| #21, aired 2024-05-01 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $400: DuPont chemist Stephanie Kwolek was the subject of a kids' book called "The Woman Who Invented the Thread That Stops" these Bullets |
| #21, aired 2024-05-01 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $1200: Known for its weird sound effects, this instrument was named for the Russian man who invented it in the 1920s theremin |
| #21, aired 2024-05-01 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $1600: Widely known as the "Father of the Supercomputer", he built some of the most powerful & expensive computers of the last century Cray |
| #21, aired 2024-05-01 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $2000: Missed it by that much! In 1876 Bell's application for a telephone patent beat this rival's filing by just a few hours Gray |
| #21, aired 2024-05-01 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $8,000 (Daily Double): In 1873 Helen Blanchard received a patent for one of these that could zigzag a sewing machine |
| #9083, aired 2024-04-17 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $200: In 1953 David Mullany invented this erratic toy with 8 holes that's often sold with its own bat a Wiffle ball |
| #9083, aired 2024-04-17 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $400: In the 19-teens August Fruehauf attached trailers to cars to haul lumber & attached this prefix to "trailer" semi |
| #9083, aired 2024-04-17 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $600: Perhaps generating more business, dentist William Morrison co-invented a machine that heated & spun sugar, creating this treat cotton candy |
| #9083, aired 2024-04-17 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $800: Hiram Maxim wrote that inventing a killing machine gets you more credit than easing suffering after this type of gun made him rich a machine gun |
| #9083, aired 2024-04-17 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $1,000 (Daily Double): Many great ships once communicated with the world from a room named for this Italian inventor Marconi |
| #9062, aired 2024-03-19 | NEWER MACHINES & INVENTIONS $200: 3D printers aren't great for mass production but excel with these models, whose name is partly from the Greek for "first" a prototype |
| #9062, aired 2024-03-19 | NEWER MACHINES & INVENTIONS $400: A major advantage of using hydrogen fuel cells to generate electricity is that their only byproducts are heat & this water (water vapor) |
| #9062, aired 2024-03-19 | NEWER MACHINES & INVENTIONS $600: The IoT is short for this, which connects commonplace items to the web & collects data the Internet of Things |
| #9062, aired 2024-03-19 | NEWER MACHINES & INVENTIONS $800: With a name like another musical instrument, the "O-" this uses an optical sensor & keyboard to make violin music the O-bow (an optical bow) |
| #9062, aired 2024-03-19 | NEWER MACHINES & INVENTIONS $1000: It's the alliterative term for a computer system based on the brain a neural network |
| #8885, aired 2023-06-02 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $400: In 1893 Whitcomb Judson patented an early type of this; a later version was marketed as a "hookless fastener" a zipper |
| #8885, aired 2023-06-02 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $800: A cut above, in 1930 Jacob Schick obtained a patent for an electric this a razor |
| #8885, aired 2023-06-02 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $1200: Seen here, Charles Hull is one of the inventors of this technology, also called stereolithography 3D printing |
| #8885, aired 2023-06-02 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $1600: Going up? Going down? He made elevators more secure with his invention of a safety brake Otis |
| #8885, aired 2023-06-02 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $2000: In 1642 this Frenchman for whom a computer program is named invented a mechanical adding machine Pascal |
| #8798, aired 2023-02-01 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $200: Next time you buy groceries, thank Margaret Knight, who in 1871 won a patent battle for her machine to make pre-folded these (paper) grocery bags |
| #8798, aired 2023-02-01 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $400: Britain's Air Ministry ridiculed Frank Whittle's idea for this type of engine in the 1920s, but by the 1950s no one was laughing a jet engine |
| #8798, aired 2023-02-01 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $600: In the 1830s Jeanne Villepreux-Power invented this glass receptacle to help her study the paper nautilus the aquarium |
| #8798, aired 2023-02-01 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $800: In the 17th century physicist Christiaan Huygens brought this swingin' device into clocks a pendulum |
| #8798, aired 2023-02-01 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $1000: Ophthalmologist Patricia Bath invented a sight-saving laser probe to remove these opacities from the eye cataracts |
| #8470, aired 2021-09-17 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $400: Robert Adler invented this device that allows you to move from Bravo to ESPN without leaving the couch remote control |
| #8470, aired 2021-09-17 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $800: Secretary Bette Nesmith used fast-drying white paint to cover up typos, inventing this product that pre-dates Wite-Out Liquid Paper |
| #8470, aired 2021-09-17 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $1200: His invention of the revolver around 1836 allowed the user to fire more times than ever before without reloading (Samuel) Colt |
| #8470, aired 2021-09-17 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $1600: Bartolomeo Cristofori's invention of this instrument was music to the world's ears around 1700 the piano |
| #8470, aired 2021-09-17 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $2000: Still used today, the screw named for this ancient Greek helps move water from lower to higher ground Archimedes |
| #8280, aired 2020-11-13 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $400: On June 12, 1817 Baron von Drais went several miles demonstrating his 2-wheeled "running machine", an early version of this bicycle |
| #8280, aired 2020-11-13 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $800: In 1714 physicist Daniel Fahrenheit invented the first thermometer to use this liquid mercury |
| #8280, aired 2020-11-13 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $1200: In 1986 Dr. Patricia Bath invented a device that safely uses one of these beams to remove cataracts in the eye a laser |
| #8280, aired 2020-11-13 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $1600: Laszlo & Gyorgy Biro of Hungary used a novel tip when making this easy-to-use implement in the 1930s a ballpoint pen |
| #8280, aired 2020-11-13 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $2,000 (Daily Double): Inspired as a boy by H.G. Wells' "War of the Worlds", he launched the world's first liquid-fueled rocket in 1926 (Robert) Goddard |
| #8249, aired 2020-10-01 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $400: George Washington Carver came up with 300 products derived from these, including dyes, flour & linoleum peanuts |
| #8249, aired 2020-10-01 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $800: Tabitha Babbitt invented a circular type of this tool after seeing Shakers struggle with the long 2-handled type a saw |
| #8249, aired 2020-10-01 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $1200: (Sarah of the Clue Crew presents from Great
Market Hall in Budapest, Hungary.) In the tradition of Hungarian inventive geniuses like Mr. Rubik, two Hungarian scientists designed the Gömböc to prove that there can be a three-dimensional object with only one stable and one unstable point of this balance |
| #8249, aired 2020-10-01 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $2000: This guitar legend is the only person in both the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame & The Inventors Hall of Fame Les Paul |
| #8249, aired 2020-10-01 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $3,000 (Daily Double): Donald Hings created a portable 2-way radio around 1940; today it has this rhyming name a walkie-talkie |
| #8175, aired 2020-03-06 | INVENTIONS $400: Often cited as the world's greatest invention, it was designed in ancient times, but probably just for pottery making the wheel |
| #8175, aired 2020-03-06 | INVENTIONS $800: In 2001 Apple introduced this device that could pack up to 1,000 songs right in your pocket the iPod |
| #8175, aired 2020-03-06 | INVENTIONS $1200: The robotic hand seen here was created thanks to the invention of this computer-aided process 3-D printing |
| #8175, aired 2020-03-06 | INVENTIONS $1600: Smile & say cheese if you know that Edwin Land developed this name brand item, first sold in 1948 Polaroid |
| #8175, aired 2020-03-06 | INVENTIONS $2000: William Burroughs, grandfather of the famous author William S., invented the first practical one of these office machines an adding machine |
| #8044, aired 2019-07-25 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $400: Imperial court official Tsai Lun produced the first rolls of this in China around 105 A.D. paper |
| #8044, aired 2019-07-25 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $800: Louis Daguerre got photography started & William Fox Talbot helped by making & printing photos using reverse images called these negatives |
| #8044, aired 2019-07-25 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $1200: In 1901 this physicist & inventor sent the first radio message across the Atlantic, from England to Canada Marconi |
| #8044, aired 2019-07-25 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $1600: In 1898 Maria Beasley patented a device for preventing trains from doing this derailing |
