WIRELESS ERA
Era
WIRELESS ERA 1920-1989 radio, television, cell phone, fission, computers, silicon, jets, rockets
WIRELESS ERA – by time represents 0.03% of human existence.
WIRELESS ERA – represents 36% of inventions or 720/2000 inventions.
Inventions from the Data communication Classification
| Invention | Description | Year | Inventor | Country |
| Commercial radio | KDKA Pittsburgh | 1920 | Pittsburgh, PA | USA (6) |
| Loudspeaker | amplified speech | 1924 | Chester W. Rice, Edward W. Kellogg | USA |
| Yagi-Uda antenna | radio transmission | 1926 | Hidetsugu Yagi, Shintaro Uda | Japan |
| Car radio | radio on the move | 1926 | William P. Lear | USA |
| Enigma machine | code writing machine | 1926 | Arthur Scherbius | Germany |
| Television | first transmission | 1927 | Philo T. Farmsworth | USA (29) |
| Sound synchronized animation | talking cartoons | 1928 | Walt Disney | USA |
| Color television | 1928 | John Logie Baird | UK | |
| Electric guitar | 1931 | Adoph Rickenbacker | USA | |
| Frequency modulation radio | FM radio | 1933 | Edwin H. Armstrong | USA |
| RADAR | functional | 1935 | Robert Watson-Watt | UK |
| Richter scale | earthquake detection and rating | 1935 | Charles Francis Richter, Beno Gutenberg | USA |
| Bass guitar | electric | 1935 | Paul Tumarc | USA |
| Walkie talkie | 2 way radio | 1938 | Alfred J. Gross | USA |
| Citizens band radio | CB radio | 1945 | Alfred J. Gross | USA |
| Credit card | Diner's Club | 1946 | Frank McNamara, Ralph Schneider | USA (54) |
| Weather radar | forecasting | 1948 | David Atlas | USA |
| Cable television | wired TV signal | 1948 | John Watson | USA |
| Pager | radio notification | 1949 | Alfred J. Gross | USA |
| Semiconductor pocket radio | solid state electronics | 1952 | Norman Krim | USA |
| Voice recognition | over telephone | 1952 | Bell labs | USA |
| Color television broadcasting | 1953 | RCA labs | USA | |
| RADAR speed gun/camera | speed measure | 1954 | Maurits Gatsonides | Netherlands |
| MASER | microwave amplification by the stimulated emission of radiation | 1955 Charles Hard Townes, Arthur Schawlow | USA | |
| Noise canceling headphones | aviator | 1955 | Lawrence Jerome Fogel | USA |
| Television remote control | wireless | 1955 | Eugene Polley | USA |
| Digital clock | 1956 | D.E .Protzman | USA | |
| HiFi | high fidelity sound | 1958 | Dieter Rams, Hans Gugelot | Germany |
| CAD (DAC-1) | computer aided design | 1959 | IBM | USA |
| Space War | first video game | 1962 | Steve "Slug" Russell, MIT | USA |
| Touch tone pad | keyed numerical phone dialing | 1962 | John Elias Karlin | USA |
| Sketch pad (CAD) | computer aided design | 1963 | Ivan Sutherland | USA |
| Moog synthesizer | 1964 | Robert Moog | USA | |
| Flat screen television | 1964 | Donald Bitzer, Gene Slottow, Robert Wilson | USA | |
| Touchscreen | replaces/augments keyboard | 1965 | Eric A Johnson, Samuel C. Hurst | UK/USA (85) |
| PIN | personal identification number for ATM | 1966 | James Goodfellow | UK |
| Virtual reality headset | VR | 1968 | Ivan Sutherland | USA |
| Boombox | portable stereo | 1968 | Phillips | Netherlands |
| Video game console | 1968 | Ralph H. Baer | USA | |
| LASER printer | 1969 | Gary Starkweather | USA | |
| Early cellular phone technology | 1970 | Amos Joel, Bell labs | USA | |
| Pocket calculator | 1970 | Busicom Co. | Japan | |
| 1971 | Ray Tomlinson | USA (68) | ||
| Computerized telephone exchange | 1971 | Erna Schneider Hoover, Bell labs | USA | |
| 3-D computer animation | 1972 | Edmund Catmull | USA | |
| Pong video game | 1972 | Al Alcorn, Nolan Bushnell | USA | |
| CGI, computer generated imagery | 1973 | Edwin Catmul, Fred Parke | USA | |
| Practical cell phone | mobile, wireless telephone | 1973 | Donald Cox, W. Rae Young, Eric Tigerstedt | USA (23) |
| Thermal inkjet printer | 1977 | Ichiro Endo, Canon | Japan | |
| Sony Walkman | portable music | 1979 | Nobutoshi Kihara, Akio Morita | Japan |
| Cordless phone | home use without wires | 1980 | George Sweigert, Teri Pall | USA |
| Online stock trading | 1982 | Bill Porter | USA | |
| Dragon speech recognition | words to print | 1982 | James Baker, Janet Baker | USA |
| Nintendo entertainment system | 1983 | Nintendo | Japan | |
| Caller identification | caller ID | 1988 | Shirley Ann Jackson, Kazuo Hashimoto | USA/Japan |
