Inventors Science

Mary Myers always dreamed of flying, but she lived when women were often told to stay put and stay quiet. Determined and fearless, Mary wouldn’t stay tied down. With the help of her husband, she transformed into Carlotta, the famous aeronaut, and took to the skies. Carlotta performed much more than aerial feats in her gas balloons. A skybound scientist, she collected information on currents, weather, and atmospheric pressure.

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.

Do you want to think like the man who perfected his mind, thoughts, and focus? Well...then you need to learn more about the great inventor Thomas Edison. Thomas Alva Edison, one of the world’s greatest inventors, was born in Milan, a little canal town in Erie County, Ohio, on February 11, 1847. On his father’s side, he was descended from an excellent family of Dutch millers. They lived in New Netherland but eventually moved to New Jersey in the year 1737.

Johannes Gutenberg spent his days shut away, working on a mysterious project. His neighbors wondered what he was doing in his metal shop. Why did he need so much money? Was he making expensive gold jewelry? Weapons? Armor? What project could possibly take up so many hours of Johannes's time? And how did his invention change the world?

Estas historias te demostrarán que los errores y los fracasos no tienen por qué significar el fin de tu sueño. De hecho, podrían ser sólo el principio. Inspírate para convertir tus errores en éxitos y encuentra el potencial que hay detrás de cada accidente.

Tech is everywhere! Learn more about the innovators who created the technology world. These innovators are women, people of color, immigrants, and members of the LGBTQIA+ community who are ready to be recognized.

Sneakers grew out of efforts to make more durable, more comfortable shoes—and became a major link between sports and fashion. Their sales rose with the popularity of tennis and exploded along with basketball, leading to celebrity endorsements, big-name brands, and continued technological breakthroughs. In the twenty-first century, sneakers are still evolving, along with "sneaker influencer" social media, smart tech, and other hot new trends.

Around the world, city highways and country roads have cut through natural spaces. Wild animals are blocked from the resources they need to survive, or must make dangerous crossings across busy roads to get to them. Fortunately, solving this problem has inspired some creative solutions! Take a tour of wildlife crossings across the globe, from grassy badger bridges to underpasses for elephants. Discover how these inventive pathways have saved both animal and human lives and helped preserve ecosystems.

With X-rays, doctors detect problems human eyes can't see. X-rays are a form of invisible radiation. This powerful medical technology helps experts look inside the body and even treat illnesses. But early on, X-rays caused harm too, as people used them without enough protection. This history covers the discovery of X-rays, the development of safety standards, and the rise of more powerful and precise X-ray machines. Find out how modern doctors create digital images of the inner body—even 3D images of our brains!

Cell phones allowed people to connect on the go, and smartphones have transformed the way we share information. From the earliest landlines to the minicomputers that link people across the world, discover the shifts in phone technology that shaped modern communication—and the people who made them happen. This history also shows the big changes in design, size, and battery life that took place before mobile phones hit the center of popular culture.

Video games evolved over decades from simple consoles to cutting-edge entertainment in homes and arcades. In the twenty-first century, they've also become some of the world's most popular apps. Find out more about the technological innovations, major players, and controversies that have made video game history. And from the role of game cartridges to the power of the internet, learn how new inventions keep taking gaming to the next level.

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.

Victor is sceptical when Walter Swizwit comes to the village of Rainwater. He's the latest in a string of inventors passing through and no one wants to buy his cheap magic tricks. But Walter doesn't take rejection well and puts a curse on the village. Only Victor is unaffected, and he must leave Rainwater for the first time in his life if he's to find the cure. Victor's path takes him past other villages that Walter has damaged and he picks up new companions on the way: Elena, handy with bow and arrow, Mo-Lan, a science prodigy and scaredy-cat Mingus.

In a time when people believed flying was impossible, Joseph and Etienne Montgolfier proved that the sky wasn’t the limit. When most thought horseback was the only way to race, Bertha and Karl Benz fired up their engines. From the invention of the bicycle and the passenger steam locomotive to the first liquid-fuel propelled rocket and industrial robot, inventors across the world have redefined travel. Informative and celebratory, this collective biography tells the story of the experiments, failures, and successes of visionaries who changed the way the world moves.

Have you ever wondered what makes a kite fly or a boat float? Have you ever thought about why snowflakes are symmetrical, or why golf balls have dimples? Have you ever tried to make a kaleidoscope or build a pair of stilts? In Calling All Minds, Temple Grandin explores the ideas behind all of those questions and more. She delves into the science behind inventions, the steps various people took to create and improve upon ideas as they evolved, and the ways in which young inventors can continue to think about and understand what it means to tinker, to fiddle, and to innovate.

Unsere Welt ist voller technischer Erfindungen, die auf genialen Ideen, Geistesblitzen und Forscherdrang beruhen. Unterhaltsam und informativ stellt diese erzählte Technikgeschichte bahnbrechende Erfindungen und ihre Entdecker vor: Man erfährt, wie Carl Benz das Auto entwickelte, was zur Erfindung des Dieselmotors führte, wie die Brüder Lumière die Bilder laufen lehrten, warum Melitta Bentz den Kaffeefilter erfand und vieles mehr!

Both Thomas Edison and Henry Ford started off as insatiably curious tinkerers. That curiosity led them to become inventors - with very different results. As Edison invented hit after commercial hit, gaining fame and fortune, Henry struggled to make a single invention (an affordable car) work. Witnessing Thomas' glorious career from afar, a frustrated Henry wondered about the secret to his success.

Nolan is a typical kid living in a typical 21st-century American town. Ben Franklin is, well, Ben Franklin - Founding Father, inventor of the lightning rod and bifocals and more. When, through a bizarre set of circumstances, Nolan and his little sister, Olive, find Ben in their house, chaos isn't far behind. From introducing him to the toaster to taking him to the public library (another Ben invention) to preventing a nosy neighbor from blowing Ben's cover, Nolan does his best to be Ben's tour guide to the new world he helped form.

Here is the fascinating story of the making of the high-tech business revolution and the birth of the Digital Age. Journalist Jeffrey Young chronicles six decades of unbridled technological innovation, taking you inside today's business empires and introducing you to the dreamers, the schemers, the entrepreneurs, and the inventors who built them...

For decades, the blasts and howls of the electric guitar have been some of the defining sounds of popular music. But more than a century of effort and innovation had to happen before this instrument went electric. Learn about the master craftspeople who created the guitar as we know it, the inventors who figured out how to send guitar notes through amplifiers and give the guitar a bigger sound, and the musicians whose legendary playing put it at the center of rock 'n' roll.