INVENTIONS & TECH

The bright ideas, accidents and obsessions - from the light bulb to space rockets and smart phones.

50 facts

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Chatbots learn to write by reading huge piles of human writing.

Chatbots learn to write by reading huge piles of human writing.

A large language model is trained on millions of books, articles and websites - then guesses the most likely next word, over and over.

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MORE INVENTIONS & TECH FACTS

49 facts

A robot called Atlas can do backflips and dance.

DID YOU KNOW? A robot called Atlas can do backflips and dance. Boston Dynamics builds humanlike robots that run, jump, parkour and even break-dance - and they keep their balance when shoved. 2 min read

There are taxis in some cities that drive themselves.

DID YOU KNOW? There are taxis in some cities that drive themselves. Self-driving robotaxis in Phoenix, San Francisco and Beijing pick up passengers with no human in the driver's seat at all. 2 min read

Robots have been driving around Mars for over 25 years.

DID YOU KNOW? Robots have been driving around Mars for over 25 years. NASA has landed five rovers on Mars - one of them, Opportunity, lasted 14 years on a 90-day mission. 2 min read

A computer beat a top Go player using moves no human had ever tried.

DID YOU KNOW? A computer beat a top Go player using moves no human had ever tried. AlphaGo beat the world's best Go player in 2016 - and one of its moves was so strange experts thought it was a bug. 2 min read

In 1997 a computer beat the world chess champion for the first time.

DID YOU KNOW? In 1997 a computer beat the world chess champion for the first time. IBM's Deep Blue defeated Garry Kasparov in a six-game match - and shocked the world. 2 min read

The Roomba was designed by ex-military robot engineers.

DID YOU KNOW? The Roomba was designed by ex-military robot engineers. The team that built bomb-disposal robots for the army used the same ideas to design a small disc that cleans your floor. 2 min read

The word "robot" comes from a Czech word for forced labor.

DID YOU KNOW? The word "robot" comes from a Czech word for forced labor. It was invented for a 1920 play about artificial workers who rise up against their human bosses. 2 min read

The first real industrial robot started work in 1961.

DID YOU KNOW? The first real industrial robot started work in 1961. Unimate was a 4,000-pound metal arm that lifted hot car parts at a General Motors factory in New Jersey. 2 min read

People have been making soap for at least 4,500 years.

DID YOU KNOW? People have been making soap for at least 4,500 years. Ancient Babylonians boiled animal fat, water and ashes to clean wool - but barely used it on their own bodies. 2 min read

The first mass-produced toothbrushes were made with pig hair.

DID YOU KNOW? The first mass-produced toothbrushes were made with pig hair. For about 200 years, most toothbrushes had bristles plucked from the back of a hog - until plastic finally took over in 1938. 2 min read

The zipper took 30 years to become useful.

DID YOU KNOW? The zipper took 30 years to become useful. The first version, invented in 1893, kept popping open at the worst moments - it almost ended up forgotten forever. 2 min read

The first bicycle had no pedals.

DID YOU KNOW? The first bicycle had no pedals. In 1817 a German baron built a wooden "running machine" - you sat on it and pushed yourself along with your feet. 2 min read

The recipe for Coca-Cola is locked in a vault.

DID YOU KNOW? The recipe for Coca-Cola is locked in a vault. Coke's exact formula is one of the world's best-kept business secrets - supposedly only a couple of people know the whole thing. 2 min read

Bubble wrap was first sold as wallpaper.

DID YOU KNOW? Bubble wrap was first sold as wallpaper. Two inventors stuck two shower curtains together with air bubbles inside - and tried to convince people it was a wall decoration. 2 min read

Post-it Notes were a glue that didn't work.

DID YOU KNOW? Post-it Notes were a glue that didn't work. A scientist trying to make super-strong glue made super-weak glue instead - six years later, it became one of the most useful office products ever. 2 min read

The microwave oven was invented after a chocolate bar melted in someone's pocket.