Inventions from the Data storage Classification
| Invention | Description | Year | Inventor | Country |
| Talking sound film | talkies | 1923 | Lee DeForest | USA |
| Leica 35 film camera | single lens reflex SLR camera | 1925 | Oskar Barnack | Germany |
| Audio tape recorder | magnetic tape sound | 1928 | Fritz Pfleumer | Germany |
| Vinyl record | disc phonograph recording | 1932 | RCA Victor | |
| Photocopying | xerography | 1937 | Chester F. Carlson | USA |
| Practical ballpoint pen | ink writing made easy, inexpensive | 1938 | Lazio and Georg Biro | Hungary |
| Bombe Enigma code breaker | universal Turing machine | 1940 | Alan Turing, Harold Keen | UK |
| Instant Poloroid photograph | black and white, 60 second | 1946 | Edwin Herbert Land | USA |
| Long playing record, 45 min | LP phonograph record | 1948 | Peter Carl Goldmark | USA |
| Holography | 3-dimensional image | 1948 | Dennis Gabor | Hungary |
| Magnetic tape storage 1951 Univac/IBM, USA (81) | ||||
| Universal bar code | 1952 | N. Joseph Woodland, Bernard Silver | USA | |
| Computer mouse | mechanical | 1952 | Douglas Englebart | USA |
| Videotape recorder | 1953 | Norikazu Sawazaki | Japan | |
| Felt tip pen | Magic Marker | 1953 | Sidney Rosenthal | USA |
| Fortran | computer programming language | 1954 | John Backus, IBM | USA |
| Hard drive memory | RAMAC 305 | 1956 | Reynold B. Johnson , IBM | USA |
| Rolodex | rotary card filing system | 1956 | Hildaur L. Neilsen, Arnold Neustadter | USA |
| Card magnetic stripe | 1958 | Forrest Parry | USA | |
| Personal computer | single user | 1958 | IBM | USA |
| Optical disc | 1961 | David Paul Gregg, James Russell | USA | |
| Audio cassette tape | 1962 | Phillips | Netherlands | |
| Color Polaroid photograph | instant color picture | 1963 | Edwin Herbert Land | USA |
| BASIC language | beginner's all purpose symbolic instruction code | 1964 | John Kemeny, Tom Kurtz | USA |
| 8 track tape | 1964 | Bill Lear | USA | |
| CD-ROM | compact disc, read only memory | 1966 | James T. Russell | USA |
| Hypertext | language of the internet | 1968 | Ted Nelson, Andries van Dam | USA |
| Graphical user interface | 1968 | Douglas Englebart | USA | |
| Microprocessor chip in credit card | improved security of data | 1968 | Helmut Grottup, Jurgen Dethloff | Germany |
| RAM | random access memory | 1968 | Robert Dennard | USA |
| ARAPANET | Dept of Defense | 1969 | Advanced Research Projects Agency | USA |
| E book | electronic book | 1969 | Alan Kay | USA |
| Pascal programming language | 1970 | Niklaus Wirth | Switzerland | |
| Video cassette recorder | VCR | 1970 | Charkes Paulson Ginsburg | USA |
| Floppy disc memory | 1971 | David L. Noble, IBM | USA | |
| Single chip microprocessor, Intel 4004 | 90,000 operations/second | 1971 | Federico Fagin, Ted Hoff | USA |
| Universal product code | UPC | 1971 | George Laverer | USA |
| Internet protocol | TCP/IP | 1973 | Vinton Cerf, Robert E. Kahn | USA |
| Voicemail | 1973 | Scott A. Jones | USA | |
| Digital camera | 1975 | Steven Sasson Kodak | USA | |
| Laptop computer, notebook | portable computer | 1975 | IBM, Compaq | USA |
| Cray supercomputer | 1976 | Seymour Cray | USA | |
| Apple II computer | 1976 | Steve Wozniak | USA | |
| Optical mouse | LED | 1980 | Steve Kirsch, Richard F. Lyon | USA |
| Flash memory | 1980 | Fujio Masuoka, Toshiba | USA | |
| Camcorder | video recorder | 1983 | Jerome Lemelson, SONY | Japan |
| Microsoft Word | digital documents | 1983 | Charles Simonyi, Richard Brodie | USA |
| Cloud storage, business, government | off site data storage | 1983 | Joseph Carl Robnett Licklider | USA |
| Apple Macintosh | mouse driven with graphic user interface | 1984 | Steve Jobs et al. | USA |
| C++ language computer programming | 1985 | Bjarne Stroustrup | Denmark | |
| Windows OS | operating system for computers | 1985 | Bill Gates, Microsoft | USA |
| Touch pad | 1988 | George Gerpheide | USA |
Inventions from the Energy radiant Classification
| Invention | Description | Year | Inventor | Country |
| Tommy gun | 45 mm portable machine gun | 1920 | John Thompson | USA |
| Geothermal power plant | 1921 | John D. Grant | USA | |
| Zippo lighter | 1932 | George Blaisdell | USA | |
| Nuclear fission of heavy nuclei | uranium, thorium | 1938 | Otto Hahn, Lise Meitner, Fritz Straussmann | Germany/Austria |
