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

 

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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.

Patent drawings of a pointe shoe from the side and front.
Blog

A Better Pointe Shoe Is Sorely Needed

Ballet is an art form steeped in tradition, but pointe shoes need not be out of step with the times.

Detail from a World War I poster showing a Red Cross nurse
Blog

Nurse Innovations Crucial to Pandemic Response

During times of crisis, nurses turn to their innate innovative behaviors to derive new solutions for the needs of their patients.

Detail of Figure 1, US Patent 1,242,872, showing entrance signage
Blog

One-Way Supermarket Aisles

The return of an invention from the 1910s.

A young woman playing Pandemic
Blog

Disaster Board Games

Board game inventions can help us cope with crises.

Brightly colored simple drawings of hands in s cricle
Blog

Lupe Hernandez and the Invention of Hand Sanitizer

Sorting out the facts in an oft-told story.

Rectangular black-and-beige plastic box with keypad on right and register tape on left.
Blog

When Technology Disrupts the Vibe

Growing pains in the digital age from the not-so-distant past . . .

Triangular Brownie Inventor Badge
Blog

Calling All Brownie Girl Scout Inventors

Bring your Brownie troop to Spark!Lab, where everyone is an inventor!

Branch Rickey holding his chin and looking at a blackboard with lists of players’ names
Blog

Branch Rickey, Baseball Innovator

By introducing several innovations, baseball executive Branch Rickey transformed America’s national pastime.

3D printed wearable components
Blog

Game Controllers for All

Developing an adaptive game controller activity

Gold pocket watch with an elaborate face, with letters A to Z and numbers 1 to 24
Blog

How Do We Know Exactly When the New Year Begins?

Appreciating the invention of standardized time zones as the calendar turns to 2020.

Men working inside the tunnel
Blog

Battling Under the River

Looking back at the tunneling boom of the early 1900s—and the "sandhogs" who made it happen.

Newsprint ad for the “Snow Surfer,” retailing at $5.77. Text reads, in part, “Enjy the fun of skiing, tobogganing, and sledding all rolled into one with this exciting new sport.”
Blog

Sherman Poppen’s Snurfer

A look at the slippery slope of commercializing an invention.

Cover for book Not a Box showing a line drawing of a rabbit standing next to a box
Blog

My Favorite Invention Books

We’ve filled the Spark!Lab Thinking Spot with children’s books that promote inventive creativity.

3 Sparky stick figures tumbling around a drawing of a light bulb.
Blog

How Many People Does It Take to Rotate a Spark!Lab?

Counting heads and hands that took part in the August transition.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar signing his book for a young boy
Beyond Words

Innovative Lives: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Basketball legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar also writes books about invention for kids.

See More Stories

VIEW 2691 Matching Results

Found 2691 Stories

  • Agriculture and horticulture (Relevance: 5.1653660349313%)
  • Air and space (Relevance: 6.6146413972501%)
  • Chemistry (Relevance: 2.9728725380899%)
  • Food and drink (Relevance: 3.0471943515422%)
  • Industry and manufacturing (Relevance: 7.2835377183203%)
  • Medicine, health, and life sciences (Relevance: 4.5707915273133%)
  • Military technology (Relevance: 3.2329988851728%)
  • Mining and drilling (Relevance: 3.4559643255295%)
  • Patents and trademarks (Relevance: 11.40839836492%)
  • Photography, film, television, and video (Relevance: 3.5302861389818%)
  • Power generation, motors, and engines (Relevance: 3.4559643255295%)
  • Spark!Lab (Relevance: 3.4931252322557%)
  • Telegraph, telephone, and telecommunications (Relevance: 3.0471943515422%)
  • Textiles and clothing (Relevance: 3.307320698625%)
  • Transportation (Relevance: 5.8342623560015%)
  • Women inventors (Relevance: 3.0843552582683%)
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