Fact-based Nature Did It First
Velcro Began With a Burr Stuck to a Dog
A walk in the woods in 1941 ended with burrs clinging to a dog's fur, and one close look under a microscope gave the world the hook-and-loop fastener.
Home Tags
inventions
Everything filed under inventions.
Articles
Fiction Useless Inventions
The Stapler That Asks If You Are Sure
A handsome desk stapler that will not fire a single staple until you have confirmed, twice, that you really do want these pages joined forever.
Fiction Useless Inventions
The Fridge Light That Never Goes Off
A refrigerator that keeps its bulb burning day and night, so that nobody ever has to wonder again what happens in there once the door swings shut.
Fiction Useless Inventions
The Plant Pot That Reads Bedtime Stories
A glazed ceramic pot with a tiny built-in speaker that reads your houseplant a soothing story every evening, so you no longer have to feel guilty about never talking to it.
Fiction Useless Inventions
The Jigsaw That Comes With a Piece Already Missing
A handsome 1,000-piece puzzle that saves you years of suspense by leaving one piece out at the factory, so you know from the very start that you will never finish it.
Fiction Useless Inventions
The Very Patient Parking Sensor
A calm, non-judgemental parking sensor that never distracts you with nervous beeping while you reverse, and waits politely until after you have touched the wall to mention it.
Fact-based How It Started
The First Jigsaw Puzzle Was a Map for Teaching Geography
Long before there were puzzles of kittens and lighthouses, a London mapmaker glued a map of Europe onto a thin wooden board and cut it up so that children could learn where every country went.
Fiction Useless Inventions
The Snooze Negotiator
An alarm clock that will happily give you nine more minutes, but only after you have submitted a short written case explaining why you deserve them.
Fiction Useless Inventions
The Heritage Tangling Case
A handsome leather pouch for your old wired headphones that, with the help of a tiny motor, ties them into a proper knot overnight, just like they used to do by themselves.
Fiction Useless Inventions
The Diplomatic Thermostat
An office thermostat that gives every person who touches it exactly the temperature they asked for, on its little screen, while the actual room stays precisely where it was.