| Bazooka | anti-tank weapon | 1942 | Clarence Hickman, Edward Uhl, Leslie Skinner | USA |
| Napalm | incendiary weapon | 1942 | Louis Feiser, Harvard U. | USA |
| Nuclear fission chain reaction | 1942 | Enrico Fermi, U of Chicago | USA | |
| Assault rifle | 1944 | Hugo Schmeisser | Germany | |
| Microwave oven | not portable | 1945 | Percy L. Spencer | USA |
| Uranium, Little Boy, fission bomb | gun type mechanism, Manhattan project | 1945 | J. Robert Oppenheimer et al. | USA |
| Plutonium, Fat Man, fission bomb | implosion mechanism, Manhattan project | 1945 | J. Robert Oppenheimer et al. | USA |
| AK -47 | assault rifle | 1947 | Mikhail Kalashnikov | USSR |
| Nuclear power plant | fission electricity | 1951 | Walter Zinn | USA |
| Thermonuclear fusion bomb | nuclear fusion, Operation Ivy | 1952 | Edward Teller et al. | USA |
| Silicon solar cell | sunlight to electricity | 1953 | Gerald Pearson,Daryl Chapin, Calvin Fuller, Bell labs | USA |
| Uzi sub machine gun | 1954 | Uziel Gal | Israel | |
| LASER, semiconductor | light amplification by the stimulated emission of radiation | 1957 | Jun-ichi Nishizawa | Japan |
| Ruby LASER | 1960 | Theodore Maiman, Gordon Gould, Charles Hard Townes, Atrhur L. Schawlow | USA | |
| LED | light emitting diode | 1962 | Nick Holonyak Jr. | USA |
| Lava lamp | 1963 | Edward Craven Walker | USA | |
| Carbon dioxide LASER | 1964 | Kumar Patel, Bell labs | USA | |
| Liquid crystal display | LCD | 1964 | George Heilmeier | USA |
| Portable microwave oven | countertop | 1967 | Amana | USA |
| LASER guided bomb | smart bomb | 1967 | US Air Force | USA |
| Light emitting diode watch | digital watch, LED display | 1972 | John M. Bergey | USA |
| Compact flourescent light bulb | more efficient light | 1976 | Edward E. Hammer, GE | USA |
| Neutron bomb | high radiation weapon | 1981 | Samual T. Cohen | USA |
| Scram jet engine | more powerful jet | 1981 | Ray Stalker | Australia |
| LASER pointer | presentation highlighter | 1982 | Theodore Harold Maiman, Gordon Gould | USA |
| OLED display | organic light emitting diode | 1987 | Stephen Van Slyke, Ching W. Tang | USA |
Inventions from the Energy current Classification
| Invention | Description | Year | Inventor | Country |
| Blow dryer | heated air | 1920 | Racine Universal Motor Co. | USA |
| Blender | high speed food mixer | 1922 | Stephen Poplawski | USA |
| Electric shaver | men's shaver | 1923 | Jacob Schick | USA |
| Fluorescent lamp | 1926 | Edmund Germer | Germany | |
| Quartz clock | more accurate timekeeping | 1927 | Warren Marrison, J.W. Horton, Bell labs | USA |
| Electric pH meter | acidity measure | 1930 | Arnold Beckman | USA |
| Electric can opener | powered daisy wheel | 1931 | Preston West | USA |
| Electric bug zapper | electrocution of mosquitoes and flies | 1932 | William M. Frost, William Broderick Herms | USA |
| Electric steam iron | thermostat | 1934 | Max Skolnik | USA |
| Electric clothes dryer | heated tumbling | 1935 | J. Ross Moore | USA |
| Electric air conditioner | household | 1939 | Willis Carrier | USA |
| Electric toothbrush | 1954 | Phillipe Guy Woog | Switzerland | |
| Gel electrophoresis | separation | 1955 | Oliver Smithies | Canada |
| Modern alkaline battery | long lasting | 1957 | Lewis Urry | Canada |
| MOS transistor, MOSFET | world's most produced device | 1959 | Mohammed Atalla, Dawon Kahnb, Bell labs | USA |
| Integrated circuit | silicon monolithic | 1959 | Jack Kilby, Robert Noyce, Masatoshi Shima | USA |
| Invisible fence | pet containment | 1973 | Richard Peck | USA |
| Southern blot gel electrophoresis | DNA analysis | 1975 | Edwin Mellor Southern | USA |
| Wind farm | air current creates electric current | 1980 | Fausto Veranzio | USA |
| Electronic tolls, E-Z pass | for vehicles | 1986 | Mario Cardullo | USA |
Inventions from the Machines non-transport Classification
| Invention | Description | Year | Inventor | Country |
| Ultra centrifuge | 1924 | Theodor Svedberg | Sweden | |
| Garbage disposal | electric pig | 1927 | John W. Hammes | USA |
| Chain saw | industrial | 1927 | Andreas Stihl | Switzerland/Germany |
| Fathometer | measures water depth | 1928 | Herbert Grove Dorsey | USA |
| Phase contrast microscope | 1930 | Frits Zernike | Netherlands | |
| Electron microscope | 1931 | Ernst Ruska | Germany | |
