Inventions That Changed Everything, Part 10: The Mobile Phone
The first handheld mobile call was made in 1973 on a phone weighing about a kilogram. Here is how mobiles became smartphones, and what all ten inventions in this series teach us.
inventions that changed everything
Inventions That Changed Everything, Part 9: The Internet
The first internet message in 1969 crashed after two letters. Here is how a research network became the global internet and how the World Wide Web made it usable for everyone.
Inventions That Changed Everything, Part 8: The Computer
The first electronic computers filled entire rooms. Here is how ideas from Babbage and Turing, wartime machines and the transistor led to the computers we carry today.
Inventions That Changed Everything, Part 7: Radio and Television
Radio and television turned living rooms into windows on the world. Here is how wireless signals, broadcasters and inventors created mass media.
Inventions That Changed Everything, Part 6: The Aeroplane
The first powered flight lasted just 12 seconds. Within decades, aeroplanes were carrying millions across oceans. Here is how the Wright brothers cracked flight and changed the world.
Inventions That Changed Everything, Part 5: Penicillin and Antibiotics
A mouldy petri dish in 1928 led to one of medicine's greatest breakthroughs. Here is how penicillin went from accident to mass-produced lifesaver, and the challenge it faces now.
Inventions That Changed Everything, Part 4: The Telephone
"Mr. Watson, come here, I want to see you." Here is how the telephone was invented, why its origins are still debated, and how it connected the world.
Inventions That Changed Everything, Part 3: Electricity and the Light Bulb
Electricity turned night into day and changed every part of modern life. Here is the story from Volta and Faraday to Edison, Tesla and the war of the currents.
Inventions That Changed Everything, Part 2: The Steam Engine
For most of history, power came from muscles, wind and water. The steam engine changed that, powering factories, railways and ships, and launching the modern industrial world.