaker is out of order. Nowadays they come as small as a pill and can be inserted using a leg catheter, avoiding invasive surgery.
Mauveine
A student invented Mauveine by accident, but it has changed the world of fashion, fabric, and textiles forever. Also known as aniline purple, it was the first synthetic organic chemical dye ever invented, and lately mass-produced. Thousands of such dyes have been made since then, but it was the one that started it all!
Plumbing
Have you ever though what life was like before indoor plumbing was introduced? It was quite smelly, that’s for sure. In medieval times toilets were just small rooms with holes in the floor – all the waste went right out of the castle walls. Not only was it bad for health, but the stench was unbelievable as well! Indoor plumbing really improved our sanitary conditions.
Safety glass
Safety glass has really made a change for the better. Toughened and laminated glass is used in both interior design elements like furniture and kitchen items, and for vehicle windshields and windows. Other types of glass like wire mesh is mostly used in construction.
Vulcanized rubber
Vulcanized rubber is not something we should take for granted. Charles Goodyear was among the first people who came up with the process of vulcanization of rubber in the 19th century. Today vulcanized rubber is used virtually everywhere – conveyor belts, shoe soles, hoses, and of course tires. There’s also a thing called hard vulcanized rubber which is used to make bowling balls, saxophone mouthpieces, and hockey pucks. We can’t imagine our lives without it!
Concrete
The Pantheon’s dome in Rome is one of the oldest unreinforced concrete structures in the world. The reason it survived for so long? Concrete itself, of course! Humanity has used concrete since the dawn of times to build various structures, although the first ones were found in the Middle East region. The ingredients and combinations varied, but as the recipe for concrete improved it gradually became one of the most widely used building materials.
Velcro
Velcro made a revolution in clothing and astronaut attire. It’s a trademark used to describe all hook-and-loop fasteners that we use today. We’ve all seen it – two pieces of fabric with tiny hooks on one strip and even tinier ‘hairy’ loops on the other. When they touch, they stay together! This simple, yet amazing invention is greatly appreciated not only by people with kids, but by NASA’s astronauts as well!
Stainless steel
We can’t imagine modern world without things made with stainless steel. It is used everywhere from cooking to construction. Stainless steel has unique corrosion-resistant properties, which makes it an ideal material to make pipes, knives, and a variety of kitchen tools that have to deal with water all the time. It is also believed that stainless steel soap (just stainless steel in a form of a soap bar) can neutralize strong odours like that of garlic, salami, fish, durian, etc.