| #8044, aired 2019-07-25 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $2000: In a movie Greg Kinnear played Robert Kearns, who fought Detroit over this drizzly day innovation of his intermittent windshield wipers |
| #7873, aired 2018-11-28 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $400: In the 1590s Galileo invented an early one of these using a long glass tube with a sphere of liquid at the bottom a thermometer |
| #7873, aired 2018-11-28 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $800: A holder of more than 250 patents, this former fur trader & inventor was "The Father of Frozen Foods" (Clarence) Birdseye |
| #7873, aired 2018-11-28 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $1200: The first completely synthetic plastic was this one, invented in 1907 by Leo Baekeland Bakelite |
| #7873, aired 2018-11-28 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $2000: James Hargreaves' invention of this spinning machine spurred industrialization of the textile industry the jenny |
| #7873, aired 2018-11-28 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $3,000 (Daily Double): In 1858 this man invented an eponymous glass jar with a screw-on lid (John Landis) Mason |
| #7785, aired 2018-06-15 | INVENTIONS $200: Mary Anderson is in the National Inventors Hall of Fame for creating this car device; intermittent ones would come later windshield wipers |
| #7785, aired 2018-06-15 | INVENTIONS $500 (Daily Double): In 1950 Zenith introduced the first one of these gadgets; it was called the "Lazy Bones" a (TV) remote control |
| #7785, aired 2018-06-15 | INVENTIONS $600: Ben Franklin, describing this invention: "I have only to move my eyes up or down... to see distinctly far or near" bifocals |
| #7785, aired 2018-06-15 | INVENTIONS $800: In addition to his machine gun, this Civil War-era man also invented a steam plow (Richard) Gatling |
| #7785, aired 2018-06-15 | INVENTIONS $1000: In 1846 Elias Howe took this invention to Washington to apply for a patent the sewing machine |
| #7731, aired 2018-04-02 | CELEBRITY INVENTIONS $400: This actor loved to drum & developed a new way to tighten the skins (Marlon) Brando |
| #7731, aired 2018-04-02 | CELEBRITY INVENTIONS $800: This singer & original "American Idol" judge patented a titling microphone stand--take that, Simon! Paula Abdul |
| #7731, aired 2018-04-02 | CELEBRITY INVENTIONS $1200: This singer got a patent for a stage illusion, an anti-gravity effect used for "Smooth Criminal" on tour Michael Jackson |
| #7731, aired 2018-04-02 | CELEBRITY INVENTIONS $1600: Bill Nye--yes, that science guy--patented a new type of this anatomical-named footwear for dancers toe shoes |
| #7731, aired 2018-04-02 | CELEBRITY INVENTIONS $2000: This one-name comedian patented a new type of slot machine complete with watermelon smashing Gallagher |
| #7516, aired 2017-04-24 | INVENTIONS $400: In 1959 Squibb introduced the first one of these with an electrical cord into the U.S. using the brand name Broxodent an electric toothbrush |
| #7516, aired 2017-04-24 | INVENTIONS $800: Early on, this aid to authors was piano-sized; around 1870 Christopher Sholes created a small one a typewriter |
| #7516, aired 2017-04-24 | INVENTIONS $1200: In 1986 ophthalmologist Patricia Bath invented the Laserphaco Probe to remove this eye impairment cataracts |
| #7516, aired 2017-04-24 | INVENTIONS $1600: In 1899 Cushman & Denison trademarked this little gem of office supplies under the name Gem a paper clip |
| #7516, aired 2017-04-24 | INVENTIONS $2000: In 1849 he created a biscuit made of dehydrated meat & flour; his later work on a certain milk product fared better Gail Borden |
| #6962, aired 2014-12-16 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $400: Maybe the weather was bad in 1903, when Mary Anderson created this for cars; it had a swinging arm & a rubber blade a windshield wiper |
| #6962, aired 2014-12-16 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $800: Around 1917 Northam Warren of Cutex created the first commercial version of this colorful cosmetic product nail polish |
| #6962, aired 2014-12-16 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $1200: 1/3 of the space devoted to U.S. exhibits at the 1889 Paris Centennial Exposition was occupied by his inventions Edison |
| #6962, aired 2014-12-16 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $1600: In 1935 Willy Muller invented an automatic one of these, but it was 3 feet tall; in 1971 PhoneMate came up with a better idea an answering machine |
| #6962, aired 2014-12-16 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $2000: In the 1950s this German engineer developed a rotary auto engine that was later used by Mazda Felix Wankel |
| #6887, aired 2014-07-22 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $400: Within 6 years of moving his lab to Menlo Park, he had applied for around 400 new patents (Thomas) Edison |
| #6887, aired 2014-07-22 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $800: After failing to make synthetic rubber out of chicle, Thomas Adams flavored it & sold it as this gum |
| #6887, aired 2014-07-22 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $1,000 (Daily Double): In 1895 he began sending & receiving wireless signals as far as 1.5 miles at his father's home near Bologna, Italy Marconi |
| #6887, aired 2014-07-22 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $1200: In the 1960s James T. Russell invented these to replace vinyl records; now they're giving way to downloads CDs |
| #6887, aired 2014-07-22 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $2000: This navigating instrument that helps find latitude & longitude was first developed in the 1750s sextant |
| #6807, aired 2014-04-01 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $200: Dr. Rene Laennec invented this medical instrument, then just a hollow wooden tube the stethoscope |
| #6807, aired 2014-04-01 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $400: Norwegian Erik Rotheim is the inventor of this type of spray can an aerosol |
| #6807, aired 2014-04-01 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $600: Here's Dr. Lonnie Johnson holding two of his inventions, the Nerf dart gun & this alliterative one a Super Soaker |
| #6807, aired 2014-04-01 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $1000: His mechanical reaper had 7 basic mechanisms that are basically the same as those in the modern equivalent Cyrus McCormick |
| #6807, aired 2014-04-01 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $1,400 (Daily Double): Last name of American inventor Ray, whose noise-reduction system eliminated that background hiss on recordings Dolby |
| #6764, aired 2014-01-30 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $400: Leo Gerstenzang was inspired to invent this after seeing his wife use a toothpick with cotton to clean their baby's ears a Q-tip |
| #6764, aired 2014-01-30 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $800: In 1932 3M employee John Borden invented the first dispenser with a cutting edge for this adhesive product (Scotch) tape |
| #6764, aired 2014-01-30 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $1200: In the 1960s, this firm introduced the first word processor, the MT/ST, based on its Selectric typewriter IBM |
| #6764, aired 2014-01-30 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $1600: William Painter invented a leak-proof bottle cap in 1891 lined with a disc of this; today, plastic is typically used cork |
| #6764, aired 2014-01-30 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $2000: Dean Kamen, creator of this human transporter, was named America's best inventor by Reader's Digest a Segway |
| #6647, aired 2013-07-09 | NEW INVENTIONS $400: The Flyknit Racer running shoe developed by this company weighs a mere 5.6 ounces & conforms to your foot Nike |
| #6647, aired 2013-07-09 | NEW INVENTIONS $800: Students in Ukraine have created gloves for the hearing-impaired to communicate with those who don't understand this sign language |
| #6647, aired 2013-07-09 | NEW INVENTIONS $1200: A new eye"glass" from this company aims to bring computer images & info directly to your vision to augment reality Google |
| #6647, aired 2013-07-09 | NEW INVENTIONS $2000: Able to withstand great pressure, the Deepsea Challenger submarine took this man down 7 miles in March 2012 James Cameron |
| #6647, aired 2013-07-09 | NEW INVENTIONS $2,900 (Daily Double): Being tested in 2013, Grasshopper is a reusable one of these as tall as a 10-story building a rocket |
| #6511, aired 2012-12-31 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $200: Prior to inventing the first practical electric razor, Jacob Schick patented the Pencilaid, which did this sharpened pencils |
| #6511, aired 2012-12-31 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $400: Elisha Otis had his ups & downs but hit a high spot in 1852 when he invented a safety device for this conveyance an elevator |
| #6511, aired 2012-12-31 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $600: This pitchman made sure we all knew about his family's inventions the Pocket Fisherman & the Veg-O-Matic Ron Popeil |
| #6511, aired 2012-12-31 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $800: Joshua Pusey patented these in book form in 1892 but didn't "strike it" rich until several years later matches |
| #6511, aired 2012-12-31 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $1000: Laurens Hammond invented a device to Shuffle bridge cards &, in 1934, the first practical electric one of these instruments an organ |
| #6257, aired 2011-11-29 | INVENTIONS FOR THE HOME $400: It's not shocking that in 1928, Philip Labre added a third prong, for grounding, to this an electrical plug |
| #6257, aired 2011-11-29 | INVENTIONS FOR THE HOME $800: Avon salesladies thank Joseph Henry, the first secretary of the Smithsonian, for inventing the electric this a doorbell |