DID YOU KNOW? The microwave oven was invented after a chocolate bar melted in someone's pocket. An American engineer was standing near a radar tube in 1945 when his snack turned to goo - and he realised invisible waves could cook food. 2 min read

Velcro was invented after a dog walk.

DID YOU KNOW? Velcro was invented after a dog walk. A Swiss engineer kept finding burrs stuck to his dog's fur - and copied their tiny hooks to make the world's grippiest tape. 2 min read

Eyeglasses were invented in Italy more than 700 years ago.

DID YOU KNOW? Eyeglasses were invented in Italy more than 700 years ago. Nobody knows the exact inventor, but Italian monks were grinding tiny glass lenses to help old people read by the 1280s. 2 min read

mRNA vaccines work by sending your cells a recipe.

DID YOU KNOW? mRNA vaccines work by sending your cells a recipe. They don't put a germ into your body - they send a tiny instruction sheet that teaches your cells to make practice targets. 2 min read

Scientists learned to edit DNA by copying bacteria.

DID YOU KNOW? Scientists learned to edit DNA by copying bacteria. CRISPR is a defense system bacteria use against viruses - and now humans use it to rewrite the code of life. 2 min read

The first human heart transplant happened in 1967.

DID YOU KNOW? The first human heart transplant happened in 1967. A South African surgeon swapped a heart from a young woman killed in an accident into a 53-year-old grocer. 2 min read

The twisted ladder shape of DNA was figured out in 1953.

DID YOU KNOW? The twisted ladder shape of DNA was figured out in 1953. It took scientists almost a century to crack the structure that holds the instructions for every living thing. 2 min read

Before anesthesia, surgeons were judged on how fast they could cut.

DID YOU KNOW? Before anesthesia, surgeons were judged on how fast they could cut. The best 1800s surgeon could amputate a leg in 28 seconds - because the patient was wide awake and screaming. 2 min read

Insulin turned a deadly disease into one you can live with.

DID YOU KNOW? Insulin turned a deadly disease into one you can live with. Before 1922, kids with type 1 diabetes usually died within a year. Then two Canadian doctors figured out how to bottle insulin. 2 min read

X-rays were discovered completely by accident.

DID YOU KNOW? X-rays were discovered completely by accident. A German physicist saw a strange glow in his lab in 1895 and ended up taking the world's first photo of bones inside a living hand. 2 min read

The most important medicine of the 20th century was discovered by a messy scientist.

DID YOU KNOW? The most important medicine of the 20th century was discovered by a messy scientist. Alexander Fleming left a dish of bacteria out, came back to find mould had killed them - and discovered penicillin. 2 min read

The world's first vaccine was made from cow blisters.

DID YOU KNOW? The world's first vaccine was made from cow blisters. In 1796 a doctor noticed milkmaids never caught smallpox - and used the cow version of the disease to protect a boy. 2 min read

Nobody knows who invented Bitcoin.

DID YOU KNOW? Nobody knows who invented Bitcoin. In 2008 someone called "Satoshi Nakamoto" published the design online, then vanished - and their identity is still a mystery. 2 min read

The QWERTY keyboard was designed to stop typewriters from jamming.

DID YOU KNOW? The QWERTY keyboard was designed to stop typewriters from jamming. Early typewriter arms jammed when fast typists hit common letter pairs in a row - so the inventor scrambled them apart. 2 min read

The first real video game was about two spaceships fighting in space.

DID YOU KNOW? The first real video game was about two spaceships fighting in space. Students built "Spacewar!" on a room-sized computer in 1962 - long before arcades, Nintendo or PlayStation existed. 2 min read

The World Wide Web is not the same thing as the internet.

DID YOU KNOW? The World Wide Web is not the same thing as the internet. The internet is the network. The web is just one of the things that runs on it - like email, video calls and games. 2 min read

USB plugs feel like they have to be flipped three times to fit.

DID YOU KNOW? USB plugs feel like they have to be flipped three times to fit. It is a famous joke - but the early USB connector really did only go in one way, and it was easy to get wrong. 1 min read

Computer chips have doubled in power roughly every two years for 60 years.

