invention

How Electric Elevators Transformed the Modern City

By Robert Bryce

The 100 Most Genius Places in America

By David Johnson and Chris Wilson

What the Digital Age Owes to the Inventor of Morse Code

By Sean Trainor

Google Doodle Marks Anniversary of TV

By Mark Rivett-Carnac
More in invention

See Original Models of the Apple I and Other Iconic American Inventions

The first U.S. patent was issued on July 31, 1790

By Lily Rothman and Liz Ronk

UK's First 'Poo Bus' Rides on Human Waste Fuel

It runs from Bristol Airport to Bath City Center

By Sam Frizell

Electric Cars: Just Around the Corner for a Long, Long Time

LIFE.com recalls a magazine article from almost 50 years ago that more or less announced that the Electric Car Age had arrived.

By Ben Cosgrove

LIFE With Hedy Lamarr: Stardom, Scandal and One Amazing Invention

Hedy Lamarr was a glamorous movie star of the 1930s and '40s, a taboo-breaking beauty credited with simulating the first on-screen orgasm. She was also a brilliant inventor.

By Ben Cosgrove

Inventing the Future, One Sublime, Ridiculous Contraption at a Time

Photos of kooky inventions in 1947 that nicely convey both the creativity and the absurdity inherent in a consumerist culture.

By Ben Cosgrove

This Innovative Flower Pot Moves To Follow the Sun

This flower pot helps plants grow more efficiently

By Inigo del Castillo / Lost at E Minor

Portrait of a Mathematician and His Three-Dimensional Chessboard

LIFE photographer Yale Joel recalls how he made a memorable portrait of a Hungarian mathematician who designed a three-dimensional chessboard.

By Ben Cosgrove

This Sweet Invention Dispenses Cake from a Can

Think microwaveable cake batter

By Tessa Berenson Rogers

The 'Knowledge Box': Picture an Early, Trippy, Analog, 3-D Wikipedia

A contraption built in 1962 predated the Web by three decades -- but it also hinted at information-gathering techniques that we all use today, everyday, online.

By Ben Cosgrove

The Cyclotron: In Praise of an Early Tech Marvel

Some machines are so revolutionary, so innovative -- so cool -- that even years after they've been largely outpaced by newer devices, they can still amaze. Meet the cyclotron.

By Ben Cosgrove
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