| #6257, aired 2011-11-29 | INVENTIONS FOR THE HOME $1200: MIT gives a prize for design named after Carl Sontheimer, who invented this food processor in the 1970s the Cuisinart |
| #6257, aired 2011-11-29 | INVENTIONS FOR THE HOME $1600: John Hammes invented the food waste disposer a few blocks from the current HQ of this company that makes them InSinkErator |
| #6257, aired 2011-11-29 | INVENTIONS FOR THE HOME $2000: Zalmon Simmons accepted a patent on a woven-wire one of these in lieu of cash, & the "rest" is history mattress |
| #6213, aired 2011-09-28 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $200: In 1949 Ed Seymour invented paint dispensed this way; aluminum was the first color spray paint |
| #6213, aired 2011-09-28 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $400: As a newsboy on the Grand Trunk Railway in 1862, he "saw the light" & published the first newspaper printed on a train Thomas Edison |
| #6213, aired 2011-09-28 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $600: In 1810 England's Peter Durand patented the idea of using this metal to coat cans for food preservation tin |
| #6213, aired 2011-09-28 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $800: Ann Moore invented this "cozy" baby carrier after seeing women in Togo carry their babies in fabric slings a Snugli |
| #6213, aired 2011-09-28 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $1000: Juan de la Cierva invented this rotary-wing aircraft that taxied for takeoff & was replaced by the helicopter the autogiro |
| #6107, aired 2011-03-15 | ACCIDENTAL INVENTIONS $400: You knead to know that this product has been fun for kids since 1955, but only after it failed as a wallpaper cleaner Play-Doh |
| #6107, aired 2011-03-15 | ACCIDENTAL INVENTIONS $800: Alexander Fleming got back from a trip to find no bacteria in the cultures he'd left exposed; hello, this penicillin |
| #6107, aired 2011-03-15 | ACCIDENTAL INVENTIONS $1200: In 1879 a chemist's unwashed hands got residue on a roll, which tasted sweet; he'd patent this, 300x sweeter than sugar saccharin |
| #6107, aired 2011-03-15 | ACCIDENTAL INVENTIONS $6,000 (Daily Double): In 1946 a Raytheon engineer's candy bar melted while he worked on a magnetron, leading to this; the first ones were 750 lbs. a microwave oven |
| #6007, aired 2010-10-26 | 19th CENTURY INVENTIONS $200: Fewer babies were crying after 1849, when Walter Hunt invented this pin for diapers a safety pin |
| #6007, aired 2010-10-26 | 19th CENTURY INVENTIONS $400: Joseph Niepce created the first permanent one of these images in 1826 a photograph |
| #6007, aired 2010-10-26 | 19th CENTURY INVENTIONS $600: Thimonnier, like Singer, built a type of this machine, but his was destroyed by rioting tailors a sewing machine |
| #6007, aired 2010-10-26 | 19th CENTURY INVENTIONS $800: Elevators date back to Roman times; in 1853 he showed off his safety device so passengers could ride on them Otis |
| #6007, aired 2010-10-26 | 19th CENTURY INVENTIONS $1000: (Jimmy of the Clue Crew pushes an enclosed plunger.) Pushing a plunger compresses the air inside the cylinder, creating enough heat to ignite a piece of paper; the same principle is used in a type of engine invented by this man (Rudolf) Diesel |
| #5969, aired 2010-07-22 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $200: In 1974 Art Fry of 3M added a weak adhesive to his church hymnal markers, creating these "Notes" Post-It Notes |
| #5969, aired 2010-07-22 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $400: In 1947 Ed Lowe gave a neighbor absorbent clay for her feline's box; he soon packaged the clay under this name Kitty Litter |
| #5969, aired 2010-07-22 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $600: In 1701 this British farmer, not an Ian Anderson rock group, invented the horse-drawn seed drill Jethro Tull |
| #5969, aired 2010-07-22 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $800: In 1954 Hildaur Nielsen invented this filing system using slotted cards on a cylinder Rolodex |
| #5969, aired 2010-07-22 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $1000: In 1936 Oklahoma City supermarket owner Sylvan Goldman created this, which he called a folding basket carrier the shopping cart |
| #5822, aired 2009-12-29 | WE HAWK OLD INVENTIONS $400: He got movable type moving, & there are only about 40 of his 1450s Bible left! Act now! Gutenberg |
| #5822, aired 2009-12-29 | WE HAWK OLD INVENTIONS $800: In December 1877 editors of Sci. American checked out his cylinder phonograph; the sentimental value alone is huge! Edison |
| #5822, aired 2009-12-29 | WE HAWK OLD INVENTIONS $1200: We have a certain "view" of this guy who 1st perfected his "quick freeze machine" for fish in 1926; enjoy our 1/2-priced halibut! (Clarence) Birdseye |
| #5822, aired 2009-12-29 | WE HAWK OLD INVENTIONS $1600: Within 10 years of inventing the steel plow in 1837, he was producing 1,000 annually; nothing runs like... John Deere |
| #5822, aired 2009-12-29 | WE HAWK OLD INVENTIONS $2000: You can't put a price on this German's scale for classifying the relative hardness of minerals--but we can! (Friedrich) Mohs |
| #5782, aired 2009-11-03 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $400: To control the flow of buggies & pedestrians, J.P. Knight invented the first of these in London in 1868 using a lantern a traffic signal |
| #5782, aired 2009-11-03 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $800: In 1887 Adolf Fick invented an early form of these to replace eyeglasses contact lenses |
| #5782, aired 2009-11-03 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $1200: It was used in the 1780s, long before the airplane; Gleb Kotelnikov first put one in a knapsack in 1911 a parachute |
| #5782, aired 2009-11-03 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $1600: In 1935 Professor Arnold Beckman introduced an electronic type of this meter to measure acidity a pH meter |
| #5782, aired 2009-11-03 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $2000: In 2002 Congress recognized Antonio Meucci as the inventor of this in 1860, 16 years before a certain Scotsman the telephone |
| #5600, aired 2009-01-02 | DUMB GUYS' GREATEST INVENTIONS $200: Dumb guys cherish this microwave button; they no longer have their ear to the door waiting for the kernels to quiet the popcorn button |
| #5600, aired 2009-01-02 | DUMB GUYS' GREATEST INVENTIONS $400: Dumb guys now have a place to put their 32-oz. drinks; not only do these come in cars but they're on movie seats! cup holders |
| #5600, aired 2009-01-02 | DUMB GUYS' GREATEST INVENTIONS $600: Dumb guys no longer rip lettuce apart to make it; Fresh Express has it in a bag! (Dumb guys still let it rot in the fridge) salad |
| #5600, aired 2009-01-02 | DUMB GUYS' GREATEST INVENTIONS $800: Dumb guys think it's cool they get to slide their own credit card at the store; even cooler? This word for "slide" swipe |
| #5600, aired 2009-01-02 | DUMB GUYS' GREATEST INVENTIONS $1000: Dumb guys at desks feel smart clicking this & pushing the lead back in, especially considering its complicated name a mechanical pencil |
| #5526, aired 2008-09-22 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $400: In 1919 this wireless pioneer represented Italy in Paris & helped negotiate the Treaty of Versailles Marconi |
| #5526, aired 2008-09-22 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $800: In the late 18th century, this "steamy" Scot invented a special ink for copying letters (James) Watt |
| #5526, aired 2008-09-22 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $1200: Created by Copenhagen yoga instructor Anne Kalso, they made their U.S. debut in April 1970 as "Minus Heel Shoes" Earth Shoes |
| #5526, aired 2008-09-22 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $2000: This jar used to store an electric charge is credited to both E.G. von Kleist & Pieter van Musschenbroek a Leyden jar |
| #5526, aired 2008-09-22 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $5,200 (Daily Double): A national weapons lab in Livermore, Calif. is named for this physicist who invented the cyclotron in 1929 (Ernest) Lawrence |
| #5523, aired 2008-09-17 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $400: The World Almanac's list of inventions goes from Pascal's adding machine to a 1913 improvement of this fastener a zipper |
| #5523, aired 2008-09-17 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $800: Around 1870 Christopher Sholes & 2 friends invented the 1st practical one of these, including a QWERTY keyboard typewriter |
| #5523, aired 2008-09-17 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $1200: In June 1974 a package of Wrigley's gum became the first product scanned having one of these a barcode |
| #5523, aired 2008-09-17 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $1600: In 1971, 3 engineers invented this company's 4004 chip, the world's first single-chip microprocessor Intel |
| #5523, aired 2008-09-17 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $2000: This "hip" communications device got its present form in a 1974 Motorola version, but it had no display a pager |
| #5363, aired 2007-12-26 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $200: In the 1920s, Frank Whittle, who grew up making model airplanes, designed the first working engine of this type a jet engine |
| #5363, aired 2007-12-26 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $400: Alexander Wood & Charles Pravaz are credited with developing this device in 1853 first used to inject morphine a (hypodermic) syringe |
| #5363, aired 2007-12-26 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $800: After steamboat success, he was urged to work on submarine-launched torpedoes by Pres. Jefferson Robert Fulton |
