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Pencil
The modern pencil was invented in 1795 by Nicholas-Jacques Conte, a scientist serving in the army of Napoleon Bonaparte. The magic material that was so appropriate for the purpose was the form of pure carbon that we call graphite. -
Shoes
Elijah McCoy invented an improvement to the rubber heel. The first rubber soled shoes called plimsolls were developed and manufactured in the United States in the late 1800s. -
Camera
The first partially successful photograph of a camera image was made in approximately 1816 by Nicéphore Niépce, using a very small camera of his own making and a piece of paper coated with silver chloride, which darkened where it was exposed to light. -
Phones
While Italian innovator Antonio Meucci (pictured at left) is credited with inventing the first basic phone in 1849, and Frenchman Charles Bourseul devised a phone in 1854, Alexander Graham Bell won the first U.S. patent for the device in 1876. -
Hair Straightener
Hair straighteners have become popular in the early 1960s and have been in use ever since. In 1872, Erica Feldman used the first ironing device to style her hair. She used heated iron rods and was inspired by the curling iron (a heated rod with metallic teeth), invented at the same time by Parisian man Marcel Grateau. -
Electricity
It was invented in 1879 by Ben Fraklin. Electricity is a form of energy and it occurs in nature, so it was not “invented.” As to who discovered it, many misconceptions abound. Some give credit to Benjamin Franklin for discovering electricity, but his experiments only helped establish the connection between lightning and electricity, nothing more. -
Cars
Generally acknowledged that the first really practical automobiles with petrol/gasoline-powered internal combustion engines were completed almost simultaneously by several German inventors working independently: Karl Benz built his first automobile in 1885 in Mannheim. -
Pen
The first patent on a ballpoint pen was issued on October 30, 1888, to John J Loud. In 1938, László Bíró, a Hungarian newspaper editor, with the help of his brother George, a chemist, began to design new types of pens, including one with a tiny ball in its tip that was free to turn in a socket. -
Radio
Guglielmo Marconi: an Italian inventor, proved the feasibility of radio communication. He sent and received his first radio signal in Italy in 1895. By 1899 he flashed the first wireless signal across the English Channel and two years later received the letter "S", telegraphed from England to Newfoundland. -
Plane
On December 17, 1903, Wilbur and Orville Wright made four brief flights at Kitty Hawk with their first powered aircraft. The Wright brothers had invented the first successful airplane. -
Makeup
In 1915, Maurice Levy invented the metal container for lipstick, which gave license to its mass production. -
Computer
First programmable computer. The Z1 was created by German Konrad Zuse in his parents' living room between 1936 and 1938. It is considered to be the first electromechanical binary programmable computer, and the first really functional modern computer. -
Fake Nails
In 1954, Fred Slack, a dentist, broke his fingernail at work, and created an artificial nail as a realistic-looking temporary replacement. After experiments with different materials to perfect his invention, he and his brother, Tom, patented a successful version and started the company Patti Nails -
Hair Ties
In 1986 Rommy Revson patented the scrunchie. It was a vast improvement from the elastic rubber bands that would get stuck or tangled. These hair ties were also cute, coming in an array of colors and patterns. This dismissed the idea of it being "un-ladylike." -
Scrunchies
Who invented the scrunchie? Rommy H. Revson obtained the first design patent for the scrunchie in 1987. A former singer-songwriter, Revson came up with the invention while house-sitting