| Practical electrical washing machine | wash, rinse, extract water | 1933 | John W. Chamberlain | USA |
| Trampoline | bouncer | 1934 | George Nissen | USA |
| Baby monitor | radio monitor | 1937 | Eugene F. MacDonald | USA |
| Night vision goggles | military | 1939 | Wiiam Spicer | Germany/USA |
| Gas lawnmower | push | 1940 | Leonard Goodall | USA |
| Portable chainsaw | homeowner | 1949 | Robert Paxton McCullough | USA |
| Insulated picnic cooler | 1953 | Richard Laramy | USA | |
| Leaf blower | 1958 | Dom Quinto | USA | |
| Robot | practical called Unimate | 1959 | George Devol | USA (46) |
| Cordless tools | rechargeable | 1960 | Black and Decker | USA |
| Compound bow (pulley) | more powerful arrow | 1965 | Holles Wilbur Allen | USA |
| Automated teller machine | ATM cash machine | 1968 | John Sheppard-Barron | USA |
| Waterbed | warm and wavy | 1968 | Charles Prior Hall | USA |
| Jacuzzi | hot tub with water jets | 1968 | Candido Jacuzzi | USA |
| Myoelectric limb prosthesis | muscle activates electric motor | 1968 | Rorbert Weiner, Melvin Glimcher, Amar Bose, Robert Mann | USA |
| Practical smoke detector | optical | 1969 | Duane Pearsall | USA |
| Shakey robot, SRI international | artificial intelligence, first | 1970 | Nils John Nilsson, Charles Rosen, Bertram Raphael, Standford U. | USA |
| Weed wacker | string trimmer | 1971 | George Ballas | USA |
| Mr. Coffee | automatic drip coffee maker | 1972 | Melitta Bentz, Gottlob Widmann | USA |
| Dyson bagless vacuum cleaner | easy maintenance | 1978 | James Dyson | UK |
| Bipedal robot | humanoid | 1985 | Hitachi | Japan |
| Hand held rolling luggage | wheels and lever | 1986 | Robert Plath | USA |
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Inventions from the Transport Machines Classification
| Invention | Description | Year | Inventor | Country |
| Snowmobile | caterpillar track/belt | 1922 | Joseph-Armand Bombardier | Canada |
| Waterski | water transport/recreation | 1922 | Ralph Samuelson | USA |
| Bulldozer | 2 caterpillar tracks | 1923 | James Cummings | USA |
| Power steering | easier control | 1923 | Francis W. Davis, George Jessup | USA |
| All metal (aluminum) airplane | 1926 | William Stout | USA | |
| Life preserver | inflatable | 1928 | Peter Markus | USA |
| Bathysphere | deep submersible | 1928 | Otis Barton | USA |
| Jet engine | allows supersonic flight | 1928 | Frank Whittle | UK |
| Parking meter | automated timer | 1932 | Carl C. Magee | USA |
| Cat's eyes | road edge reflectors | 1934 | Percy Shaw | UK |
| Gyroscope for flight | rocket guidance, 2 axis controls | 1935 | Robert Goddard | USA |
| Volkswagen beetle | popular car | 1938 | Ferdinand Porsche | Germany |
| Ballistic missile | rocket propulsion | 1938 | Walter Dornberger | Germany |
| Jet flight | 1939 | Siegfried and Walter Gunter | Germany (33) | |
| Helicopter | single rotor | 1939 | Igor Sikorsky | USSR/USA |
| Jeep | general purpose military vehicle | 1940 | Karl Pabst | USA |
| V-2 rocket | first successful rocket/guided missile | 1942 | Wernher von Braun | Germany (32) |
| SCUBA gear | underwater personal travel (aqualung) | 1943 | Jacques Cousteau | France |
| V-1 guided flying bombs | doodlebugs | 1944 | Robert Lisserr | Germany |
| ICBM | intercontinental ballistic missile | 1947 | US Air Force | USA |
| Supersonic airplane | 1947 | US Air Force | USA | |
| Air bag | safety device | 1952 | John W. Hetrick | USA |
| Black box | flight recorder | 1953 | David Warren | Australia |
| Backhoe loader | dual duties | 1953 | Joseph Cyril Bamford | UK |
| Vertical take off and land plane | VTOL | 1954 | Hugh Graham Convay | USA |
| Jet boat | shallow water effective | 1954 | William Hamilton | New Zealand |
| Nautilus nuclear submarine | near limitless submersion | 1954 | US Navy | USA |
| Container ship | most of world exports | 1955 | White Pass and Yukon Co. | Canada (94) |
| Skateboard | urethane wheels, ball bearings | 1955, 1970 | Bill and Mark Richards | USA |
| Hovercraft | air cushion ride | 1955 | Christopher Sidney Cockerell, Will R. Bertelsen | UK |
| Trucking container | truck, rail, and water transport | 1956 | Malcolm McLean | USA (94) |
| Catalytic converter | decreases emissions | 1956 | Eugene Houdry | France |
| Sputnik satellites I and II | first satellites | 1957 | Sergey Korolev et al. | USSR |
| Portable nuclear generator | for space vehicles | 1959 | Jerome Morse | USA |
