💡 Everyday Inventions/ Tools
Thomas Edison helped develop a practical version of this invention that allowed people to light their homes with electricity.
What is the electric light bulb?
This two-wheeled vehicle uses pedals, a chain, and gears to transfer power from the rider to the rear wheel.
Bicycle
This device allows two people in different locations to speak to each other using their voices.
Telephone
This American inventor is famous for developing a practical electric light bulb and held more than 1,000 U.S. patents.
Thomas Edison
First flown successfully in 1903, this invention changed transportation by allowing humans to travel through the air under power.
Airplane
This measuring tool retracts into a small case and usually has a metal hook at the end.
Tape measure
This pedal controls how much power the engine sends to move the vehicle faster.
Gas pedal / accelerator
This device receives radio waves and converts them into sounds that you can hear.
Radio
These two brothers from Ohio built and flew the first successful powered airplane in 1903.
Orville and Wilbur Wright
Introduced in 1908, this famous automobile became affordable to many Americans because it was eventually produced using a moving assembly line.
Ford Model T
This tool uses a bubble inside a liquid-filled tube to tell whether a surface is perfectly horizontal or vertical.
Level
This part uses friction against a spinning disc to help slow and stop a vehicle.
Brake pad
Before telephones became common, this machine allowed people to send electrical messages over wires using a special code.
Telegraph
This inventor is closely associated with the telephone and famously spoke the words, “Mr. Watson, come here.”
Alexander Graham Bell
Developed in the 1940s after an engineer noticed a candy bar melting near radar equipment, this invention changed the way Americans cook food.
Microwave oven
This fastener uses two strips covered with tiny hooks and loops that stick together when pressed.
Velcro
This part produces electricity while the engine is running and helps keep the battery charged.
Alternator
This device uses radio signals to communicate with nearby towers, allowing people to call and message without a wired connection.
Cell phone
This inventor developed an alternating-current electrical system and is famous for experiments involving high-voltage electricity.
Nikola Tesla
Developed in the 1970s, this navigation technology uses satellites and precise timing to determine a person's location on Earth.
GPS
This precision measuring tool has sliding jaws and can measure outside dimensions, inside dimensions, and depth.
Caliper
This part of a gasoline-powered vehicle changes the gear ratio between the engine and the wheels, allowing the vehicle to operate efficiently at different speeds.
Transmission
This device directs data between different computer networks and helps information find the correct path across the internet.
Router
This inventor developed a system of raised dots that allowed people who are blind to read by touch.
Louis Braille
First developed for military use, this technology uses radio waves to detect the location, speed, and distance of objects such as aircraft.
Radar