| #5363, aired 2007-12-26 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $1,000 (Daily Double): After Carrier came up with this in 1902, my 20 babes waving palm fronds idea went out the window air conditioning |
| #5363, aired 2007-12-26 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $1000: In 1868, 9 years after developing the railway sleeping car, he introduced the first railway car for dining Pullman |
| #5075, aired 2006-10-06 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $200: Walter Diemer, with the Fleer Co., invented the first commercially successful type of this chewing gum in 1928 bubble gum |
| #5075, aired 2006-10-06 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $400: In 1879 James A. Ritty invented this machine, & retailers have been ringing up sales ever since a cash register |
| #5075, aired 2006-10-06 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $600: In 1798 this cotton gin inventor began using a system of interchangeable parts to make muskets for the U.S. government Eli Whitney |
| #5075, aired 2006-10-06 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $2,000 (Daily Double): In 1938 chemist Roy Plunkett invented polytetrafluorethylene, a nonstick substance better known as this Teflon |
| #5046, aired 2006-07-17 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $200: In 1859 Martha Coston patented these devices that sailors could send into the sky to communicate flares |
| #5046, aired 2006-07-17 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $600: One of the first of these was based on an inclined conveyor belt & used in a NYC elevated train station in 1900 an escalator |
| #5046, aired 2006-07-17 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $800: In 1893 this German engineer published "The Theory and Construction of a Rational Heat Engine" Rudolf Diesel |
| #5046, aired 2006-07-17 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $1000: Invented by Philip Drinker in the 1920s, this closed respirator is used by patients who can't breathe on their own an iron lung |
| #5046, aired 2006-07-17 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $2,400 (Daily Double): This device was first developed by Zenith in 1950 under the name "Lazy Bones" a (TV) remote control |
| #4920, aired 2006-01-20 | EPONYMOUS INVENTIONS $400: Developed by a pair of Caltech scientists, it assigns a number to quantify the size of an earthquake the Richter scale |
| #4920, aired 2006-01-20 | EPONYMOUS INVENTIONS $800: In 1954, Boston Garden bought one of the 10 machines this "ice man" built that year Zamboni |
| #4920, aired 2006-01-20 | EPONYMOUS INVENTIONS $1200: Used in many products, it's a teflonized textile material through which perspiration can pass but liquid water can't Gore-Tex |
| #4920, aired 2006-01-20 | EPONYMOUS INVENTIONS $1600: Heard here, it was one of he earliest fully electronic musical intruments & was created c. 1920 by a Russian inventor the theremin |
| #4920, aired 2006-01-20 | EPONYMOUS INVENTIONS $2000: In 1917 John Browning designed the "BAR", which stood for this Browning Automatic Rifle |
| #4576, aired 2004-06-28 | BRITISH INVENTIONS $400: A perambulator or pram to the Brits, it was invented in 1733 by William Kent for the Duke of Devonshire's kids a baby carriage |
| #4576, aired 2004-06-28 | BRITISH INVENTIONS $800: In 1676 Robert Hooke came up with a universal one of these to manipulate the mirrors of his helioscope the universal joint |
| #4576, aired 2004-06-28 | BRITISH INVENTIONS $1200: The name of this Scot who invented the steam hammer sounds just like the American who invented basketball (James) Nasmyth |
| #4576, aired 2004-06-28 | BRITISH INVENTIONS $1600: For the military, zoologist John Kerr developed the "dazzle paint" type of this, something animals also use camouflage |
| #4576, aired 2004-06-28 | BRITISH INVENTIONS $2000: The miner's safety lamp was also called by the name of this British chemist who invented it in 1815 Sir Humphry Davy |
| #4555, aired 2004-05-28 | INVENTIONS $200: The first touch-tone one of these was placed in service in 1963 a telephone |
| #4555, aired 2004-05-28 | INVENTIONS $400: Gymnast George Nissen invented the first modern one of these in 1936; some called it a bouncing net a trampoline |
| #4555, aired 2004-05-28 | INVENTIONS $600: Not named when it steamed up the Hudson river in 1807, it was later named for the estate of Fulton's backer the Clermont |
| #4555, aired 2004-05-28 | INVENTIONS $800: In 1824 British bricklayer Joseph Aspdin invented the Portland type of this cement |
| #4555, aired 2004-05-28 | INVENTIONS $1,000 (Daily Double): In 1868 Christopher Sholes & 2 others patented the typewriter; in 1873 this gunmaker got the contract to market it Remington |
| #4315, aired 2003-05-09 | DISCOVERIES & INVENTIONS $200: In the 1880's these recent inventions sometimes bore signs saying, "Do not attempt to light with a match" light bulbs |
| #4315, aired 2003-05-09 | DISCOVERIES & INVENTIONS $400: In 1900 only about 1 U.S. home in 13 had this device granted patent No. 174,465 24 years earlier telephone |
| #4315, aired 2003-05-09 | DISCOVERIES & INVENTIONS $600: George Clemens prevented untold chafing when he invented this device found in restaurant bathrooms the hand dryer |
| #4315, aired 2003-05-09 | DISCOVERIES & INVENTIONS $1,000 (Daily Double): Robert Watson-Watt's development of this use for radio waves in 1935 helped win the Battle of Britain radar |
| #4315, aired 2003-05-09 | DISCOVERIES & INVENTIONS $1000: A British inventor gave his name to this type of road surface that spread across Europe in the 19th century macadam |
| #4298, aired 2003-04-16 | INVENTIONS $200: On April 10, 1849 Walter Hunt received a patent for this cloth diaper fastener a safety pin |
| #4298, aired 2003-04-16 | INVENTIONS $400: In 1825 Hannah Montague, tired of washing her husband's shirts because this was soiled, invented a detachable one a collar |
| #4298, aired 2003-04-16 | INVENTIONS $600: Eli Whitney's model for this was stolen & manufactured by competitors before he received his patent in 1794 the cotton gin |
| #4298, aired 2003-04-16 | INVENTIONS $800: His father Robert attempted to build a mechanical reaper but failed; he succeeded & became quite wealthy (Cyrus) McCormick |
| #4298, aired 2003-04-16 | INVENTIONS $2,000 (Daily Double): His 1769 patent was for "a new invented method of lessening the consumption of steam and fuel in fire engines" James Watt |
| #3904, aired 2001-07-19 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $200: During a return voyage to the U.S. in 1832, he came up with the idea of sending messages over wires Samuel Morse |
| #3904, aired 2001-07-19 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $400: Visitors to the 1889 World's Fair in Paris could see Karl Benz' display of one of the first of these an automobile |
| #3904, aired 2001-07-19 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $600: Daniel Webster helped secure this man's rights to vulcanized rubber but the attorney fees cost more than his earnings Charles Goodyear |
| #3904, aired 2001-07-19 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $800: Nikola Tesla won a 1916 award for meritorious achievement in electrical science named for this former employer Thomas Edison |
| #3904, aired 2001-07-19 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $1000: In 1856 he received a patent for a condensed milk process; the Civil War helped make his company a success Gail Borden |
| #3867, aired 2001-05-29 | CHINESE INVENTIONS $100: During the Han dynasty, over 2,000 years ago, the Chinese were out flying these Kites |
| #3867, aired 2001-05-29 | CHINESE INVENTIONS $200: Way before using it at sea, the Chinese had this device with a floating magnetized needle Compass |
| #3867, aired 2001-05-29 | CHINESE INVENTIONS $300: In the T'ang dynasty the Chinese came up with this bone-hard white ceramic also called china porcelain |
| #3867, aired 2001-05-29 | CHINESE INVENTIONS $500: In the 8th century the mechanical clocks in China were driven by this water |
| #3867, aired 2001-05-29 | CHINESE INVENTIONS $800 (Daily Double): Legend says Emperor Huangdi's wife invented the loom to weave this fabric silk |
| #3670, aired 2000-07-14 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $200: In 1893 he built the Black Maria, the first building designed to make commercial motion pictures Thomas Edison |
| #3670, aired 2000-07-14 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $400: In 1812 the U.S. Congress denied his petition for the renewal of his patent for the cotton gin Eli Whitney |
| #3670, aired 2000-07-14 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $600: Bette Nesmith Graham called her correction fluid "Mistake Out" before selling it under this brand name Liquid Paper |
| #3670, aired 2000-07-14 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $800: In 1855 Joshua Stoddard patented this musical instrument often associated with circuses & merry-go-rounds Calliope |
| #3670, aired 2000-07-14 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $1000: In 1943 the U.S. Supreme Court credited this immigrant, not Marconi, as the inventor of radio Nikola Tesla |
| #3665, aired 2000-07-07 | AMERICAN INVENTIONS $200: This 1969 invention of Don Wetzel is associated with a P.I.N. ATM (Automated Teller Machine) |
| #3665, aired 2000-07-07 | AMERICAN INVENTIONS $400: On Feb. 21, 1947 Edwin Land demonstrated one of these to the Optical Society of America Polaroid/instant camera |
| #3665, aired 2000-07-07 | AMERICAN INVENTIONS $600: In the 1960s this U.S. firm released the first word processor, an adaptation of its Selectric typewriter IBM |
| #3665, aired 2000-07-07 | AMERICAN INVENTIONS $800: Without this 1947 invention of Shockley, Bardeen & Brattain, we'd have 40-pound Walkmans Transistor |
| #3665, aired 2000-07-07 | AMERICAN INVENTIONS $1000: Almost 40 years after Otis invented the safety elevator, Jesse Reno developed this people mover Escalator |
