Credit CardMerchants have always issued credit in one form or another directly to customers. But the idea that a bank would issue credit to purchase anything then, eventually, collect from their customer is newer. In 1946, after WWII, John C. Biggins invented the first universal credit card, called “Charg-It.” However, the card only worked at participating … Continue reading "Credit Card"
Human Genome ProjectThe Human Genome Project mapped the human genome, the DNA map of human life. It enables future genetic technologies that can cure disease, preemptively find problematic genes, or even allow genetic manipulation (designer babies). Francis Watson was the initial lead. He is the Nobel Prize winning co-discoverer of DNA sequencing. As the project gained in … Continue reading "Human Genome Project"
LinuxLinux is a stable and secure operating system. The operating system is open-source and free. However, there are many companies that sell support for Linux, and maintenance is typically the source for most of the cost comes of maintaining an operating system. Background Limited to 16 concurrent users at his school’s computer, Linus wanted a … Continue reading "Linux"
Commercial JetlinerJets vastly increases productivity. Early iterations of the industry also enhanced fun and image once the technology improved. The first commercial passenger jet, the Comet, tended to disintegrate mid-flight. Large windows and a poor understanding of metal stress created a literally fatal design flaw. After three crashes the public refused to board the jet. Eventually, … Continue reading "Commercial Jetliner"
CanningLike refrigeration, invented a year earlier, this is another way to preserve food. All the sudden items available only for a certain portion of the year could be reliably preserved for far longer. This lowered the cost and increased the availability of food. Appert is a Frenchman who perfected caning. Napoleon needed a consistent way … Continue reading "Canning"
Portable VentilatorVentilators breathe for people when they cannot breathe on their own. John Emerson was a physician focused on breathing devices who developed the first mass produced iron lung. Building on Emerson’s work, Bird developed the portable ventilator and, later, created a company, Bird Corp., to commercialize it. Bird Corp. created a home ventilator in 1965, … Continue reading "Portable Ventilator"
Electronic PaperElectronic paper is an ultra-low-power display that requires electricity only to change. ePaper is useful for eBook readers, grocery store price tags, and other displays that need not rapidly change and cannot be plugged in. Electronic paper is a lesser-known Xerox PARC invention. Helping cement their reputation as the Worst Managers of All Time, Xerox … Continue reading "Electronic Paper"
Adding MachineBlaise Pascal was a French mathematician who lived in the 1600s. He is most known for his work in geometry and statistics but is included here for building the first non-abacus adding machine. Going back briefly, the abacus dates back to at least 300BC. Our earliest cutoff date for innovations is the printing press or … Continue reading "Adding Machine"
Slide RuleSlide rules are the original mechanical calculators. They could quickly multiply and divide large numbers. Slide rules are based on logarithms. These are tables of the number another number is raised to produce a third number. Scales of roots do the opposite. John Napier realized sets of log scales placed next to one another easily … Continue reading "Slide Rule"
Hydraulic PressBefore the press, shaping metal was a slow, difficult, expensive, and laborious process. The hydraulic press allows metal to be easily and inexpensively shaped. Today, the same hydraulics power a lot of modern industrial equipment. Bramah, a farmer’s son, was an innovator who specialized in locks. He created and patented many types of locks. He … Continue reading "Hydraulic Press"
MusketWhile Guttenberg’s forge was working to bring about the Renaissance, a more common use was to create weapons to kill one another. One of the most noteworthy is the musket. Background Early muskets were more like small cannons than the later-day rifles. Sometimes two-people needed to operate the earliest weapons due to their weight. Armies … Continue reading "Musket"
Barcodes & Universal Product Code (UPC)Barcodes and UPC: Vastly sped checkout times. Reduced the number of staff and training required and the risk of the wrong price being rung. Increased the ability to electronically manage inventory, lowering carrying cost and spoilage risk. Enabled Just-In-Time ordering and itemized invoices. Transformed market research, enabling “big data” studies about items purchased together and … Continue reading "Barcodes & Universal Product Code (UPC)"
Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) turns a tiny bit of DNA into a much larger amount which can subsequently be sequenced. In 1983, Mullis figured out a way to multiply the tiniest piece of DNA by orders of magnitude, making millions of copies. This is how the smallest bit of DNA, from bacteria, viruses, historical artifacts, … Continue reading "Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)"
PhonographWe, the editors of innowiki, have reviewed thousands of inventions. We’ve read through countless idea, rejecting the vast majority not because they lacked merit but because they didn’t rock the world. Background Of the innovations we accept there are very few who have more than one invention. Granted, the raw number of innovations does not … Continue reading "Phonograph"
High Strength, Mass Produced Steel (Bessemer Steel)Vastly increased the quality and decreased the price of steel. Unlike the iron furnaces, that created small amounts of high strength iron, the Bessemer process created enormous amounts of much stronger steel. The Bessemer process is still in use today. On Aug. 24, 1856, Bessemer described the process of forcing air through steel that dramatically … Continue reading "High Strength, Mass Produced Steel (Bessemer Steel)"
