Inventions Facts for Kids

The QWERTY keyboard layout was designed in the 1870s partly to keep commonly used letter pairs apart so typewriter keys wouldn't jam.

Over 750,000 miles of fiber optic cables sit on the ocean floor, carrying 99% of the world's internet data between continents.

The zipper was first invented in 1893 but wasn't practical until 1913 — it took 20 years to get it right.

Aspirin is based on a chemical found in willow bark, which people had been chewing for pain relief for thousands of years.

The teddy bear was named after President Theodore 'Teddy' Roosevelt after he refused to shoot a bear on a hunting trip.

The first satellite, Sputnik, launched in 1957, was only the size of a beach ball but changed the world forever.

Modern sunscreen was invented in 1944 by a soldier named Benjamin Green who wanted to protect troops from sunburn.

Paper was invented in China around 105 AD by Cai Lun, who made it from bark, rags, and fishing nets.

The lie detector, or polygraph, was invented in 1921 and works by measuring heart rate, breathing, and sweating.

The first webcam was set up in 1991 at Cambridge University just to watch a coffee pot so scientists could see if coffee was ready.