| #3594, aired 2000-03-30 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $100: He used the $40,000 made from his universal stock printer to set up a lab in Newark, New Jersey Edison |
| #3594, aired 2000-03-30 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $200: He and Phineas Miller received a cotton gin patent in 1794, but it didn't get court protection until 1807 Eli Whitney |
| #3594, aired 2000-03-30 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $300: During his lifetime this instant camera inventor received 533 U.S. patents (Edwin) Land |
| #3594, aired 2000-03-30 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $400: His pin-tumbler cylinder lock of 1861 was based on a mechanism used by the ancient Egyptians Linus Yale |
| #3594, aired 2000-03-30 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $500: In 1970 this U.S. glass firm made the first commercially viable optical fiber for communications Corning |
| #3510, aired 1999-12-03 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $100: In 1930 this automaker co-wrote a book on Thomas Edison titled "Edison As I Know Him" Henry Ford |
| #3510, aired 1999-12-03 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $200: In 1816 Johann Nepomuk Maelzel patented this device used by musicians to keep correct tempo Metronome |
| #3510, aired 1999-12-03 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $300: In 1929 this wireless communications pioneer was made an Italian marquis Guglielmo Marconi |
| #3510, aired 1999-12-03 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $400: In 1807 he wrote, "The power of propelling boats by steam is now fully proved" Robert Fulton |
| #3510, aired 1999-12-03 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $500: The cabin of this inventor of the Cherokee syllabary is a national historic landmark in Oklahoma Sequoyah |
| #3007, aired 1997-09-30 | FOREIGN INVENTIONS $200: You can check the papers; paper goes back to this country around 105 A.D. China |
| #3007, aired 1997-09-30 | FOREIGN INVENTIONS $400: Today we'd be Bic-less without this 1938 invention from Hungary's Ladislao Biro Ball-point pen |
| #3007, aired 1997-09-30 | FOREIGN INVENTIONS $600: The turbojet airplane & the diesel engine were invented in this country Germany |
| #3007, aired 1997-09-30 | FOREIGN INVENTIONS $1000: The miner's safety lamp & the lawn mower were invented by people from this country England |
| #3007, aired 1997-09-30 | FOREIGN INVENTIONS $1,800 (Daily Double): The aqua-lung was invented in this country in 1943 France |
| #3000, aired 1997-09-19 | INVENTIONS $100: In 1850 he developed a new Navy model of his 6-shooter Samuel Colt |
| #3000, aired 1997-09-19 | INVENTIONS $200: Thomas Hancock won a British patent for the vulcanization of rubber after studying this man's samples Charles Goodyear |
| #3000, aired 1997-09-19 | INVENTIONS $300: This Pennsylvania fireplace was later called this, after its inventor the Franklin Stove |
| #3000, aired 1997-09-19 | INVENTIONS $400: In September 1846, he patented a machine that could sew 250 stitches a minute Elias Howe |
| #3000, aired 1997-09-19 | INVENTIONS $500: Among his many creations was an audiometer to detect vestigial hearing in the deaf Alexander Graham Bell |
| #2976, aired 1997-07-07 | INVENTIONS $100: In 1860 L.O. Colvin invented one of the first machines that performed this farm chore, but it annoyed the cows Milking machine |
| #2976, aired 1997-07-07 | INVENTIONS $200: In 1870 Mattie Knight patented a machine that folded flat bottoms on these grocery carriers Paper/shopping bags |
| #2976, aired 1997-07-07 | INVENTIONS $300: Murray Spangler invented the modern type of this device & his relative William Hoover sold them Vacuum cleaner |
| #2976, aired 1997-07-07 | INVENTIONS $400: After his sweetheart's ice cream melted as he rowed it to her, Ole Evinrude invented this type of engine Outboard motor |
| #2976, aired 1997-07-07 | INVENTIONS $500: It took Dr. Wilson Greatbatch 2 years to develop this heart regulator first implemented in 1960 Pacemaker |
| #2948, aired 1997-05-28 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $100: Business partner Jacob Davis added the rivets to the pocket corners of this man's pants Levi Strauss |
| #2948, aired 1997-05-28 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $200: It's said he added a wire comb to his cotton gin at the suggestion of Catherine Greene, a widow Eli Whitney |
| #2948, aired 1997-05-28 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $300: During World War I he directed the wireless service of Italy's army Marconi |
| #2948, aired 1997-05-28 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $400: In 1959 Jack Kilby & Robert Noyce applied for patents on the first integrated ones of these a circuit |
| #2948, aired 1997-05-28 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $500: The sensation of the 1893 Chicago Exposition rose 250' & was named for its inventor the Ferris Wheel |
| #2838, aired 1996-12-25 | 20TH CENTURY INVENTIONS $100: In 1996 the FDA approved Renova, the 1st prescription drug that claims to remove these Wrinkles |
| #2838, aired 1996-12-25 | 20TH CENTURY INVENTIONS $200: In 1926 the 1st household pop-up one of these was marketed by the McGraw Electric Company Toaster |
| #2838, aired 1996-12-25 | 20TH CENTURY INVENTIONS $400: In 1916 Northam Warren created the first liquid type of this, Cutex nail polish |
| #2838, aired 1996-12-25 | 20TH CENTURY INVENTIONS $500: Dutch firm credited with inventing the compact audiocassette in 1963 Phillips |
| #2838, aired 1996-12-25 | 20TH CENTURY INVENTIONS $600 (Daily Double): Profession of Bob Burnside, who invented the following for his work: lifeguard |
| #2817, aired 1996-11-26 | INVENTIONS $100: The phrase "the sands of time" refers to this invention, common since the 14th century Hourglass |
| #2817, aired 1996-11-26 | INVENTIONS $200: He held a 1794 patent for a device he invented in just 10 days, for cleaning greenseed cotton Eli Whitney |
| #2817, aired 1996-11-26 | INVENTIONS $300: An 1890s bottle cap invented by William Painter was lined with this; plastic-lined ones appeared years later Cork |
| #2817, aired 1996-11-26 | INVENTIONS $400: His 1861 cylindrical pin-tumbler lock was an adaptation of ancient Egyptian lock designs Linus Yale |
| #2817, aired 1996-11-26 | INVENTIONS $500: After a trip to Africa, Ann Moore created this pouch to carry your child on your chest, like women in Togo Snugli |
| #2614, aired 1996-01-04 | INVENTIONS $100: If, as some say, Gen. Han Hsin invented this c. 200 B.C., he was the 1st to tell someone to go fly one a kite |
| #2614, aired 1996-01-04 | INVENTIONS $200: In 1947 Arthur Samuel designed a computer that could play this game; chess on the same board came later checkers |
| #2614, aired 1996-01-04 | INVENTIONS $300: In 1901 the first Mercedes introduced Wilhelm Maybach's honeycomb design for this cooling system the radiator |
| #2614, aired 1996-01-04 | INVENTIONS $400: The first mechanical one of these was invented in 1915 & marketed under the Ever-Sharp name a pencil |
| #2614, aired 1996-01-04 | INVENTIONS $500: The World Almanac's list of inventions runs from A for adding machine to Z for this device zipper |
| #2577, aired 1995-11-14 | INVENTIONS & DISCOVERIES $100: Prince Boris Golitzen invented an electromagnetic one of these, & was probably paid "Richter" scale Seismograph |
| #2577, aired 1995-11-14 | INVENTIONS & DISCOVERIES $200: In 1711, trumpeter John Shore invented this two-pronged pitch setter Tuning fork |
| #2577, aired 1995-11-14 | INVENTIONS & DISCOVERIES $300: In July of 1995, leptin was in the news; it's a protein that caused some mice to do this lose weight |
| #2577, aired 1995-11-14 | INVENTIONS & DISCOVERIES $400: In 1910 this Swiss company produced its first wrist chronometer Rolex |
| #2577, aired 1995-11-14 | INVENTIONS & DISCOVERIES $500 (Daily Double): Discovered in 1797 by Louis Nicolas Vauquelin, this element was named for the Greek for "color" chromium |
| #2488, aired 1995-05-31 | INVENTIONS $200: Willem Einthoven invented the string galvanometer used to produce these, known as EKGs electrocardiograms |
| #2488, aired 1995-05-31 | INVENTIONS $400: In 1875 Stephen D. Tucker invented a high-speed device to do this to newspapers after they were printed fold them |
| #2488, aired 1995-05-31 | INVENTIONS $600: This Ernst Ruska & Max Knoll invention can now distinguish objects 2 angstroms in size the electron microscope |
| #2488, aired 1995-05-31 | INVENTIONS $800: With the invention of this in the 15th century, the demand for eyeglasses boomed a printing press |
| #2488, aired 1995-05-31 | INVENTIONS $1000: You needed an eyedropper to put the ink inside the fountain pen that he invented in 1884 (Lewis) Waterman |
| #2384, aired 1995-01-05 | INVENTIONS $100: A new Sony VCR sets this device for you by using a signal broadcast to it by local PBS stations the clock |
| #2384, aired 1995-01-05 | INVENTIONS $200: Wiley Post had the B.F. Goodrich Co. make the first of these outfits to wear during high-altitude flights a flight suit (pressure suit) |
| #2384, aired 1995-01-05 | INVENTIONS $300: The Archimedean screw was used to raise this water |
| #2384, aired 1995-01-05 | INVENTIONS $400: Reading Jules Verne's "Clipper of the Clouds" inspired Igor Sikorsky to invent this the helicopter |
| #2384, aired 1995-01-05 | INVENTIONS $500: This key permitted the addition of lower-case letters to a typewriter without adding more keys the shift key |
| #2273, aired 1994-06-22 | INVENTIONS $100: Until dentist Washington Sheffield invented a tube for it, this came in porcelain jars toothpaste |
| #2273, aired 1994-06-22 | INVENTIONS $200: Emile Berliner improved this Edison invention by substituting shellac discs for the wax cylinders the phonograph |