DID YOU KNOW? Computer chips have doubled in power roughly every two years for 60 years. It's called Moore's Law - and it's why the phone in your pocket is more powerful than a 1980s supercomputer. 2 min read

DID YOU KNOW? The save icon on your apps is a tiny picture of a floppy disk. Floppy disks were how people saved files in the 80s and 90s - most kids today have never held one. 1 min read

The first computer mouse was a small wooden block.

DID YOU KNOW? The first computer mouse was a small wooden block. Douglas Engelbart carved the first mouse in 1964 - it had one button, two wheels, and a long tail of wire. 2 min read

The internet started as a military project called ARPANET.

DID YOU KNOW? The internet started as a military project called ARPANET. The first message sent on the internet was the word "LO" - the computer crashed before it could send "LOGIN". 2 min read

WD-40 is named after 40 failed attempts.

DID YOU KNOW? WD-40 is named after 40 failed attempts. The chemist who invented it wrote "Water Displacement, 40th formula" on the bucket - the first 39 mixes did not work. 1 min read

The first general-purpose computer was as big as a small house.

DID YOU KNOW? The first general-purpose computer was as big as a small house. ENIAC weighed 30 tons, used 18,000 glowing tubes, and was less powerful than the cheapest calculator you can buy today. 2 min read

Thomas Edison did not invent the light bulb alone.

DID YOU KNOW? Thomas Edison did not invent the light bulb alone. At least 20 inventors made electric light bulbs before Edison - he made one that lasted long enough to actually sell. 2 min read

A pulley can let you lift things four times your own weight.

DID YOU KNOW? A pulley can let you lift things four times your own weight. Loop a rope around a few wheels and suddenly a kid can lift a fridge - pulleys multiply your strength. 1 min read

There are probably more than 50 electric motors in your home.

DID YOU KNOW? There are probably more than 50 electric motors in your home. Fans, fridges, blenders, hair dryers, electric toothbrushes, washing machines - almost any spinning thing has a motor inside. 2 min read

Air conditioning was invented to dry out a printing factory.

DID YOU KNOW? Air conditioning was invented to dry out a printing factory. Willis Carrier built the first modern AC in 1902 - not for comfort, but to stop paper from warping in summer heat. 2 min read

Before refrigerators, people kept food cold with giant blocks of ice.

DID YOU KNOW? Before refrigerators, people kept food cold with giant blocks of ice. Workers cut ice from frozen lakes in winter, stored it in straw, and shipped it around the world to fill ice boxes. 2 min read

A sewing machine can stitch in minutes what would take a human hours.

DID YOU KNOW? A sewing machine can stitch in minutes what would take a human hours. Before sewing machines, every shirt and dress was stitched entirely by hand - often taking 14 hours or more. 2 min read

The first modern car had only three wheels.

DID YOU KNOW? The first modern car had only three wheels. Karl Benz built a gas-powered three-wheeled buggy in 1885 - and his wife Bertha drove it 65 miles to prove it worked. 2 min read

The first telephone call was a request for help.

DID YOU KNOW? The first telephone call was a request for help. Alexander Graham Bell spilled acid on himself in 1876 and called out: "Mr. Watson, come here - I want to see you." 2 min read

The oldest wheel ever found is more than 5,000 years old.

DID YOU KNOW? The oldest wheel ever found is more than 5,000 years old. A wooden wheel from a swamp in Slovenia is older than the pyramids - and humans used wheels for pottery before transport. 2 min read

A boiling kettle inspired the engine that powered the Industrial Revolution.

DID YOU KNOW? A boiling kettle inspired the engine that powered the Industrial Revolution. Steam pushing against a piston gave humans the power of hundreds of horses - and changed work, travel and cities forever. 2 min read

The first computer "bug" was a real moth.

DID YOU KNOW? The first computer "bug" was a real moth. The first computer "bug" was a real moth stuck in a machine in 1947. 1 min read

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