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Behind every invention, there is a story. Discover those stories here.

 

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Dick Fosbury in mid-jump
Blog

The Fosbury Flop—A Game-Changing Technique

Dick Fosbury revolutionized high jumping by introducing a game changing technique.

Profile of Dorothy Lemelson smiling
Beyond Words

Remembering Dorothy Lemelson

Dorothy Lemelson was the guiding spirit of the Lemelson Center since its founding in 1995.

Orange box with words Who Gets to Be an Inventor
Invention Stories

Diverse Voices: Women Inventors

Throughout American history, women with diverse backgrounds and interests created inventions that change our lives every day.

A small thermal printer producing a time badge.
Blog

The Invention of the Self-Expiring Visitor Badge

Controlling visitor access has always been difficult, but the invention of the self-expiring visitor badge reduced the security problem substantially.

Informal pose of Tahira Reid Smith, arms folded
Blog

Game Changers Inventor Spotlight: Tahira Reid Smith

Engineering professor Dr. Tahira Reid Smith has been inventive since childhood and is best known for her automated double-Dutch jump rope machine.

U-Sketch pick your color green orange blue lavender purple black

Story Tags

  • African American inventors (Relevance: 24.157303370787%)
  • Agriculture and horticulture (Relevance: 27.52808988764%)
  • Air and space (Relevance: 23.595505617978%)
  • Art (Relevance: 19.101123595506%)
  • Computers (Relevance: 27.52808988764%)
  • DIY/Maker Movement (Relevance: 19.101123595506%)
  • Environment (Relevance: 23.033707865169%)
  • Food and drink (Relevance: 100%)
  • Game Changers exhibition (Relevance: 21.910112359551%)
  • Household technology (Relevance: 29.213483146067%)
  • Industry and manufacturing (Relevance: 24.719101123596%)
  • Medicine, health, and life sciences (Relevance: 51.123595505618%)
  • Military technology (Relevance: 20.786516853933%)
  • Music (Relevance: 36.516853932584%)
  • Photography, film, television, and video (Relevance: 24.719101123596%)
  • Places of Invention (Relevance: 40.449438202247%)
  • Sports (Relevance: 54.494382022472%)
  • Textiles and clothing (Relevance: 29.213483146067%)
  • Toys and games (Relevance: 23.595505617978%)
  • Transportation (Relevance: 44.943820224719%)
  • Women inventors (Relevance: 41.573033707865%)
Metal patent model for Verea calculating machine
Blog

Signposts to Diverse Stories of Invention

Museum objects reveal unexpected stories about diverse inventions—and inventors.

Composite image with skater Nikolai Panin tracing figures on the ice and diagrams of different ice figures
Blog

How Skating Acquired and Lost Its “Figure”

Thanks to invention and innovation, the history of figure skating is truly head-spinning.

Andy Granatelli and his brother Vincent standing behind two race cars
Blog

The Supercharged, Super Fast, Novi Engine

Race car owner and driver, innovator, and entrepreneur Andy Granatelli was as supercharged as the Novi itself.

An array of parts from which a creature can be made; includes blue polyester fur, hinged aluminum rods, miscellaneous Lego bits and 3D-printed parts, and small balls made into eyes.
Blog

Encouraging Inventive Thinking Over Winter Break

Use the time and resources you have to foster inventive thinking in your family this winter break!

Model is a white cube on legs with a hinged door and controls on the base
Blog

The Einstein-Szilard Refrigerator

Why didn't the geniuses’ refrigerator ever make it to market?

A whole Margherita pizza
Blog

An Innovative Pizza Place

We asked Mozzeria, a newly opened Deaf-owned, Deaf-led pizza shop in Washington, DC, about being innovative during a pandemic.

Line drawing of inner workings of a lamp with a perpetual wick.
Blog

Ingenious Devices

Fountains, perpetual oil lamps, and other inventions from the Islamic “Golden Age”

Hyperboloid model made of cardboard, wood, thread, wire, and thread spools
Blog

From Innovators to Curators, Making Do is Nothing New

A teleworking curator looks at the ways in which those who created and used objects took advantage of what they found available.

Society for the History of Technology logo
Blog

Game Changers Team Presents Its Research at SHOT

The Game Changers curatorial team presents their research at the annual meeting of the Society for the History of Technology, 8–11 October 2020.

Howard Head skiing downslope
Blog

Sports Innovator Howard Head

The engineer behind Head skis and Prince tennis rackets revolutionized both sports.

Don Featherstone posing with plastic pink flamingos on a lawn
Blog

The Making of the Iconic Plastic Pink Lawn Flamingo

A look at the ersatz bird that became a barometer of taste.

Beyond Bakelite book cover
Blog

New Books by Lemelson Center Alumni Fellows

Add these books to your summer reading list!

Cartoon-style drawing of a Jeep with legs, arms, eyes, and a mouth
Blog

Illustrating Invention

Illustrator Boris Artzybasheff brought machines to life.

Hinda Miller and Lisa Lindahl wearing Jogbras running
Beyond Words

Inventive Minds: Inventors of the Sports Bra

Lisa Lindahl, Hinda Miller, and Polly Palmer Smith invented the now-ubiquitous sports bra in the 1970s.

Exterior of Houston Astrodome stadium
Blog

Inventing and Reinventing Stadiums

Over the past 120 years, new inventions have kept fans coming to stadiums.

See More Stories

VIEW 2686 Matching Results

Found 2686 Stories

  • Agriculture and horticulture (Relevance: 5.1377513030529%)
  • Air and space (Relevance: 6.5897244973939%)
  • Chemistry (Relevance: 2.9784065524944%)
  • Food and drink (Relevance: 3.0528667163068%)
  • Industry and manufacturing (Relevance: 7.2598659717051%)
  • Medicine, health, and life sciences (Relevance: 4.5793000744602%)
  • Military technology (Relevance: 3.2390171258377%)
  • Mining and drilling (Relevance: 3.4623976172748%)
  • Patents and trademarks (Relevance: 11.392405063291%)
  • Photography, film, television, and video (Relevance: 3.5368577810871%)
  • Power generation, motors, and engines (Relevance: 3.4623976172748%)
  • Spark!Lab (Relevance: 3.3879374534624%)
  • Telegraph, telephone, and telecommunications (Relevance: 3.0528667163068%)
  • Textiles and clothing (Relevance: 3.2762472077439%)
  • Transportation (Relevance: 5.8451228592703%)
  • Women inventors (Relevance: 3.0528667163068%)
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