The 20 inventions that changed the world
Human innovation has shaped the world as we know it.
From the invention of the wheel 5,500 years ago, to the internet's conception in the 1970s, here are twenty inventions that created modern society.
No. 20 - Printing Press
The printing press revolutionised how humans communicate information to each other.
Invented sometime between 1440 and 1450 by German inventor Johannes Gutenberg, the press mechanised the process that transferred ink from moveable type to paper.
Rapid printing speeds increased how many book and newspaper copies could be made, leading to the widespread dissemination of knowledge for the first time in human history.
No. 18 - Contraceptives
Pills and other forms of contraception have shifted the culture around heterosexual sex in the modern world.
Not only can men and women engage in intercourse for pleasure rather than reproductive purposes, but women with access to contraceptives can better control pregnancies, reducing the birthrate in certain parts of the world and increasing the quality of life.
No. 17 - Nails
Though inconspicuous, these tiny bits of metal date back 2,000 years to Ancient Roman times, when humans discovered how to shape metal.
Prior to the invention of nails, wood structures had to be built by interlocking adjacent boards geometrically - a much more arduous construction process.
No 16. - Nuclear Power
Equally revered and feared, nuclear power was first discovered by Italian scientist Enrico Fermi in the 1930s, leading to the development of several nuclear power plants in the 1950s in Idaho.
Nuclear remains widely used around the world today, generating approximately 10 per cent of global energy.
No. 15 - X-rays
The invention of X-rays is quite a spooky story.
In 1895, German engineer Wilhelm Conrad Rontgen accidentally discovered that radiation could pass through screens of considerable thickness while leaving a shadow of solid objects, a principle he quickly applied to human tissues and bone.
The 'X' in X-ray refers to the unknown rays Rontgen discovered in his experiments.
No. 14 - Refrigerators
Although ice and cold water have been used to preserve food since ancient times, artificial refridgeration didn't become commercially available until the late 1800s, after German engineer Carl von Linde came up with a process of liquifying gas.
In 1914, American engineer Fred Woolf invented the first domestic refrigerator, which transformed the human diet by allowing for more variety, more fresh produce, and fewer trips to the grocery store.
No. 13 - Pencillin
This famous accidental discovery by scientist Alexander Fleming led to the invention of the world's first antiobiotic, Penicillin, which fights a large number of bacterial infections.
In 1928, Fleming noticed the lid of a bacteria-filled petri dish in his laboratory had accidentally come ajar, contaminating the sample with mold that had killed the bacteria.
Penicillin was being mass-produced by 1944.
No. 12 - Airplanes
Flight has inspired the imaginations of inventors for centuries, but the first to successfully launch and land an aircraft without crashing were the Wright brothers in 1903.
Orville and Wilbur Wright's plane, which they based on a bird in flight, opened the doors to human air travel, which became widely commercially available in the 1960s and 70s.
No. 11 - Batteries
Though we typically know them as the heavy bits of metal that power our TV remotes and torches, batteries are any device that stores chemical energy and converts it into electric energy.
The first battery dates back to 1800, when Italian physicist Alessandro Volta wrapped stacked discs of copper and zinc in a cloth, submerged it in salty water and discovered that it conducted energy.
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