They say necessity is the mother of invention, and that’s certainly the case for these common products, created by clever people who saw a problem and solved it — or who, while inventing something else, found a surprising new use. From the can opener to the zipper, here are the little-known stories behind 25 things we use on a daily basis.
In 1956, secretary Bette Nessie Graham made correction fluid from white tempera paint to cover typewriting errors. After she was fired over time spent on her invention, she renamed it Liquid Paper, secured a patent, and, by 1975, had a Dallas plant making 25 million bottles annually. Gillette Corporation purchased the company in 1979 for $47.5 million (roughly $206 million today).
In 1858, Ezra J. Warner invented a more practical way to open wrought iron and tin food cans than the suggested hammer and chisel — a device that sawed the top off with a bayonet and sickle. Considered too dangerous for domestic use, it took off with the U.S. Army amid the Civil War and among grocery store clerks.
In the 1930s, Joseph Friedman used a screw and dental floss to create grooves in a straw so it could bend over a cup’s edge, making it easier for his daughter to drink milkshakes. He later formed the Flex-Straw Company, selling his straws to hospitals so patients could drink lying down.
Johnson & Johnson cotton buyer Earle Dickson noticed his wife frequently cut her fingers in the kitchen. In 1921, he created an adhesive cotton gauze bandage for small cuts, which Johnson & Johnson marketed as Band-Aids. Sales initially slumped, but took off after J&J offered them to Boy Scout troops and began selling pre-cut bandages versus large sheets users had to cut themselves.
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Mary Anderson was aboard a trolley car in New York City when she noticed they often had to open their windows or stop to see around or clear snow. In 1903, she patented a rubber wiper blade that drivers could control from inside the trolley via a lever.
In the 1930s, Hungarian journalist Laszlo Biro found that newspaper ink dried faster than the smudge-prone ink in fountain pens. Newspaper ink was too thick for a fountain pen, so Biro created the ballpoint pen, in which a rotating ball transferred ink from a reservoir to the page.
After WWI, Edward W. Bullard returned to work at his father’s San Francisco company, selling mining equipment. Bullard learned that miners were often hit on the head by debris, and, inspired by helmets he’d worn during the war, created the first hard hat using canvas and glue. He patented it in 1919 and continued to iterate on it for several years.
After finding that hand-washing dishes resulted in chipped plates, Josephine Cochran invented the dishwasher. Wire compartments held dishes inside a motorized wheel that pumped in soapy water heated by a copper broiler. Cochran exhibited it at the World Columbian Exposition in 1893, but it was not until the 1950s — and after KitchenAid acquired her company — that most homes could accommodate such a machine.
Harry Coover was a research chemist at Eastman Kodak. During WWII, his team worked with cyanoacrylates to make a clear plastic for use in precision gunsights, but they were too sticky. In 1958, Coover used them in an adhesive marketed as Eastman 910, now known as Super Glue.
Richard Drew was a lab tech for sandpaper manufacturer 3M in the 1920s. After noticing that painters were having trouble masking car parts without peeling off the paint, he created masking tape from treated crepe paper and cabinetmaker’s glue. In 1930, he created cellophane tape, which became popular for repairs amid the Great Depression.
Traveling salesman King Camp Gillette shaved with a safety razor that was safer than a straight edge, but had to be sharpened daily. With engineer William Emery Nickerson, he invented disposable steel razor blades and began producing them in 1903.
Farmer Walter Hunt patented numerous inventions throughout his life, including the safety pin in 1849. It wasn’t the first of its kind, but he improved on its design with a spring at one end and a clasp that shielded the pin’s point. He sold the rights for $400 to pay a $15 debt, and never earned any additional funds.
Lisa Lindahl, Hinda Miller, and Polly Smith created and marketed the Jogbra. Lindahl, an avid runner, took her ideas for a more supportive bra to Smith, who sewed two jockstraps together to create the first sports bra prototype. They patented it in 1979, and Lindahl went on to found Jogbra Inc., later JBI, with Miller. It was acquired by Playtex Apparel in 1990.
Domino’s founder Tom Monaghan was dissatisfied with the way pizzas were delivered: either in bags or flimsy bakery boxes. In the 1960s, he worked with Triad Containers in Detroit to create cardboard boxes that could carry a hot, greasy pizza sans mess.
Newspaper editor Christopher Sholes and fellow inventor Carlos Glidden produced the first practical typewriter in 1872. As the type-bars jammed when positioned alphabetically, a business associate of Sholes, James Densmore, suggested splitting up letters often used together, making way for the QWERTY keyboard we use today.
Austrian Robert Adler worked in Zenith Electronics’ research division, focusing on military communications during WWII and TV tech after. He found that by using ultrasound, he could make a device that emitted tones to instruct TVs to turn on or off, change channels, or adjust the volume. Zenith marketed this first wireless TV remote in 1965.
In the 1960s, engineer Ralph Baer convinced his workplace, defense contractor Sanders Associates, to fund his research on how to play games on TVs. He developed the “Brown Box” console, which Magnavox licensed in 1971, calling it “Odyssey.” It sold roughly 100,000 units in its first year.
Momofuku Ando invented instant noodles amid a food shortage in Japan following WWII. They were created by moistening, drying, and flash-frying noodles, and were ready to eat after a few minutes in boiled water. He flavored them with chicken broth and called them “Chikin Ramen.”
Danish carpenter Ole Kirk Christiansen made wooden toy building blocks, among other objects, in Billund, Denmark. After his factory burned down in 1944, he built a new one focused on toys and found his blocks were more popular when made from colorful plastic. The term LEGO comes from “Leg godt,” Danish for “play well.”
To protect his ears during Maine winters, Chester Greenwood covered two wire loops connected by a steel band with beaver fur and velvet. He received a patent in 1877 at 18 years old and founded Greenwood’s Ear Protector Factory, which supplied U.S. soldiers amid WWI. Greenwood secured over 100 other patents throughout his life.
Engineer Richard James was working with springs to stabilize equipment on ships in choppy water. When one fell and began making arcs, he began experimenting with what else it could do. His wife, Betty, suggested it’d make a good toy and that they call it the Slinky. He debuted the toy at a Philly department store in 1945, selling 400 in just 90 minutes.
Inventor Whitcomb Judson wanted to replace shoelaces in boots. In 1893, he received a patent for a “clasp-locker,” but it often jammed and didn’t catch on until improved upon by engineer Gideon Sundbach in 1913. In 1923, it got its now common name from galoshes maker B.F. Goodrich, who began using the onomatopoeia “zipper.”
Elijah McCoy invented myriad items, including the lawn sprinkler. In 1874, he patented the ironing board, developed for his wife, who complained of ironing on uneven surfaces. In 1892, Sarah Boone improved on the patent to make it easier to iron women’s garments’ sleeves and bodies.
Feeling unsafe in her Queens neighborhood, nurse Marie Van Brittan Brown patented the first home security system in 1966. She placed peepholes on her door opposite a camera that wirelessly transmitted to a monitor. A two-way voice system allowed her to speak to anyone on the other side of the door, and a button immediately contacted police when pushed.
Gymnast George Nissen was inspired by trapeze artists to create a device similar to a safety net that would allow gymnasts to rebound higher into the air and perform tricks like divers. He used it with a touring acrobatics troupe in the 1930s and named it the trampoline; “el trampolin” is Spanish for “diving board.” After serving in WWII, he founded the Nissen Trampoline Company and spent his life promoting it.