Famous Inventors
Known for the light bulb, phonograph, and motion picture camera
Thomas Edison
Physical education teacher James Naismith invented this fun game, which encourages good hand-eye coordination and lots of teamwork. Michigan just won the national championship in this sport.
Basketball
George Washington Carver is widely (and mistakenly) credited with inventing this. While he was a pivotal figure who developed hundreds of uses for its main ingredient, and published recipes using it in 1916, this food was already on the market at that time.
Peanut Butter
The Wright brothers created the first successful one of these in 1903.
These were invented in 1895 by French engineers Auguste and Louis Lumière. Eating popcorn during these was popularized during The Great Depression in America.
Movies
Who is best known for his invention of the telephone?
Alexander Graham Bell
For decades, Americans believed that Abner Doubleday invented this sport, often called "America's Pastime" in 1839. In actuality Alexander Cartwright and Daniel ("Doc") Adams organized and created the rules in 1845.
Baseball
The modern version of this food evolved from ancient flatbreads topped with herbs, oils, and cheeses, which were eaten in Egypt, Greece, and Rome. However, its modern iteration was developed in Naples, Italy, during the 18th and early 19th centuries by poor street vendors
Pizza
In 1885 Karl Benz is widely credited with inventing the first modern, practical one of these. Today, you see them every day on the street.
Automobile (Car)
American inventor Philo Farnsworth is credited with creating the first fully electronic one of these in 1927. Today most every house has at least one that we use to entertain us.
The Television
Most famous for his experiments with electricity, which Founding Father of the United States invented the lightning rod, bifocal glasses, and the glass harmonica?
Benjamin Franklin
Walter Camp, famously is credited with inventing the rules that transformed this sport into what it is today. The first intercollegiate game was held in 1869. The first professional league was established in 1920.
American Football
Atlanta pharmacist John Pemberton invented this, originally serving it as a nerve tonic in 1886. Caleb Bradham created "Brad's Drink", in 1893. These two products are now huge rivals.
Soda Pop (Coca-Cola & Pepsi)
Vinton Cerf and Robert Kahn developed TCP/IP in the 1970s. This invention is the universal language that allows different computer networks to communicate with one another.
The Internet
The modern versions of this were pioneered by Shawn Fanning and Sean Parker (through Napster) and perfected by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon (via Spotify).
Digital Music Streaming
Who invented a system of reading and writing for the blind and visually impaired?
Louis Braille
Canadian James Creighton is widely credited as the "father" of the organized version of this sport. He moved from Nova Scotia to Montreal, bringing the established rules with him.
Ice Hockey
Ruth Wakefield created what super tasty treat at her Toll House Inn restaurant in Whitman, Massachusetts in the 1930s?
Chocolate Chip Cookies
The first electric version of this invention was created in 1882 by Dr. Schuyler Skaats Wheeler. It was a breeze.
The Electric Fan
The first concept was invented in the 1830s by English polymath Charles Babbage. John Atanasoff and Clifford Berry built the first electronic version in 1942. J. Presper Eckert and John Mauchly created the first programmable version in 1946.
The Computer
What 15th century Italian is credited with a number of inventions, including the parachute, a flying machine, armored vehicles, and the machine gun?
Leonardo da Vinci
This sport evolved over centuries. Historians generally credit the Scots with creating the modern game in the 15th century, though the Dutch played an early stick-and-ball game have influenced it.
Golf
The precise inventor of this delicious food remains a highly debated historical mystery, with both France and Belgium claiming this deep fried dish as a national culinary treasure. It is one of the most popular foods in the U.S. today.
French Fries
Joseph Nicéphore Niépce developed a rudimentary wooden box version of this in 1816 which captured the first permanent one of these, a view from his window in Burgundy, France—using a light-sensitive material called Bitumen of Judea.
The Camera and Photograph
Developed by German goldsmith Johannes Gutenberg around 1440, this invention revolutionized human history. It replaced laborious, manual copying, allowing for mass production that dramatically lowered costs, increased literacy rates, and spread knowledge across the world
The Printing Press