| Shoulder harness | car safety restraint | 1959 | Nils Bohlin, Volvo | Sweden |
| Weather satellite | improved forecasting | 1959 | Verner Suomi | Finland/USA |
| Nuclear aircraft carrier | 1960 | US Navy | USA | |
| Geostationary satellite | communications technology | 1964 | Harold Rosen, Hughes Aircraft | USA |
| Snowboard | 1965 | Sherman Poppin , Tom Sims | USA | |
| Ski-doo snowmobile | commercially successful | 1965 | Joseph-Armand Bombardier | Canada |
| Trailer hitch | 1966 | Ludwig Bacher | Canada | |
| Apollo 11 moon landing | 1969 | NASA | USA | |
| Car alarm | car security | 1970 | Charles E. Davis | USA |
| 747 jet airplane | 1970 | Boeing | USA | |
| Space station | 1971 | USSR | ||
| Anti lock brakes | safer stopping | 1971 | Bendix Co, Chrysler, Toyota | Japan/USA |
| Electronic ignition | improved car starting | 1972 | Charles Kettering | USA |
| Jet ski | stand up jet boat | 1973 | Clayton Jacobson | USA |
| Functional airbags | safety devices | 1973 | General Motors | USA |
| Tire pressure sensor | tire safety | 1974 | George E. Garcia | USA |
| Maglev train | magnetic levitation, superconducting | 1979 | Gordon Danby, James Powell | USA |
| Space shuttle | reusable spacecraft, silica ceramic tiles | 1981 | NASA | USA |
| Stealth fighter | low radar signal technology | 1982 | Denys Overholser, Petr Ufimtsev | USA/USSR |
| Self driving vehicle | autonomous | 1984 | Ernst Dickmanns, Mercedes | Germany |
| B-2 stealth bomber | exterior non-metal composite constructed | 1988 | Hal Markarian, Northrup Grummon | USA |
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Inventions from the Materials, metals Classification
| Invention | Description | Year | Inventor | Country |
| Snap on socket wrench | directional wrenches with improved leverage | 1920 | Joseph Johnson, William Seidemann | USA |
| Allen wrench | hex head screw | 1920 | Edigio Brugola, William G. Allen | Italy/USA |
| Super alloy Al-Ni-Cr | aluminum, nickel, chromium alloy | 1926 | Paul Dyer Merica | USA |
| Metal foam | extremely lightweight metal, porous | 1926 | John C. Elliott | USA |
| Metal detector | 1928 | Gerhard Fisher | Germany/USA | |
| Pop rivet, blind rivet | allows one sided application | 1928 | Louis Huck | USA |
| Shape memory alloys | gold-cadmium | 1928 | Arne Olander | Sweden |
| Beverage can | 1933 | American Can Co. | USA | |
| Phillips head screw | more reliable for mechanical application | 1934 | Henry F. Phillips | USA |
| Transistor | MOS transistor most common device made ever | 1947 | John Bardeen Walter Brattain, Willam Shockley, Bell labs | USA |
| Plasma spray | 1950 | Max Ulrich Schoop | Switzerland | |
| Electron beam welding | 1952 | Karl-Heinz, Steigerwald | Germany | |
| Hot isostatic pressing metal | HIP metal | 1955 | Gripshover, Hanes, Battelle's Columbus labs | USA |
| Integrated circuit | silicon metalloid semiconductor "chip" | 1958 | Jack Kilby | USA (21) |
| Pop top drink can | ring pull pop top | 1959 | Ermal Fraze | USA |
Inventions from the Materials, non-Metals Classification
| Invention | Description | Year | Inventor | Country |
| Isopropyl alcohol | 1920 | Standard Oil Co. | USA | |
| Facial tissue | paper disposable | 1924 | Kimberly-Clark Co. | USA |
| Tape | scotch, masking, duct | 1925,1930,1940 | Richard Gurley Drew | USA (97) |
| Vinyl | poly vinyl chloride | 1926 | Waldo Lonsbury Semon | USA |
| Aerosol spray can | 1926 | Erik Rotholm | Norway | |
| Freon refrigerant,chlorofluorocarbons | refrigerator, air conditioner | 1928 | Thomas Midgley, Jr. | USA |
| Foam rubber | 1929 | E.A. Murphy, Dunlap Latex Development lab | UK | |
| Neoprene | 1930 | Elmer K. Bolton, Wallace Carothers, Dupont | USA | |
| Paper towels | disposable | 1931 | Arthur Scott | USA |
| Saran wrap | PVDC, poly vinylidene chloride | 1932 | Ralph Wiley | USA |
| Plexiglass | clear plastic | 1933 | Otto Rohm | Germany |
| Run flat automobile tires | 1934 | Michelin | France | |
| Nylon | polymer fiber | 1935 | Wallace Carothers, DuPont | USA/UK |
| Epoxy resin adhesive | 1936 | Pierre Castan, Sylvan Greenlee | Switzerland/USA | |
| Screw on bottle cap | resealable top | 1936 | Edward Ravenscroft | USA |
| Disposable diapers | 1936 | Paulistrom Bruk, Marion O'Brien Donovan | USA | |
| Polyurethane | 1937 | Otto Bayer | Germany | |
