Inventions

With the aging of America, more and more people are finding it difficult to perform the relatively simple task of threading a needle. Thanks to inventor Pam Turner, the Spiral Eye® needle threads itself through a small opening on the side of the eye. It is the first innovation in sewing needles in decades and has won six prestigious awards for its design.Read More

Saw blade with sanding disks to cut and sand in one step

The Final Cut saw blade is a normal wood cutting blade that has sandpaper discs attached to the side. The sandpaper sands the rough edges as you cut the wood.Read More

Super listening device hears, identifies, and locates any sound by measuring 3D movement of air particles

A Dutch firm has developed a tiny device that listens for screams, gunshots, mortars and even warplanes. It doesn't listen in the conventional sense, but instead measures the 3D movement of individual air particles in order to determine the x, y and z coordinates of whatever made the noise in question.Read More

New Zealand inventor Rudy Heeman used a gas bottle from the family barbecue, parts from his wife's car, and the control lever from his daughter's motor scooter for his creation. The craft can fly at up to 60 mph at a height of about 5 feet.Read More

New energy-saving LED lightbulb that lasts 60 years has been developed by scientists at Cambridge University

Cambridge University researchers have developed cheap, light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs that produce brilliant light but use very little electricity. They will cost about $3.00 and last up to 60 years.Read More

A wire screen prevents dangerous gases from exploding

A fine-mesh kitchen sieve with a candle inside simulates Humphry Davy's miner safety lamp. An explosive mixture of propane gas and air is blown in from the outside. If the mesh is fine enough, the fire will stop at the screen even as the explosive gas flows through it.Read More

Named as one of TIME’s 50 Best Inventions of 2009, the British Steam Car is affectionately known as the "fastest kettle in the world."

The British Steam Car, driven by Charles Burnett III, smashed a record that had stood for a century: the land-speed record for a steam-powered car. Burnett drove his vehicle on a track at Edwards Air Force Base at an average of 139.843 mph, breaking a record set in 1906 by Fred Marriott, who drove his Stanley Steamer Rocket at 127.659 mph.Read More

I'm having one of my "why didn't I think of that" moments

The Switch screwdriver offers a better grip, with the handle swiveling 90 degrees to stand perpendicular to the shaft, which allows the same screwdriver to work equally well for light or heavy-duty applications.Read More

Martin Cooper, who was the lead engineer of the Motorola team that developed the mobile phone, told a privacy conference in Madrid this week that today's phones try to do many things for too many people.Read More

The gyrosphere robot, a ball-shaped robot, could impact everything from space exploration to search and rescue.

Its inventor, Greg Schroll, is now being recognized by Popular Mechanics magazine, naming him one of the 10 Most Brilliant Innovators of 2009 - not a bad list to make at 23 years old.Read More