Early traffic lights had only red and green, which unsurprisingly made intersections rather chaotic. Who invented the yellow ...

On a rainy day in Detroit, a Ford engineer got confused, then soaked—and inspired. It took decades before he got any credit.

Some cameras used to be the size of a whole room, requiring multiple people to operate. Now, they’re in the palm of our hands on a daily basis. According to Statista, digital camera sales dropped 87% ...

This commentary from the CSIS-SCSP Task Force on IP in the AI Era was originally published in the Special Competitive Studies Project’s Substack on February 15, 2024. With roots in the U.S.

Although boxing legend George Foreman, a judge on the second-year CBS reality show American Inventor, has yet to invent a network device, his Lean Mean Grilling Fat-Reducing Machine has been used by ...

Over 90% of households in the U.S. owned a microwave as early as 1997, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. And it’s not just the United States. The appliance is a go-to for a quick bite ...

The story points to Austrian mechanic Erwin Perzy in 1900, but records show snow globes existed by at least 1878.

Some inventors continue to be productive well into their later years, although the characteristics of inventions differ by the age of the inventor, according to new research on patent filings. The ...

Inventing a new product feels amazing. You start to envision people using your invention. You imagine it being sold on store shelves, maybe even TV. You’ve never seen anything like it, you think. Why ...

Lonnie Johnson, NASA engineer and inventor of the best-selling water toy the Super Soaker, sits with his prototype and his patent. A curiosity of the innovation ecosystem is that while inventors are ...

When going through our day, it’s rare to stop and recognize various technologies that we take for granted today. All the best ...