| Fiberglass | no rot in water | 1938 | Russell Games Slayter, John Thomas, Owen Corning | USA |
| Teflon | polytetrafluoroethylene | 1938 | Roy Plunkett | USA |
| Non-reflective glass | 1938 | Katherine Blodgett | USA | |
| Polyester | Dacron fiber | 1939 | John Whinfield, James Dickson, W.H. Caruthers, DuPont | UK/USA (74) |
| Latex paint | c;leans up with water | 1941 | Sherwin Williams | USA |
| Superglue | cyanoacrylate adhesive | 1942 | Harry Coover | USA |
| Radial tires | improved performance | 1945 | Michelin | France |
| Tupperware | high performance plastic containers | 1945 | Earl Tupper | USA |
| Acrylic paint | 1947 | Leonard Bocour, Sam Golden | USA | |
| Cat litter | improved cat hygiene | 1947 | Edward Lowe | USA |
| Fracking | gas with water | 1947 | Floyd Farris, J.B. Clark, Standard Oil Co. | USA |
| Velcro | 1948 | George de Mestral | Switzerland | |
| Aerosol spray paint | convenient paint | 1949 | Ed Seymour | USA |
| Polypropylene | polymer fiber rot resistant | 1951 | Giulio Natta | Italy |
| Gorilla glass , lithium silicate | ultra strong glass | 1952 | Corning | USA/Netherlands |
| Fiber optic glass | 100% internal light reflection | 1953 | Narinder Singh Kapany | UK (57) |
| WD - 40 | spray lubricant | 1953 | Norm Larsen | USA |
| Styrofoam, polystyrene | packing material | 1954 | Ray McIntire, Dow | USA |
| Ziplock bags | resealable clear bags | 1954 | Borge Madsen | Denmark |
| Synthetic diamonds | high pressure, high temperature | 1955, 1971 | Tracy Hall, GE | USA (92) |
| Hair spray | aerosol | 1955 | Chase products | USA |
| Bubble wrap | packing material | 1957 | Alfred Fielding, Marc Chavannes | USA/Switzerland |
| Ziptie, cable tie | plastic locking closure device | 1958 | Thomas and Betts | USA |
| Carbon fiber, high performance | often a composite | 1958 | Bacon and Wesley Schalamon | USA |
| Spandex, lycra | elastic, stretch fabric | 1959 | Joseph Shivers, DuPont | USA |
| Pantyhose | 1959 | Glenn Raven Mills | USA | |
| Plastic bag | 1959 | Sten Gustaf Thulin | Sweden | |
| Photochromic glass | light darkening glass, lenses | 1962 | William Arnistead, Donald Stookey, Corning Glass | USA |
| Astroturf | synthetic grass surface for sports | 1965 | James Faria, Robert T. Wright | USA |
| Kevlar, strong polymer fiber | bullet proof vest | 1965, 1975 | Stephanie Kwolek, DuPont | USA |
| Hydroxyapatite | bioceramic, orthopedic implants | 1969 | Larry Hench | USA |
| Goretex , stretched teflon | breathable waterproof fabric | 1969 | Wilbert L. Gore, Robert W. Gore, Rowena Taylor | USA |
| Post It notes | silicone adhesive | 1970 | Arthur Fry, 3M | USA |
| Fiberoptic glass | ultra pure | 1970 | Corning | Netherlands |
| Nike waffle shoe | sportswear | 1971 | Bill Bowerman | USA |
| PET, polyethylene terephthalate | recyclable plastic | 1973 | Nathaniel Wyeth | USA |
| Touchscreen | Gorilla Glass, lithium silicate | 1975, 1987 | George Samuel Hurst | USA |
| Conductive polymers | electric conducting plastic | 1977 | Alan MacDiarmid, Hideki Shirakawa, Alan Heeger | USA |
| Polar fleece | polyester insulating fabric | 1979 | Malden Mills, Polartec | USA |
| Liquid soap, Softsoap | in pump dispenser | 1980 | Minnetonka Co. | USA |
| Chemical vapor deposition diamonds | synthetic gem quality | 1985 | William G. Eversol | USA |
| Fullerene bucky ball | 1985 | Harold W. Kroto, Richard E. Smalley, Robert F. Curl | USA | |
| High temperature ceramic superconductor | 1986 | Karl Alex Muller, Johannes Georg Gednorz | Switzerland/Germany | |
| Crosslinked polyethylene | extremely wear resistant plastic, orthopedic implants | 1988 | Thomas Engel | Germany |
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Inventions from the Domestic Biotech Classification
| Invention | Description | Year | Inventor | Country |
| Flash frozen food | fresher tasting | 1924 | Clarence Birdseye | USA |
| Kool Aid | uncarbonated soft drink | 1927 | Edwin E. Perkins | USA |
| Synthetic detergent, FEWA | clothes washing | 1935 | Heinrich Bertsch | Germany |
| Suntan lotion | sunscreen | 1936 | Eugene Schueller | France |
| Biodiesel | fuel | 1937 | G. Chavanne | Belgium |
| Carbon 14 dating | archaeology | 1940 | Martin Kamen, UC Berkley | USA |
| Freeze dried food | modern | 1946 | Earl F. Flosdorf | USA |
| Round baler for hay | Roto-baler, large round bails | 1947 | Ummo Luebben, Allis-Chalmers | USA |
