Repurposed Inventions
Repurposed inventions take recycling to a whole new level by using and improving upon existing technologies. In this section, learn about creative invention mashups and how inventions evolve over time.
Jerry Lawson Forever Changed the Video Game Industry
Eugenics Overshadows the Legacy of Scientific Genius Francis Galton
Jane Goodall: A Global Face for Global Peace
How That Creamy Chocolate Is Made
Barrels and Barrels of Aged Beer
HowStuffWorks: Candyland Comes Alive at Candytopia!
8 Everyday Items Originally Invented for People With Disabilities
How High-tech Fabrics Cool You Down When You Heat Up
Why Are Legal Pads Yellow?
Who Invented the Light Bulb? It Wasn't Just Edison
Meet the Man Who Invented Cool Whip, Tang and Pop Rocks
Louis Pasteur's 19th-century Medical Discoveries Are Still Saving Lives
Butterflies Inspire Creation of Lightest Paint in the World
Video Software System Syncs Lips to Other Languages
How Morse Code Works and Still Lives On in the Digital Age
How WISE Works
5 Green NASA Inventions
5 Strange Items Developed from NASA Technology
Graphene: 200 Times Stronger Than Steel, 1,000 Times Lighter Than Paper
New Liquid Magnets Go Places Solid Magnets Can't
Turning Air Pollution Into Ink
Would Sonic the Hedgehog Be Able to Survive His Own Speed?
Database of 18,000 Retracted Scientific Papers Now Online
How Long Can a Person Safely Hang Upside Down?
Lasers Shed Light on Why You Need to Close the Lid Before You Flush
The 'SnotBot' Drone Is Making Scientific Research Easier on Whales
Three Famous Hypotheses and How They Were Tested
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The trend toward tiny houses and rabid clutter clearing have combined to lead more than a few people away from the traditional home and into shipping container life.
Dimethylpolysiloxane has many uses, not the least of which might be curing baldness.
When early man attached a stick to a sharpened piece of stone, he set in motion a trend in the creation of tools: the mashup. Today, almost all tools combine at least a few different technologies. What are some popular invention mashups?
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You think you really know an invention until -- whammo -- someone comes up with a new use for it. Ointment that soothes tired cow teats and treats baldness? Who would have thought?
These days, remote controls seem to, well, control our lives. Most people tend to have piles of them strewn about their living rooms. But where did this ubiquitous technology come from? Where is it headed?
The World Wide Web is bursting with information, so much so that it's easy to feel overwhelmed by the sheer amount of data available to us. How can we sort through and make sense of it all? That's where Web mashups come in.
If technology exists to make our lives easier, combining technologies into brand new devices seems like an even better idea. What are some of the most helpful, time-saving tech mashups?
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We're used to bar codes saving us time in the grocery store, but some applications of this handy technology might actually save your bacon. What are some potentially life-saving applications of bar code tech?
Bar codes have grown up in a big way since they hit the market with a bang (or a beep) in the 1970s. Now all you have to do is whip out your smartphone and point it at the nearest 2-D bar code. It may contain a message just for you, dear consumer.