From Day-Glo to Doughnuts: The Stories Behind Unusual (but Important) InventionsLike this list

13 items

• Ice Cream Man

  How Augustus Jackson Made a Sweet Treat Better

  Armand, Glenda,

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  Augustus Jackson didn't invent ice cream, but he discovered new ways to make it and keep it from melting too fast. The result: ice cream became a treat that everyone could enjoy, not just the wealthy.

• Whoosh!

  Lonnie Johnson's Super-soaking Stream of Inventions

  Barton, Chris,

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  Lonnie Johnson was a NASA rocket scientist whose engineering brilliance helped send a space probe to Jupiter. When he quit his job to become a full-time inventor, he created a new kind of water gun: The Super Soaker!

• The Crayon Man

  the True Story of the Invention of Crayola Crayons

  Biebow, Natascha,

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  Edwin Binney he discovered that if you crayons them from wax, instead of charcoal and oil, the color possibilities were endless. 120 years ago he produced his first set of Crayola crayons for kids: it had eight colors and sold for a nickel a box.

• On the Corner of Chocolate Avenue

  How Milton Hershey Brought Milk Chocolate to America

  Cohen, Tziporah, 1967-

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  Milton Hershey opened three candy shops that failed, but his Hershey Chocolate Company that made him famous, leading to the first chocolate bar in America, Hershey Kisses, and even a town named after Milton.

• The Marvelous Thing That Came From a Spring

  the Accidental Invention of the Toy That Swept the Nation

  Ford, Gilbert

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  Engineer Richard James was working on a device for ships when a spring fell from a shelf....and walked. He took it home and his son walked it down the stairs. His wife came up with the perfect name for the new toy he had invented: the slinky!

• A Royal Ride

  Catherine the Great's Great Invention

  Fulton, Kristen,

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  Catherine the Great, empress of Russia in the 1700's, loved the royal ice slides that she rode in winter. She decided there must be something just as fun during the warm summers...and came up with a plan for the world's first roller coaster!

• Josephine and Her Dishwashing Machine

  Josephine Cochrane's Bright Invention Makes a Splash

  Hannigan, Kate,

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  Josephine Cochrane decided that washing dishes by hand was too time consuming. She decided: "There must be a better way!" She invented a dish-washing machine and started her own business to manufacture and market her useful new device.

• The Hole Story of the Doughnut

  Miller, Pat, 1951 May 28-

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  During a long sea voyage in 1844, a sixteen-year old cook’s assistant decided to cut holes in the middle of the fried cakes he was preparing for sailors. His invention of “holey cakes,” later called “doughnuts,” spread around the world.

• The Great Stink

  How Joseph Bazalgette Solved London's Poop Pollution Problem

  Paeff, Colleen,

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  London’s Thames River smelled very bad in 1858. It wasn’t only stinky, its poop-filled water caused diseases. Joseph Bazalgette was the engineer who came up with an ingenious network of sewer pipes that got rid of the poop and saved London.

• Saving the Day

  Garrett Morgan's Life-changing Invention of the Traffic Signal

  Parsons, Karyn, 1968-

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  When Garrett Morgan witnessed an accident involving a car and a horse drawn carriage, he did something about it: he invented a new kind of traffic signal to make the city streets safer for vehicles, horses, and people.

• The Boy Who Invented the Popsicle

  the Cool Science Behind Frank Epperson's Famous Frozen Treat

  Renaud, Anne, 1957-

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  Eleven-year-old Frank William Epperson left a glass of soda water outside overnight...and it froze! When he grew up, he figured out how to improve the formula and created "The Ep-sicle!" Which we now know as the "popsicle."

• The Boy Who Thought Outside the Box

  the Story of Video Game Inventor Ralph Baer

  Wessels, Marcie,

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  Ralph Baer started out working on sewing machines and radios, and moved on to rocket science. Then he had a new idea: what if he could invent a game that you could play on a tv screen? Over 50 years ago, Ralph invented the first video game!

• Cut!

  How Lotte Reiniger and a Pair of Scissors Revolutionized Animation

  Winters, C. E., 1971-

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  In the early 1900's, Lotte Reiniger learned how to make amazing silhouette puppets with scissors and paper. Then she combined her talents with a brand new art form: movies! She created the first full-length animated film.