| #2273, aired 1994-06-22 | INVENTIONS $300: Known for his frozen food process, he also developed a type of harpoon gun & an infrared heat lamp (Clarence) Birdseye |
| #2273, aired 1994-06-22 | INVENTIONS $400: The Pennsylvania fireplace, invented in 1742, is also called this, after its inventor the Franklin Stove |
| #2273, aired 1994-06-22 | INVENTIONS $500: Hans Lippershey invented the first of these by mounting a lens at each end of a tube the telescope |
| #2208, aired 1994-03-23 | INVENTIONS $200: Edison's used a cylinder with grooves cut in a spiral a phonograph |
| #2208, aired 1994-03-23 | INVENTIONS $400: In 1975 Sony introduced this videotape system for home use Betamax |
| #2208, aired 1994-03-23 | INVENTIONS $600: Carl de Laval's 1878 centrifuge was used by the dairy industry to do this separate cream from milk |
| #2208, aired 1994-03-23 | INVENTIONS $800: Using about 40 grams of test soil from here, T.D. Lin created a way to make concrete with it the moon |
| #2208, aired 1994-03-23 | INVENTIONS $2,500 (Daily Double): In 1844 John Mercer found a way to give this fabric a lustrous sheen cotton |
| #2194, aired 1994-03-03 | INVENTIONS $100: If Rowland Hill hadn't come up with the idea for these, philatelists would have nothing to collect stamps |
| #2194, aired 1994-03-03 | INVENTIONS $200: Roy J. Plunkett was stuck into the National Inventors Hall of Fame for this non-stick pan stuff Teflon |
| #2194, aired 1994-03-03 | INVENTIONS $300: A man in Vienna, Cyril Demian, not a lady of Spain, patented this instrument in 1829 the accordion |
| #2194, aired 1994-03-03 | INVENTIONS $400: Frederick Abel & James Dewar invented cordite, a type of this an explosive |
| #2194, aired 1994-03-03 | INVENTIONS $500: The first successful one of these to give printed results was invented by William S. Burroughs the adding machine |
| #2078, aired 1993-09-22 | INVENTIONS $100: For this "bright idea" Thomas Edison was elected to the Inventors Hall of Fame light bulb |
| #2078, aired 1993-09-22 | INVENTIONS $200: Walter Hunt's invention of this in 1849 made diaper fastening a cinch safety pin |
| #2078, aired 1993-09-22 | INVENTIONS $300: Cooking hasn't been the same since the development of this by Percy Spencer & Raytheon in 1947 microwave oven |
| #2078, aired 1993-09-22 | INVENTIONS $400: In 1879 James Ritty invented this machine to record sales; the money drawer came later cash register |
| #2078, aired 1993-09-22 | INVENTIONS $500: While studying earthquakes in Japan, John Milne invented this instrument for recording them seismograph |
| #1953, aired 1993-02-17 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $200: In 1869 Hippolyte Mege-Mouries of France invented this butter substitute by using beef fat margarine |
| #1953, aired 1993-02-17 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $400: This early 20th C. invention by Willis Carrier helps you keep a cool head on hot summer nights air conditioner |
| #1953, aired 1993-02-17 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $600: With $1300, Stephen Wozniak & this partner formed the Apple Computer Company in 1976 Steve Jobs |
| #1953, aired 1993-02-17 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $800: In 1858 Cyrus Field laid the 1st transatlantic cable from Ireland to this Canadian province Newfoundland |
| #1953, aired 1993-02-17 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $1000: In 1769 he patented a "Method of Lessening the Consumption of Steam & Fuel in Fire Engines" James Watt |
| #1882, aired 1992-11-10 | INVENTIONS $100: The first one of these electric devices was marketed by Schick in 1931 Razor |
| #1882, aired 1992-11-10 | INVENTIONS $200: In addition to the revolver, he invented an electrically controlled naval mine Samuel Colt |
| #1882, aired 1992-11-10 | INVENTIONS $300: This American engineer patented 214 inventions in the rocketry field Robert Goddard |
| #1882, aired 1992-11-10 | INVENTIONS $400: In the 1880s John McTammany, Jr. received several patents for this type of piano Player Piano |
| #1882, aired 1992-11-10 | INVENTIONS $500: In 1876 he introduced a carbon transmitter for Bell's telephone Thomas Edison |
| #1605, aired 1991-07-19 | INVENTIONS $200: Name shared by a Beatles album title & a 1835 invention of Samuel Colt revolver |
| #1605, aired 1991-07-19 | INVENTIONS $400: Adjective attached to Gustave Pasch's match & Walter Hunt's pin safety |
| #1605, aired 1991-07-19 | INVENTIONS $600: In 1792 William Murdock was the first to use coal gas for this purpose illumination |
| #1605, aired 1991-07-19 | INVENTIONS $800: John Ericsson invented this to replace the paddlewheel as the propulsion device on steamships the screw propeller |
| #1605, aired 1991-07-19 | INVENTIONS $1000: In the 1850s this man sued Isaac Singer over infringements on the patents of the sewing machine Elias Howe |
| #1587, aired 1991-06-25 | INVENTIONS & DISCOVERIES $100: These were developed from microwave amplifying devices called masers lasers |
| #1587, aired 1991-06-25 | INVENTIONS & DISCOVERIES $200: The aqualung was invented by Emile Gagnan & this man who explored the undersea world Jacques Cousteau |
| #1587, aired 1991-06-25 | INVENTIONS & DISCOVERIES $300: In 1930 Thomas Midgley discovered this refrigerant that has become an environmental hazard freon |
| #1587, aired 1991-06-25 | INVENTIONS & DISCOVERIES $400: Before these saddle parts were invented, foot soldiers, not knights on horses, did most of the fighting stirrups |
| #1587, aired 1991-06-25 | INVENTIONS & DISCOVERIES $500: He invented the self-cleaning steel plow, the company he founded is No. 1 in the U.S. in farm equipment John Deere |
| #1552, aired 1991-05-07 | INVENTIONS $100: In the '30s the foot treadle on many of these was replaced by an electric motor; in the '40s zigzag was added a sewing machine |
| #1552, aired 1991-05-07 | INVENTIONS $200: When donning your Walkman's earphones, remember he invented the 1st earphone in 1876 (Alexander Graham) Bell |
| #1552, aired 1991-05-07 | INVENTIONS $300: In 1896 this Italian patented his wireless transmitter & receiver Marconi |
| #1552, aired 1991-05-07 | INVENTIONS $400: Of the maser, laser or phaser, the one invented first the maser |
| #1552, aired 1991-05-07 | INVENTIONS $500: Jan Matzeliger won lasting fame when he invented a lasting machine to make these faster shoes |
| #1550, aired 1991-05-03 | INVENTIONS $100: This computer, introduced in 1984, was named for its designer's favorite apple the Macintosh |
| #1550, aired 1991-05-03 | INVENTIONS $200: No one wanted the vote recorder he invented in 1868 in Boston Thomas Alva Edison |
| #1550, aired 1991-05-03 | INVENTIONS $300: This developer of the steam engine also invented steam heating as a way to heat his office (James) Watt |
| #1550, aired 1991-05-03 | INVENTIONS $400: Sonar was to be used in World War I to locate these craft, but the war ended before it could be used submarines |
| #1550, aired 1991-05-03 | INVENTIONS $500: It was about the time of the Civil War that he introduced his cylinder lock (Linus) Yale |
| #1532, aired 1991-04-09 | CELEBRITY INVENTIONS $100: In 1969 a heartbeat alarm worn on the wrist was patented by Zeppo of this comedy team the Marx Brothers |
| #1532, aired 1991-04-09 | CELEBRITY INVENTIONS $200: On her patent for a cigar-holder ring, she’s listed as Edith A. Kovacs Edie Adams |
| #1532, aired 1991-04-09 | CELEBRITY INVENTIONS $300: This actress who starred in “Ecstasy” and “Algiers” helped invent a torpedo control system Hedy Lamarr |
| #1532, aired 1991-04-09 | CELEBRITY INVENTIONS $400: No knucklehead, this ventriloquist designed an artificial heart but Jarvik’s was chosen over his Paul Winchell |
| #1532, aired 1991-04-09 | CELEBRITY INVENTIONS $500: Some 20 years after finishing his “U.S.A.” trilogy, he took out a patent on a soap-bubble gun John Dos Passos |
| #1466, aired 1991-01-07 | INVENTIONS $100: Among his lesser-known inventions are the mimeograph machine & wax paper (Thomas) Edison |
| #1466, aired 1991-01-07 | INVENTIONS $200: The first one, built by the Otis Elevator Co., was installed in Gimbel's Philadelphia store in 1901 escalator |
| #1466, aired 1991-01-07 | INVENTIONS $300: This 1853 invention by Charles Pravaz enables doctors to administer drugs more easily (hypodermic) needle |
| #1466, aired 1991-01-07 | INVENTIONS $400: Joseph Aspdin, a bricklayer, invented the "Portland" variety of this substance cement |
| #1466, aired 1991-01-07 | INVENTIONS $500: While in prison for debt, he began experiments that led him to vulcanize rubber Charles Goodyear |
| #1425, aired 1990-11-09 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $200: Nicolas Appert, who invented canned food, also came up with these cubes used to make instant soup bouillon |
| #1425, aired 1990-11-09 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $400: He invented champagne by devising the corking system necessary to make it Dom Perignon |
| #1425, aired 1990-11-09 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $600: In the 1890s he tried coal dust as a power source for his engine before trying crude fuel oil Diesel |
| #1425, aired 1990-11-09 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $800: In '53 Dr. J. Gibbon invented this machine that permitted cardiac surgery longer than 10 minutes the heart-lung machine |
| #1425, aired 1990-11-09 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $1000: Robert Bunsen & Gustav Kirchhoff developed this device to see the wavelengths of light spectroscope |
| #1394, aired 1990-09-27 | INVENTIONS $100: Invented in 1890 as a health food, it's been sticking to the roofs of mouths for a century now peanut butter |
| #1394, aired 1990-09-27 | INVENTIONS $200: Isaac Singer added a foot treadle as one of his improvements to this device a sewing machine |
