#1: The Zipper
Everyone owns something with a zipper, whether that be a sweatshirt, backpack, or suitcase. It’s a very common invention that gets overlooked despite how useful it is. The origins of the zipper go back to 1851, to Elias Howe, who invented the first prototype of the modern zipper called the “Improvement in Fastening for Garments.” Without proper funding, Howe was not able to get this new technology to be recognized by any companies, until another man beat him to the punch. Whitcomb L. Judson invented more of a “hook and eye” shoe fastener. He, though, had help from a businessman who was interested in the idea and they created the Universal Fastener Company. From there many other people continued the improvement of this invention to get the zipper there is today.
#2 The Lock & Key
The lock and key is such an underrated invention that no one really knows about. It is a necessity to have one of these on your front door, and there is also one on almost every door in a school, office, or store. Early stages of the lock and key go back to over 6,000 years ago to Ancient Egypt and continued to develop up to the 1840’s with a man named Linus Yale Sr. who patented the most common lock for the time and was used for many years in the future. His son, Linus Yale Jr., was fascinated by what his father did and decided he wanted to go down the same path of engineering like his father did, and he created the modern-day lock and key that we all know.
#3: Toothpaste
Where would we be without toothpaste? Would everyone just have yellow teeth and bad breath? Like the lock and key, toothpaste goes back to the Ancient Egyptians as well, when they used animal hooves, egg shells, pumice, and myrrh to make what they called “tooth powder.” Up until a lot more recently than you might think (the 1910’s) people didn’t have toothpaste, but still used tooth powder. After World War 1 is when people started to actually use toothpaste, but the ingredients were a lot different than we have today, when they used burned bread as an ingredient in toothpaste. Colgate became popular around this time, and make their toothpaste more similar to what we have today in Colgate toothpaste. Every since then toothpaste has become a necessity in households.
RELATED STORIES:
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https://time.com/4931065/fifty-inventions-that-shaped-the-modern-economy-review/
https://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/10-amazing-inventions-we-dont-appreciate-enough.htm
https://www.workandmoney.com/s/most-underrated-inventions-650d012f63c24643
https://shop.harvard.com/book/9798857767146
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