| Roll on deodorant | Ban | 1952 | Helen Barnett Diserens | USA |
| Self propelled combine harvester | mechanized farming | 1952 | Claeys, Claas | Germany |
| Cloning | frog tadpole, amphibian | 1952 | Robert Briggs,Thomas King | USA |
| Frozen TV dinner | heated on tray | 1954 | C.A. Swanson | USA |
| E cigarette | nicotine system | 1963 | Herbert Al. Gilbert, Hon Lik | USA |
| Reverse osmosis | water purification | 1964 | Sidney Loeb | USA |
| Reverse osmosis desalination | plant | 1965 | Jean Antoine Nollet | France (76) |
| Aspartame | artificial sweetener | 1965 | James M. Schlatter | USA |
| Mammal cloning | 1970 | John B. Gurdon | UK | |
| Genetically modified bacteria | Pseudomonas, oil eating GMO bacteria | 1971 | Ananda Mohan Chakrabarty, GE | USA |
| Monoclonal antibodies | immunotherapy | 1975 | Georges J. F. Kohler, Cesar Milstein | Germany/Argentina |
| DNA sequencing | not automated | 1977 | Frederick Sanger | UK |
| Gene splicing | human to bacteria gene | 1977 | Paul Zamecnik | USA |
| DNA fingerprinting and profiling | crime solving, forensic | 1984 | Alec John Jeffreys | UK |
| Automated DNA sequencing | practical | 1985 | Leroy Edward Hood, Lloyd Smith | USA |
| Seedless watermelon | 1987 | Woo Jang-choon | Korea/Japan | |
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Inventions from the Medical Biotech Classification
| Invention | Description | Year | Inventor | Country |
| Epidural anesthesia | regional anesthesia | 1921 | Fidel Pages | Spain |
| Band aid | sterile adhesive bandage | 1921 | Earle Dickson | USA |
| Polygraph | lie detector test | 1921 | John Augustus Larson | USA |
| Q tips | cotton tipped swabs | 1923 | Leo Gerstenzang | USA |
| Electroencephalogram | EEG test, brain electrical activity | 1924 | Hans Berger | Germany |
| Carpal tunnel release surgery | treatment for hand numbness and pain | 1924 | Herbert Galloway | Canada |
| Tetanus toxoid vaccine | prevents lock jaw infection | 1925 | Alexander Thomas Glenny et al. | UK |
| Pertussis vaccine | prevents whooping cough | 1926 | Leila Denmark | USA |
| Diphtheria toxoid vaccine | prevents diphtheria | 1927 | Alexander Thomas Glenny et al. | UK |
| Iron lung respirator | breathing machine | 1927 | Phillip Drinker,Louis Agassiz Shaw | USA |
| Penicillin | blockbuster antibiotic | 1928 | Alexander Fleming | UK (19) |
| Cardiac pacemaker | wired heart rhythm correction | 1928 | Mark Lidwell | Australia |
| Cotton tampon | menstruation management | 1930 | Earle Cleveland Haas | USA |
| Breathalyzer | blood alcohol assessment | 1931 | Rolla Neil Harger, Indiana U. | USA |
| Hydrocortisone | potent anti-inflammatory medication | 1936 | Percy Lavon Julian | USA |
| Blood bank | transfusion management | 1937 | Charles Richard Drew, Bernard Fantus, Chicago | USA |
| Hip replacement surgery | fractures, arthritis | 1940 | Austin Moore | USA |
| Hemodialysis | replaces kidney function | 1943 | Willem J. Kolff | Netherlands |
| Lidocaine, Xylocaine | local anesthesia | 1943 | Nils Lofgren | Sweden |
| Chemotherapy for cancer | nitrogen mustard | 1946 | Alfred Gilman, Louis S. Goodman | USA |
| Methotrexate immunosupression | treat inflammation | 1947 | Sidney Farber | USA |
| Acetaminophen (Tylenol) | pain reliever, antipyretic | 1948 | Julius Axelrod, Bernard Brodie | USA |
| Electrolyte replacement for diarrhea | oral and intravenous fluids | 1949 | Daniel C. Darrow, Harold Harrison | USA |
| Succinylcholine | muscle relaxant for anesthesia paralysis | 1949 | Daniel Bovet | Italy |
| Artificial intraocular lens | lens replacement for cataracts | 1949 | Harold Ridley | UK |
| Holter monitor | detects abnormal heart rhythms | 1949 | Norman Jeffferis Holter | USA |
| Nystatin, Mycostatin | antifungal medicine | 1950 | Rachel Fuller Brown, Elizabeth Lee Hazen | USA |
| Thorazine, chlorpromazine | psychotrophic medicine | 1951 | Heni Laborit, Pierre Deniker, Heinz Lehmann | France/Canada (87) |
| Salk polio vaccine | polio prevention | 1952 | Jonas Salk | USA |
| Apgar score | newborn health assessment | 1952 | Virginia Apgar | USA |
| Isoniazid for tuberculosis | second biggest killer in history | 1952 | Meyer and Malley | Czechoslovakia |
| Heart lung machine | allows for heart surgery on a stopped heart | 1953 | John Heysham Gibbon | USA |