| #1394, aired 1990-09-27 | INVENTIONS $300: In 1958 bifocal contact lenses were invented, some 175 years after he invented bifocal glasses Benjamin Franklin |
| #1394, aired 1990-09-27 | INVENTIONS $400: Joseph Bramah invented a device to do this to banknotes so each one would be a little different put different serial numbers on them all |
| #1394, aired 1990-09-27 | INVENTIONS $500: In 1924 this U.S. company acquired the German Zeppelin patents under license Goodyear |
| #1295, aired 1990-03-30 | INVENTIONS $100: E.T. Holmes made the first one of these in 1877 to serve 6 telephone subscribers in Boston Telephone Switchboard (even though there were only 6 subscribers) |
| #1295, aired 1990-03-30 | INVENTIONS $200: You could have gotten stuck on this company's first stick-on Band-Aids in 1921 Johnson & Johnson |
| #1295, aired 1990-03-30 | INVENTIONS $300: In 11th century China, Pi Sheng made this out of clay; about 1445 Gutenberg used metal Movable Type |
| #1295, aired 1990-03-30 | INVENTIONS $500: The U.S. developed the NTSC system of this; France, SECAM & Germany, PAL Different systems of broadcasting color television |
| #1262, aired 1990-02-13 | INVENTIONS $200: In 1979 technicians at this company's Shibaura plant in Tokyo developed the Walkman Sony |
| #1262, aired 1990-02-13 | INVENTIONS $400: He experimented with submarines before building the first commercially successful steamboat Robert Fulton |
| #1262, aired 1990-02-13 | INVENTIONS $600: A noise reduction system for audio tapes is named for this man, its inventor Ray Dolby |
| #1262, aired 1990-02-13 | INVENTIONS $800: This invention was also called "The Pennsylvania Fireplace" the Franklin Stove (or Oven or Furnace) |
| #1262, aired 1990-02-13 | INVENTIONS $1000: Edwin Herbert Land first demonstrated this invention in 1947 the Polaroid camera |
| #1255, aired 1990-02-02 | INVENTIONS $100: Though he may not have tried it himself, da Vinci designed what is probably the 1st of these "fall-breakers" a parachute |
| #1255, aired 1990-02-02 | INVENTIONS $200: Richard Nixon's pal Robt. Abplanalp invented the valve for this type of can an aerosol can |
| #1255, aired 1990-02-02 | INVENTIONS $300: The typewriter was 1st mass-produced in the 1870s by this gun manufacturer Remington |
| #1255, aired 1990-02-02 | INVENTIONS $400: In 1960 the FDA approved production of Enovid, the 1st of these birth control pills |
| #1255, aired 1990-02-02 | INVENTIONS $500: Only president granted a patent at any time in his life; he got it in 1849 for a ship flotation device Abraham Lincoln |
| #1236, aired 1990-01-08 | INVENTIONS $100: Edison's bulb gave off yellow light; Irving Langmuir invented 1 that produced light of this color white |
| #1236, aired 1990-01-08 | INVENTIONS $200: The World Almanac's list of inventions runs from Pascal's adding machine to this fastener by Judson zipper |
| #1236, aired 1990-01-08 | INVENTIONS $300: E.E. Cummings would not have liked the typewriter C.L. Sholes invented; it only did this type in capitals |
| #1236, aired 1990-01-08 | INVENTIONS $500 (Daily Double): Purpose of the device seen here on the top of the billboard: to keep off the pigeons |
| #1236, aired 1990-01-08 | INVENTIONS $500: Italian-born physicist whose control rods put a "damper" on the 1st controlled nuclear reaction Enrico Fermi |
| #1227, aired 1989-12-26 | INVENTIONS $100: The 1st electric version had only red & green lights & had to be worked by hand Stop Light/Traffic Signal |
| #1227, aired 1989-12-26 | INVENTIONS $200: Usually credited to Galileo, it originally contained water or alcohol, not mercury Thermometer |
| #1227, aired 1989-12-26 | INVENTIONS $300: He marketed the 1st mass-produced camera George Eastman |
| #1227, aired 1989-12-26 | INVENTIONS $400: A Swiss engineer got the idea for this from the burrs that stuck to his clothes Velcro |
| #1227, aired 1989-12-26 | INVENTIONS $500: In 1908 this government department offered the Wright Brothers $25,000 for one of their airplanes The War Department |
| #1074, aired 1989-04-13 | INVENTIONS $100: The 1st patent for making a false set of these was awarded in 1822 to C.M. Graham teeth |
| #1074, aired 1989-04-13 | INVENTIONS $200: After learning of this invention by Dutch optician Hans Lippershey, Galileo built one a telescope |
| #1074, aired 1989-04-13 | INVENTIONS $300: This inventor of the rotary engine isn't around anymore since he died October 9, 1988 (Felix) Wankel |
| #1074, aired 1989-04-13 | INVENTIONS $400: A 1643 invention, Torricelli's inverted tube of mercury was the 1st form of this weather instrument the barometer |
| #1074, aired 1989-04-13 | INVENTIONS $500: Invented in 1856 by William Perkin, the 1st synthetic dye turned things this color purple (or mauve) |
| #1032, aired 1989-02-14 | EVERYDAY INVENTIONS $100: C. Latham Sholes invented this - - not Olivetti or Smith or even Corona a typewriter |
| #1032, aired 1989-02-14 | EVERYDAY INVENTIONS $200: Clarence Birdseye got the idea for frozen food after living among these people for 3 years Eskimos |
| #1032, aired 1989-02-14 | EVERYDAY INVENTIONS $300: Of Dunlop, Goodyear or Goodrich, the veterinarian who invented the pneumatic bike tire (John) Dunlop |
| #1032, aired 1989-02-14 | EVERYDAY INVENTIONS $400: This, not corn, was used to make the Kellogg brothers' 1st flakes wheat |
| #1032, aired 1989-02-14 | EVERYDAY INVENTIONS $500: The 1st lightweight one for home use consisted of a fan motor, a soap box, a broom handle & a pillowcase a vacuum cleaner |
| #949, aired 1988-10-20 | INVENTIONS $100: Many say this puzzle was invented by Arthur Wynne a crossword |
| #949, aired 1988-10-20 | INVENTIONS $200: 1970s Magicube had 4 of these & worked without batteries flash bulbs |
| #949, aired 1988-10-20 | INVENTIONS $300: King Gillette didn't invent the safety razor but this feature of it the (double-edged disposable) blade |
| #949, aired 1988-10-20 | INVENTIONS $400: The "screw of Archimedes" was designed to raise this substance water |
| #949, aired 1988-10-20 | INVENTIONS $500: By adding more of these, the 1908 Edison Amberol cylinder doubled playing time to 4 minutes grooves |
| #931, aired 1988-09-26 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $100: The "Book of Inventions" says the Rolex "Oyster" was the 1st watch that was completely this waterproof |
| #931, aired 1988-09-26 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $200: In 1948 Peter Goldmark devised this, usually abbreviated "LP" a long-playing record |
| #931, aired 1988-09-26 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $300: It's claimed element No. 102 was 1st isolated at the Swedish institute named for this inventor Nobel |
| #931, aired 1988-09-26 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $400: Sales of Wilbur Blank's 40-yr.-old peeler for this fruit took off after Andy Rooney praised it on TV orange |
| #931, aired 1988-09-26 | INVENTORS & INVENTIONS $500: In the 18th century this city in England produced the 1st steel razors Sheffield |
| #801, aired 1988-02-15 | INVENTIONS $200: In the 1780s, Ben Franklin invented these, & what a sight for sore eyes they were bifocals |
| #801, aired 1988-02-15 | INVENTIONS $400: He sent musical notes over the wire months before his famous message to Watson Alexander Graham Bell |
| #801, aired 1988-02-15 | INVENTIONS $600: This scientific instrument's name is from the Greek for "small look" microscope |
| #801, aired 1988-02-15 | INVENTIONS $800: Gutenberg's printing press was just a modified version of the device used to press these grapes or olives |
| #801, aired 1988-02-15 | INVENTIONS $1000: In 1960, the 1st working laser used a synthetic version of this gem as its amplifier ruby |
| #707, aired 1987-10-06 | INVENTIONS $200: It's said J.B. Jolly of Paris noticed that turpentine spilled on a dress cleaned it & so invented the process dry cleaning |
| #707, aired 1987-10-06 | INVENTIONS $400: The "iconoscope" was an early form of this device, 5 of which we use to tape our show a camera |
| #707, aired 1987-10-06 | INVENTIONS $600: The 1st of these synthetic fabrics was called "terylene" in Britain, "tergal" in France, & "dacron" in U.S. polyester |
| #707, aired 1987-10-06 | INVENTIONS $1000: With his invention he disproved the notion that it was nonsense "to stop a railroad train with wind" George Westinghouse |
| #707, aired 1987-10-06 | INVENTIONS $4,000 (Daily Double): Georges de Mestral got idea for this from burrs that stuck to his pants during a hunting trip Velcro |
| #671, aired 1987-07-06 | INVENTIONS $200: Inspired by wooden versions made in Ancient Egypt, Cyrus Yale made 1st cylinder type of this in 1848 a lock |
| #671, aired 1987-07-06 | INVENTIONS $400: Joseph Swan invented this in England about the same time Edison invented it here the lightbulb |
| #671, aired 1987-07-06 | INVENTIONS $600: Invention of this is attributed to Igor Sikorsky in 1939 the helicopter |
| #671, aired 1987-07-06 | INVENTIONS $800: President who invented the dumbwaiter Jefferson |
| #671, aired 1987-07-06 | INVENTIONS $1000: At least 20 companies turned down this Chester Carlson invention, finally sold to Haloid of Rochester, N.Y. xerography (or photocopying) |
| #602, aired 1987-03-31 | INVENTIONS $100: Before the 11th c., this eating utensil wasn't placed on the left, because it hadn't been invented a fork |
| #602, aired 1987-03-31 | INVENTIONS $200: In 1478, the 1st recorded reference to this camping aid called it a "wind bed" an air mattress |
| #602, aired 1987-03-31 | INVENTIONS $300: According to AT&T archives, "dialing" by use of this system was 1st tried in 1892 push-button dialing |
| #602, aired 1987-03-31 | INVENTIONS $400: Of rayon, radar or the radio, the one invented first rayon |
| #602, aired 1987-03-31 | INVENTIONS $500: Shoppers 1st used these at Oklahoma City's "Humpty Dumpty Store" on June 4, 1937 shopping carts |
| #542, aired 1987-01-06 | INVENTIONS $200: U.S. patent #123790, Feb. 20, 1872, is for a machine to turn a block of wood into 1000s of these toothpicks |
