Title | They all laughed... from light bulbs to lasers: the fascinating stories behind the great inventions that have changed out lives |
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File Size | 54.6 MB |
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Total Pages | 276 |
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Table of Contents
Contents
Acknowledgments
Foreword
1. Franklin, the Modern Prometheus
2. Whose Light Bulb? Edison in a New Light
3. The War of the Currents or Let's "Westinghouse" Him
4. You Press the Button, We Do the Rest
5. The Blendor That Conquered Polio
6. From a Melted Candy Bar to Microwaves
7. Fax: The Priest and the Pendulum
8. How Not to Invent the Telephone, or Why Western Union Didn't Become Ma Bell
9. Who Really Invented Television?
10. John Logie Baird: The Scotsman Who Almost Won the TV Race
11. Xerox: The Machine No One Wanted
12. The Atomic Radio-Light
13. Velcro: Improving on Nature
14. Teflon: The Top-Secret Discovery
15. Nylon: The Hit of the '39 World's Fair
16. Vaseline: Wonder Jelly from Oil Fields
17. Synthetic Sweeteners: All by Accident
18. Silly Putty: Science's Goofiest Discovery
19. The Computer That Saved D-Day
20. The Submarine: Made in New Jersey
21. The Dream That Won the Battle of Britain
22. The Typewriter: The Invension No Office Wanted
23. The Wasp That Changed the World
24. The First Video Game: If You Build It They Will Come
Epilogue: Who's Laughing Now?
Source Notes and Further Reading
Index