| Vancomycin antibiotic | treats severe staph and strep infections | 1953 | Edmund Kornfeld | USA |
| Cochlear implant | hearing surgery | 1953 | Andre Djourno | France |
| Catheter surgery | minimally invasive surgery, Seldinger technique | 1953 | Sven Ivar Seldinger | Sweden (79) |
| Ultrasound, echocardiogram | sound waves for diagnosis | 1953, 1956 | Inge Edler, Carl Hertz, Ian Donald, Tom Browen | Sweden /UK (75) |
| Prednisone | cortisone pill anti-inflammatory | 1954 | Arthur Noble | UK |
| Kidney transplant | most common organ transplant | 1954 | Joseph E. Murray | USA |
| Cardiopulmonary resuscitation | CPR | 1954 | Peter Safar, James Elam | USA |
| Chlorhexidine | topical skin disinfectant | 1954 | Imperial Chemical Industries, Ld. | UK |
| Betadine, povodine-iodine | topical skin disinfectant | 1955 | H.A. Shelanski, M.V. Shelanski | USA |
| Metered dose inhaler | asthma/COPD therapy | 1956 | Charlie Thiel, 3M | USA |
| Bone marrow transplant | blood cancer therapy | 1956 | E. Donnall Thomas | USA |
| Birth control pill | sexual freedom, contraception | 1956, 1960 | Gregory Pincus, John Rock, Min Chueh Chang | USA (100) |
| Endoscopy, fiberoptic flexible | upper and lower gastrointestinal | 1957 | Basil Hirschowitz, Larry Curtis, Wilbur Peters | USA |
| Haloperidol, Haldol | antipsychotic, schizophrenia | 1958 | Paul Janssen | Belgium |
| Lasix, furosemide diuretic | for swelling, edema, fluid retention | 1959 | Sanofi | USA |
| Valium, diazepam sedative | for anxiety | 1959 | Leo Sternbach | USA |
| DOPA for Parkinson's disease | anti-tremor effects | 1960 | Oleh Hornykiewicz | Austria |
| Coronary artery bypass graft, heart | CABG | 1960 | Robert Goetz, Michael DeBakey | USA |
| Ibuprofen, Motrin, Advil | non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medicine | 1960 | Stewart Adams | UK |
| Liver and lung transplants | organ transplants | 1963 | Thomas Starzl, James Hardy | USA |
| Portable heart defibrillator | advanced CPR | 1965 | Frank Pantridge | UK |
| Commercial ultrasound | obstetrics | 1965 | Walter Erich Krause | USA |
| Rubella vaccine | prevents German measles | 1965 | Harry Martin Meyer, Paul Parkman | USA |
| Oral Sabin vaccine | prevents polio with no injection needed | 1966 | Albert Bruce Sabin | USA |
| Heart transplant | successful | 1967 | Christiaan Neethling Barnard | South Africa |
| Fogarty balloon catheter | removes clots, minimally invasive | 1969 | Thomas Fogarty | USA |
| Digital thermometer | more accurate temperatures | 1970 | Robert Cherry Martin | USA |
| Transdermal patch | drug delivery through the skin | 1971 | Alejandro Zaffaroni | USA |
| Pulse oximeter | measures blood oxygen level | 1972 | Takuo Aoyagi | Japan |
| Computed tomography scan | CT scan | 1972 | Godfrey Hounsfield, Allan Cormack, Robert S. Ledley | UK/USA |
| Magnetic resonance imaging | MRI scan, no radiation | 1973 | Raymond Damadian, Paul Lauterbur | USA (74) |
| Prozac | antidepressant medication | 1972 | Ray W. Fuller, Bryan B. Molloy, David T. Wong | USA |
| LASER eye surgery, Lasik | vision correction with surgery | 1973 | Mani Lal Bhaumik | India/USA |
| Liposuction | cosmetic surgery | 1974 | Giorgio Fischer | Italy |
| Total knee replacement surgery | cemented metal and plastic parts | 1974 | John Insall | USA |
| Heimlich maneuver | food bolus extraction | 1974 | Henry Judah Heimlich | USA |
| Versed, midazelam | conscious sedation IV | 1975 | Armin Walser | Switzerland |
| Positron emission tomography | PET scan, cancer assessment | 1977 | Edward J. Hoffman, UCLA | USA |
| In vitro fertilization | test tube baby | 1978 | Patrick Steptoe, Robert Edwards | UK |
| Lithotrypter for gallstones | focused sound to break down gallstones | 1980 | Claude Dornier | Germany |
| Hepatitis B test and vaccine | diagnosis and prevents hepatitis B | 1980 | Baruch Samuel Blumberg | USA |
| Mumps vaccine | prevents mumps | 1981 | Maurice Hilleman | USA |
| Artificial heart | Jarvik -7 | 1982 | Paul Winchell, Willem Johan Kolff, Robert Jarvik | USA |
| Humulin | recombinant insulin | 1982 | Genentech | USA |
| RU-486 abortion pill | avoids surgery | 1988 | Etienne-Emile Baulieu | France |
| Intravascular stent | catheter placed stent in obstructed blood vessel | 1988 | Julio Palmaz | Argentina |
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