10 Inventions that changed the world
Fire: The natural phenomenon that is fire changed the course of human evolution.
The wheel: The oldest known wheel is from Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq), created around 3500 BCE by the Sumerian people for use in shaping pottery.
The compass: The Chinese are credited with inventing the first crude compass, sometime around 200 BCE.
The automobile: French engineer Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot (1725–1804) is credited with inventing the first working self-propelled mechanical land vehicle.
The steam engine: The world's first commercially used steam-powered device, a steam pump, was invented by British engineer.
Concrete: The precursor to concrete was invented in about 1300 BCE as damp burned limestone used by laborers.
Gasoline: Originating in the oil fields of Pennsylvania in 1859, gasoline, a fuel derivative of petroleum.
The railroad: British mining engineer Richard Trevithick (1771–1833) is responsible for inventing the first full-scale working railway steam.
The airplane: On December 17, 1903, Wilbur and Orville Wright famously achieved the first powered, sustained, and controlled flight.
The lightbulb: A genuine lightbulb moment was achieved on January 27, 1880 when Thomas Edison (1847–1931) patented his electric lamp.