The 150 Inventions That Changed The World

This book ranks the 150 most important inventions—from the ice cream scoop to the personal computer—as determined by a panel created by Popular Mechanics. The panel of inventors, technology journalists, and product designers ranked duct tape 101 due to its utility aboard Apollo 13 (where it was used to fix their lifeboat) and ubiquity in modern handyman culture. The book compares original innovations such as the first mobile phone—the 10"-long and 2 1/2-lb. Motorola DynaTAC 8000x to today’s iPhone 5s that is half the size of the original and weighs under 4 oz. while providing 10X more talk time on a single charge. It includes many products sold by Hammacher Schlemmer like the first answering machine, the electric toothbrush, and the robotic vacuum, better known as Roomba. Other iconic cultural inventions covered include Tupperware, created in 1946 by Earl Tupper who was inspired by the airtight seal found in paint cans. 176 pages. 7 1/2" H x 9 1/4" W x 3/4" D.