Necessity is the mother of all inventions, and these have truly made a remarkable contribution to humankind’s leap forward.

Wheel (c. 4000 BCE)

The wheel was one of the earliest known inventions, making it possible for humans to travel long distances and transport materials. Essentially, non-moving platforms were connected to a tolling cylinder, and gradually, the design and style of the wheel kept evolving, which we see today in the form used in cars.

Printing Press (1450s)

The printing press was the brainchild of Johannes Gutenberg, who invented it. This press included a hand mould and a new molding technique that allowed for the rapid printing of text. This mechanized process made the speed of printing books, newspapers, flyers, etc., very easy and affordable, which made literacy widespread. Though some prototypes had been done in China and Korea before, this mechanized version changed the game completely.

Microscope (1560)

Advancing science, a microscope was able to magnify objects and view them that could not be seen by the naked eye. In 1560, Hans and Zacharias Janssen first developed it, and then, in the 17th century, scientists like Antonie van Leeuwenhoek made the first proper microscope, making the world aware of the existence of cells.

⁠Steam Engine (1712)

The steam engine launched the Industrial Revolution, allowing goods and people to travel from one place to another very quickly. This technology used energy from steam to convert into mechanical work, with the first prototype being made in the 17th century. Then, at the end of the 18th century, James Watt properly made the steam engine accessible for making trains function.

⁠Vaccination (1796)

Vaccinations save the lives of almost two to three million people annually fighting against dangerous diseases like diphtheria, tetanus and measles.

The first prototype can be found in the 10th century in China., Still, in 1796, English physician Edward Jenner changed the scene. He noticed that people with the cowpox virus had the infection rarely died of smallpox. So, the vaccine was developed for smallpox, and in 1980, the disease was officially eradicated worldwide.

⁠Telephone (1876)

The telephone was invented by Alexander Graham Bell, who filed a patent in 1876 and made the first call to his assistant three days later. The telephone has become an indispensable part of our daily lives as long-distance communication through electronic voice transmission was made possible. When he passed away, the United States and Canada stopped all telephone services for one minute.

⁠Internet (1960s)

One step towards globalized communication and information exchange, the Internet is one of the most rapid and important landmarks, which billions of people use every day. It was developed in the 1960s by a team of computer scientists in the U.S. Defense Department’s ARPA, which connected computers in the agency. In a breakthrough in 1989, the Internet evolved further, and the World Wide Web by Tim Berners-Lee at CERN sealed the deal.

Light Bulb (1879)

Natural light or nondurable sources of light were used in the early times. Still, when Thomas Alva Edison discovered the light bulb, he revolutionized how we live. He was the one who completely made the functional lighting system, including the coil, wiring, generator, and carbon filament bulb. Now, there are so many versions of light bulbs, but his invention is still in use.

⁠Penicillin (1928)

This one has saved millions of lives, and life without antibiotics seems incomplete. Scottish scientist Alexander Fleming had a eureka moment when he noticed a bacteria-filled Petri dish that had been left open and became contaminated with mould. But to his surprise, the bacteria was dead, and the mould was, in fact, the fungus Penicillium. Over time, this was improved and made available for human consumption.

10.⁠ ⁠Nuclear Energy (1930)

Italian physicist Enrico Fermi first discovered that bombarding atoms with neutrons could split them, generating huge amounts of energy. He then created the first nuclear chain reaction, after which several nuclear plants were developed. Today, they are responsible for almost 10% of global energy.