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

 

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A handful of peanuts against a black background
Blog

Inventing Life-Saving Epinephrine Auto-Injectors

Peanuts—a tough nut to crack for those with allergies.

Patent drawing of a wagon tipping out trash
Blog

Sanitation Engineering Inventions Create a Healthier World

Prior to 1850, few, if any, United States cities had built sewage systems.

Drawing of a brain with a circuit diagram overlaid
Blog

Recognizing Artificial Intelligence Systems as Inventors

I doubt, therefore I invent?

Close-up of the Zip-R-Lok security clasp on a red purse
Blog

Defeating Pickpockets with Invention

If you have ever been concerned about theft from your bag, this invention story is for you.

3 young girls, an adult woman, and a woman facilitator work on building a vehicle with PVC pipe
Blog

Welcoming Morris Museum to the Spark!Lab Network

Where art, sound, and motion meet invention!

A horse looking through the slats of a fence
Blog

Equine Identification Inventions

People aren’t the only ones who have to show ID.

Kretchmer company print ad for bee supplies
Blog

Bee Hives Buzzing with Invention

Edward Kretchmer was born into a family of beekeepers and became an inventor and entrepreneur focused on the needs of his buzzing friends.

A smiling Eric Hintz holds up his book for the camera, with a full box of books in front of him
Blog

The Persistence of American Independent Inventors

Eric S. Hintz reflects on his new book, American Independent Inventors in an Era of Corporate R&D, published in the Lemelson Center Studies in Invention and Innovation book series with MIT Press.

Metal button with image of Smokey the Bear’s head and the words “Help Smokey Prevent Forest Fires” around the outer edge
Blog

Mother Nature and Invention

Many inventions make our time in nature more enjoyable.

Vans blue and white checked skateboarding shoe with a dark blue suede toe and eyestay, white leather sidestripe, and the trademark deep tan, waffle pattern soles.
Blog

The Invention of the Iconic Vans Skateboarding Shoe

How the van Doren Brothers, through ingenuity and collaboration, took their company “off the wall.”

Hand tools and a CNC router
Blog

Missing the Physical World of Spark!Lab

What ever happened to touching stuff as a means of experience?

Hamilton playing tennis in a wheelchair
Beyond Words

Innovative Lives: Quickie Wheelchair Inventor Marilyn Hamilton

Marilyn Hamilton, co-inventor of the Quickie wheelchair, speaks about her life as an athlete and inventor.

Alexander Graham Bell seated at table, speaking into telephone while a group of men watch.
Invention Stories

Diverse Voices: Immigrant Inventors

Immigrant inventors are essential to the invention landscape.

Title page of Hopkins’s address to manufacturers
Blog

Licensing the First US Patent

Inventions do not sell themselves.

X-ray image of contents of a briefcase
Blog

The Two Inventors Who Made Airline Travel Safer

In 1970, two engineers invented the first low-dose X-ray scanner for airline passenger security screening.

Sketch of a woman reading
Blog

Illustrating "The Amateur Scientist" at Scientific American

Scientific American welcomed articles by amateur scientists and inventors—and Roger Hayward illustrated their ideas.

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.

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Found 2725 Stories

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  • Air and space (Relevance: 6.7522935779817%)
  • Archives@NMAH (Relevance: 8.4036697247706%)
  • Chemistry (Relevance: 3.0825688073394%)
  • Food and drink (Relevance: 3.302752293578%)
  • Industry and manufacturing (Relevance: 7.5229357798165%)
  • Medicine, health, and life sciences (Relevance: 4.5871559633028%)
  • Military technology (Relevance: 3.3394495412844%)
  • Mining and drilling (Relevance: 3.4128440366972%)
  • Patents and trademarks (Relevance: 11.376146788991%)
  • Photography, film, television, and video (Relevance: 3.8532110091743%)
  • Power generation, motors, and engines (Relevance: 3.4495412844037%)
  • Spark!Lab (Relevance: 3.5229357798165%)
  • Textiles and clothing (Relevance: 3.3761467889908%)
  • Transportation (Relevance: 5.9816513761468%)
  • Women inventors (Relevance: 3.2660550458716%)
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