| #542, aired 1987-01-06 | INVENTIONS $400: Italian chemist Ascanio Sobrero discovered this compound which blew up Alfred's brother Emil Nobel nitroglycerine |
| #542, aired 1987-01-06 | INVENTIONS $600: Contrary to his name, he put ink, not H2O, in the fountain pen he patented in 1884 Waterman |
| #542, aired 1987-01-06 | INVENTIONS $800: 1st administrator of the U.S. patent system, he never took out a patent for any of his inventions Thomas Jefferson |
| #542, aired 1987-01-06 | INVENTIONS $1000: In 1888, Marvin Chester Stone patented the 1st of these, hand-rolled & made of paraffined paper straws |
| #506, aired 1986-11-17 | INVENTIONS $200: After seeing employees filch stamps, Arthur Pitney developed this type of machine postage meter |
| #506, aired 1986-11-17 | INVENTIONS $400: Erroneously called the "Clermont", his ship is also often erroneously called the 1st steamboat Robert Fulton |
| #506, aired 1986-11-17 | INVENTIONS $600: In 1946, Percy LeBaron Spencer of Raytheon Corp. accidentally found you can cook with these microwaves |
| #506, aired 1986-11-17 | INVENTIONS $800: In 1808, the first crude typewriter was built for an Italian countess afflicted with this blindness |
| #432, aired 1986-05-06 | INVENTIONS $100: Specializing in sunglasses & filters, this company turned to instant photography in 1948 Polaroid |
| #432, aired 1986-05-06 | INVENTIONS $200: In a contest launched by Napoleon III, Hippolyte Megemouries invented this butter substitute margarine |
| #432, aired 1986-05-06 | INVENTIONS $300: When Luther C. Crowell patented this in 1872, he "got the sack" a paper bag |
| #432, aired 1986-05-06 | INVENTIONS $400: The original 1972 model of this company's 1st electronic pocket calculator is in the Smithsonian Texas Instruments |
| #432, aired 1986-05-06 | INVENTIONS $500: It's what the 1874 "literary piano" developed into the typewriter |
| #327, aired 1985-12-10 | INVENTIONS $200: Without this, conductor Fred Waring's invention, it would be hard to get a margarita blender |
| #327, aired 1985-12-10 | INVENTIONS $400: Used in cooking & developed by Corning in 1915, it helped make large chemical plants possible Pyrex |
| #327, aired 1985-12-10 | INVENTIONS $600: Computers are successors to an invention used to count this in 1890 census |
| #327, aired 1985-12-10 | INVENTIONS $800: Edison invented this office device in 1875 & sold the patent to A.B. Dick of Chicago mimeograph machine |
| #327, aired 1985-12-10 | INVENTIONS $1000: In 1914, there wasn't a dry eye in the house after Germany developed explosive shells for this tear gas |
| #315, aired 1985-11-22 | INVENTIONS $200: To demonstrate his elevator's safety in 1852, he got in it & cut the cable Otis |
| #315, aired 1985-11-22 | INVENTIONS $400: 1st credited to Hans Lippershey in 1608, it was Galileo, in 1609, who first used it to look up the telescope |
| #315, aired 1985-11-22 | INVENTIONS $600: Thanks to his invention, we saw Mickey Rooney & Spencer Tracy play him in the movies Thomas Edison |
| #315, aired 1985-11-22 | INVENTIONS $800: The 1st of these with flippers were 1947's "Bermuda" & "Humpty Dumpty" pinball machines |
| #315, aired 1985-11-22 | INVENTIONS $1000: Only type of invention for which the U.S. Patent Office still insists on seeing a working model a perpetual motion machine |
| #290, aired 1985-10-18 | INVENTIONS $100: It is generally believed gunpowder was invented in this country China |
| #290, aired 1985-10-18 | INVENTIONS $200: Himself blind, he modified a military secret code to invent writing for the blind (Louis) Braille |
| #290, aired 1985-10-18 | INVENTIONS $300: Willis Carrier's 1902 invention the air conditioner |
| #290, aired 1985-10-18 | INVENTIONS $400: Not surprisingly, he invented the disposable blade safety razor King Camp Gillette |
| #290, aired 1985-10-18 | INVENTIONS $500: Though his name is also associated with blades, he invented the electric shaver (Lt. Col. Jacob) Schick |
| #170, aired 1985-05-03 | INVENTIONS $100: While Bell invented the phone, Watson added this to it to let you know someone's calling the ring |
| #170, aired 1985-05-03 | INVENTIONS $200: In 1832, William Hedley's "Puffing Billy" was on track as one of the first practical kinds of these a locomotive |
| #170, aired 1985-05-03 | INVENTIONS $300: In the 1st cent. B.C., Hero invented this device which today eats nickels in Vegas slot machine |
| #170, aired 1985-05-03 | INVENTIONS $400: Galileo kept going back & forth figuring out the principles which led to the invention of this clock part the pendulum |
| #170, aired 1985-05-03 | INVENTIONS $500: It was invented to bring the lateral thrust of the vaults of the Gothic cathedral down to the ground the flying buttress |
| #161, aired 1985-04-22 | INVENTIONS $200: In the late 1830s this painter invented the telegraph Morse |
| #161, aired 1985-04-22 | INVENTIONS $400: Geo. Washington invented a "barrel pow", with a barrel that dropped these at a steady rate seeds |
| #151, aired 1985-04-08 | INVENTIONS $200: Cyrus McCormick invention that made farmers' lives less "grim" a reaper |
| #151, aired 1985-04-08 | INVENTIONS $400: Type of camera invented by Edwin Land the Polaroid (instant camera) |
| #151, aired 1985-04-08 | INVENTIONS $600: Russian-American Vladimir Zworykin invented the iconoscope & kinescope, both used in this television |
| #151, aired 1985-04-08 | INVENTIONS $800: Elias Howe won the sewing machine patent rights in a dispute with him Singer |
| #151, aired 1985-04-08 | INVENTIONS $1000: Except for patents on design only, they expire after this much time 17 years |
| #143, aired 1985-03-27 | INVENTIONS $200: Sauciers Lea & Perrin's culinary concoction Worcestershire Sauce |
| #143, aired 1985-03-27 | INVENTIONS $400: When first patented, farmers wouldn't use it, thinking its iron metal would poison the ground the plough |
| #143, aired 1985-03-27 | INVENTIONS $600: Seismologist who developed most common system for measuring earthquakes (Charles) Richter |
| #143, aired 1985-03-27 | INVENTIONS $800: "The Digester", invented by Denis Papin later became this, used for cooking with steam a pressure cooker |
| #143, aired 1985-03-27 | INVENTIONS $1000: Fastening device invented during the Bronze Age, lost, then reinvented by Walter Hunt in the 1840s the safety pin |
| #108, aired 1985-02-06 | INVENTIONS $200: Many dimmed their lights in tribute on the day this inventor was buried Edison |
| #108, aired 1985-02-06 | INVENTIONS $400: Among utensils in standard place setting, the most recently invented a fork |
| #108, aired 1985-02-06 | INVENTIONS $600: For his corn harvester, Henry Blair was the 1st Black to receive one a patent |
| #108, aired 1985-02-06 | INVENTIONS $800: President who invented the swivel chair & lap desk (Thomas) Jefferson |
| #108, aired 1985-02-06 | INVENTIONS $1000: 1st known photo of a living person was taken by him on a Paris street in 1839 Louis Daguerre |
| #103, aired 1985-01-30 | INVENTIONS $100: Til the early '50s, primary use of a seat belt was in this mode of transportation an airplane |
| #103, aired 1985-01-30 | INVENTIONS $200: What the 1897 Pianola could do without you play by itself |
| #103, aired 1985-01-30 | INVENTIONS $300: The Wankel is the most fully developed & widely known of this type of engine the rotary engine |
| #103, aired 1985-01-30 | INVENTIONS $400: British teacher knighted with a long sword after inventing a shorthand system Sir Isaac Pitman |
| #103, aired 1985-01-30 | INVENTIONS $500: He also invented the rubber dental plate (Charles) Goodyear |
| #68, aired 1984-12-12 | INVENTIONS $100: "Fulton's Folly" a steamboat |
| #68, aired 1984-12-12 | INVENTIONS $200: Early ones were called the "hobby horse", "penny-farthing" & "high-wheeler" a bicycle |
| #68, aired 1984-12-12 | INVENTIONS $300: 1899 device for attaching papers that can ruin a computer disc when magnetized a paper clip |
| #68, aired 1984-12-12 | INVENTIONS $400: After inventing the lever & pulley, this Greek said, "I will move the Earth" Archimedes |
| #68, aired 1984-12-12 | INVENTIONS $500: 1st one to attempt sinking a warship was the "Turtle" in the Revolutionary War a submarine |
| #13, aired 1984-09-26 | INVENTIONS $200: "The mother of invention" necessity |
| #13, aired 1984-09-26 | INVENTIONS $400: Country credited with invention of pasta, porcelain, & paper China |
| #13, aired 1984-09-26 | INVENTIONS $600: Tissue originally used as a WWI gas filter, but now literally something to sneeze at Kleenex |
| #13, aired 1984-09-26 | INVENTIONS $800: 1st developed for the blind, they've become the most widely used business machine the typewriter |
| #13, aired 1984-09-26 | INVENTIONS $1000: Printing press inventor associated with the world's most valuable book Gutenberg |
| #12, aired 1984-09-25 | INVENTIONS $100: He invented the Franklin stove Ben Franklin |
| #12, aired 1984-09-25 | INVENTIONS $200: Detection of gamma rays was 1 of the uses for this 1947 instant picture taker a Polaroid-Land camera |
| #12, aired 1984-09-25 | INVENTIONS $300: 2,160 people at a time could ride on this at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair a Ferris wheel |
| #12, aired 1984-09-25 | INVENTIONS $400: Edison suggested it be used to record phone calls & make clocks talk the phonograph |
| #12, aired 1984-09-25 | INVENTIONS $500: The first patent pool was for this invention by Howe, Hunt & Singer the sewing machine |
| #1, aired 1984-09-10 | INVENTIONS $100: Marconi's wonderful wireless a radio |
| #1, aired 1984-09-10 | INVENTIONS $200: In 1869 an American minister created this "oriental" transportation a rickshaw |
| #1, aired 1984-09-10 | INVENTIONS $300: A 1920's hunting trip to Canada inspired Birdseye's food preserving method freezing |
| #1, aired 1984-09-10 | INVENTIONS $400: This fastener gets its name from a brand of galoshes it was used on a zipper |
