Showing titles in Inventions & Inventors

History's amazing secrets and codes—and how to crack them yourself. This fascinating look at history's most mysterious messages is packed with puzzles to decode and ciphers that kids can use themselves. Here are the encrypted notes of Spartan warriors, the brilliant code-crackers of Elizabeth...

One day in 1882, Thomas Edison flipped a switch that lit up lower Manhattan with incandescent light and changed the way people live ever after. The electric light bulb was only one of thousands of Edison’s inventions, which include the phonograph and the kinetoscope, an early precursor to the...

Discover the extraordinary stories behind everyday things! Did you know that the ice cream sundae was invented because of a law forbidding the sale of ice cream on Sundays? Or that the first motorcycle was really just a tricycle with a motor? Would you believe that Mickey Mouse started out as a...

Although Orville and Wilbur Wright are celebrated today as heroes for their revolutionary contributions to science and engineering - they are acknowledged as the first men to successfully achieve powered, piloted flight - their success was hard-earned. In fact, it took the self-taught engineers years of work and dozens of crashes before they managed a single 12-second flight! In this first installment of the brand new Epic Fails series, Ben Thompson and Erik Slader take listeners through the Wright brothers' many mishaps and misadventures as they paved the way for modern aviation.

At least as far back as the ancient myth of Icarus, humans longed to fly - but it wasn't until December 17, 1903, on the windy dunes of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, that the dream finally came true. And it was all thanks to Orville and Wilbur Wright, two former bicycle mechanics who built their first toy plane - a rubber-band powered rotary - when they were just children.

Robots help people in many situations. Some robots rescue people trapped by tornadoes or earthquakes. Others explore volcanoes and the sea floor. And some help scientists protect our environment. How might helper robots affect your life? Listen to this audiobook to find out!

What do libraries, streetlights, and fire stations have in common? What about bifocal lenses and the odometer? Sayings like "haste makes waste?" Benjamin Franklin was a man of many talents: a scientist who experimented with electricity; a diplomat who served as envoy to France and negotiated peace with England; a mapmaker, printer, and writer famous for his Poor Richard's Almanack.

Meet the Wizard of Menlo Park, and see how he grew from a lonely, inquisitive boy who carried out experiments in his basement to the smart, enterprising, and imaginative inventor who gave us the stock-market ticker, helped develop the phonograph and cinema, and even came up with the first storage battery and electric car.

Winner of the Caldecott Medal, this stunning audiobook depicts Louis Bleriot's historic first cross-Channel flight...

This audiobook introduces listeners to the science that makes Smartphones possible. Accessible text and engaging discussion topics make this short audiobook an exciting introduction to understanding technology. 

This audiobook introduces listeners to the science that makes the Internet possible. Accessible text and engaging discussion topics make this short audiobook an exciting introduction to understanding technology. 

As young boys, Orville and Wilbur Wright loved all things mechanical. As young men, they gained invaluable skills essential for their success by working with printing presses, bicycles, motors, and any sort of machinery they could get their hands on. As adults, the brothers worked together to...

Gewohnt schwungvoll präsentieren Shary und Ralph Leckerbissen für Wissenshungrige. Diesmal führt das bekannte Moderatoren-Duo die größten Erfindungen aller Zeiten vor. Ob Dampflok, Kuckucksuhr oder Bügelfalte: Keine Errungenschaft bleibt unerwähnt. Wer hätte gedacht, dass Genie und WAh!nsinn oft so nAh! beieinanderliegen?

In the 1920s cotton buyer Earle Dickson worked for Johnson & Johnson and had a klutzy wife who often cut herself. The son of a doctor, Earle set out to create an easier way for her to bandage her injuries. Band-Aids were born, but Earle's bosses at the pharmaceutical giant weren't convinced, and it wasn't until the Boy Scouts of America tested Earle's prototype that this ubiquitous household staple was made available to the public. 

Learn about the history of the Printing Press with iMindsJNR audio-learning series for younger minds.

Alongside the invention of the wheel, electric light and the internet, the invention of the printing press was one of history’s great, transformative moments.

Did you realize that swimming suits used to weigh 22 pounds (about 10 kilograms)? Or that the first people to wear high heels were French royalty (even the king!) in the 1500s? Get ready to learn the amazing stories behind inventions you use every day. From the society woman who invented bras to the Swiss inventor who came up with the idea for Velcro, you'll find out how we got some of our favorite fashion inventions.

Did you know that the world's first submarine traveled the Thames River in England way back in 1615? Or that early cars had three wheels instead of four? Get ready to learn the fascinating stories behind inventions you use every day. From the motorcycle inventor who died while riding his creation, to the engineers who figured out a better way to launch humans into space, you'll find out how we got the transportation inventions that get us where we're going.

Did you know that a scientist discovered X-rays by accident? Or that people have been taking pain medicine for more than 5,000 years? Get ready to learn the strange stories behind inventions you use every day. From the Roman warrior with a famous false hand, to the Boy Scouts who made Band-Aids a big deal, you'll find out how we got the medical wonders that help us heal faster and feel better.

Can you believe that the paint used on cars inspired the invention of nail polish in the 1920s? Or that people have been making hair dyes for thousands of years, using everything from boiled walnuts to gold powder? Get ready to learn the strange stories behind inventions you use every day. From the woman who invented "kissproof" lipstick to the role toothpicks played in the creation of Q-tips, you'll find out how we got the beauty inventions that help us look great.

Do you know what happened when a kid forgot his glass of soda with a stir stick in it outside on a freezing cold night? Popsicles were invented! And did you know ancient people loved to chew on gum, just like we do? Get ready to learn the strange stories behind inventions you use every day. From the guy who thought white-flour snacks were evil so he invented graham crackers to the evolution of ketchup, you'll be amazed how we got the food inventions we enjoy today.