Inventions
Witness History. The invention of Kevlar. Audio, 11 minutes
In 1965, a new fibre was discovered by scientist Stephanie Kwolek
- AttributionBBC World Service
- Available for over a year
- Attribution
- Posted22 July
- Attribution
- Posted1 July
- Attribution
- Posted24 June
Sporting Witness. Creating Hawk-Eye and goal-line tech. Audio, 11 minutes
In 2000, Paul Hawkins turned his cricket passion into innovation by creating the tech
- AttributionBBC World Service
- Available for over a year
Witness History. The invention of the automatic electric rice cooker. Audio, 10 minutes
In 1955, entrepreneur and engineer Yoshitada Minami, revolutionised rice cooking
- AttributionBBC World Service
- Available for over a year
- Attribution
- Posted23 April
- Attribution
- Posted23 April
Witness History. The invention of the white LED lightbulb. Audio, 10 minutes
In 1993, a lightbulb moment led to the invention of the first white light emitting diode
- AttributionBBC World Service
- Available for over a year
Witness History. Resusci Anne: the world’s first life-saving resuscitation dummy. Audio, 10 minutes
In May 1960 a Norwegian toy-maker unveiled a life-sized, life-like training manikin
- AttributionBBC World Service
- Available for over a year
Witness History. The invention of superglue. Audio, 10 minutes
In 1951, Harry Coover noticed a chemical he was working with was sticking to everything
- AttributionBBC World Service
- Available for over a year
Sporting Witness. Why I designed the prosthetic running leg. Audio, 10 minutes
In 1984, Van Phillips invented the first carbon graphite running leg.
- AttributionBBC World Service
- Available for over a year
Witness History. The invention of GPS. Audio, 9 minutes
The Global Positioning System, also known as GPS, was created in the late 1970s
- AttributionBBC World Service
- Available for over a year
Witness History. The invention of the shopping trolley. Audio, 9 minutes
In 1937, American supermarket owner Sylvan Goldman wanted his customers to spend more.
- AttributionBBC World Service
- Available for over a year
- Attribution
- Posted9 January
Witness History. The invention of the hotel key card. Audio, 9 minutes
In the 1970s, Norwegian Tor Sornes invented the hotel key card
- AttributionBBC World Service
- Available for over a year
Witness History. Creating Alexa. Audio, 9 minutes
In 2000, two Polish students started creating a smart speaker which sounded human
- AttributionBBC World Service
- Available for over a year
The Bottom Line. The Decisions That Made Me, Tom Pellereau (Stylideas, Inventor) Audio, 17 minutes
The beauty inventor on being dyslexic and working with Alan Sugar.
- AttributionBBC Radio 4
- Available for over a year
Witness History. The invention of the ‘Baby’ computer. Audio, 9 minutes
In 1948, the first stored-program computer the ‘Baby’ was invented
- AttributionBBC World Service
- Available for over a year
- Attribution
- Posted15 October 2024
- Attribution
- Posted12 October 2024
Witness History. How the QR code was invented. Audio, 9 minutes
In 1994 Japanese engineer Masahiro Hara designed a square of data, now known as a QR code
- AttributionBBC World Service
- Available for over a year
Witness History. WABOT-1: The first humanoid robot. Audio, 9 minutes
Scientists at Waseda University in Japan built the world's first humanoid robot in 1973
- AttributionBBC World Service
- Available for over a year
Witness History. Eliza: When chatbots started. Audio, 9 minutes
1966 saw the invention of Eliza, which is said to be the first chatbot
- AttributionBBC World Service
- Available for over a year
