Bicycles were only invented about two hundred years ago—and the first ones didn't have tires or brakes! But bikes aren't the only way we've tried to conquer the roads, seas, and skies. You'll discover how slow the earliest steam locomotives were, how Leonardo da Vinci designed a flying machine inspired by bats and birds, how the US Department of Defense invented GPS, and more! Fact-packed text and fun illustrations reveal the designs that didn't get off the ground (like nuclear cars and flying submarines) and daredevil ideas (like jetpacks). Chart the progress of transportation, from chariots and dugout canoes to bullet trains and spacecraft.

Tin cans were first produced in London in 1813. But they had to be opened with a hammer and chisel, because the can opener wasn't invented until 1855! Check out other amazing engineering innovations, such as a popular soft drink originally sold as a "brain tonic," an 18th-century battery called a voltaic pile, and a design from 1596 for the first flushing toilet. Fact-packed text and fun illustrations reveal clever discoveries that changed the world--and weird ideas that didn't (like Nikola Tesla's earthquake machine or Thomas Edison's giant singing dolls). Learn how wonders of engineering have helped us improve our lives--from growing food to powering machinery.

Presents information about the inventions that have enabled people to see everything from distant stars to tiny cells.

Discover the fascinating world of inventions and technology. From the first tools to the latest gadgets, Pocket Genius: Inventions showcases key inventors and inventions that changed the world from air, space, water, and land transportation to everyday objects in the home, medical tools and aids, plus telescopes, roller coasters, satellites, and robots, and a look at future technologies. Redesigned in paperback, DK's best-selling Pocket Genius series is now available in an engaging compact and economical format that is ideal for both browsing and quick reference for use in school and at home. Catalog entries packed with facts provide at-a-glance information, while locator icons offer immediately recognizable references to aid navigation and understanding, and fact files round off the book with fun facts such as record breakers and timelines. Each pocket-size encyclopedia is filled with facts on subjects ranging from animals to history, cars to dogs, and Earth to space and combines a child-friendly layout with engaging photography and bite-size chunks of text that will encourage and inform even the most reluctant readers.

"From codes and signals to social media, communication inventions advance the ways we interact with one another. Humorous text follows these inventions throughout history, showing how one invention often led to another--or how some inventions didn't turn out so well."--

Inventions change people's lives. But the stories told about how they were invented are often wrong. That story you heard of an overnight success took years of hard work and countless failed attempts to create. Discover the true stories behind inventions from the lifesaving gas mask to the thrilling Super Soaker.

Discover the fascinating world of inventions and technology. From the first tools to the latest gadgets, Pocket Genius: Inventions showcases key inventors and inventions that changed the world from air, space, water, and land transportation to everyday objects in the home, medical tools and aids, plus telescopes, roller coasters, satellites, and robots, and a look at future technologies. Redesigned in paperback, DK's best-selling Pocket Genius series is now available in an engaging compact and economical format that is ideal for both browsing and quick reference for use in school and at home. Catalog entries packed with facts provide at-a-glance information, while locator icons offer immediately recognizable references to aid navigation and understanding, and fact files round off the book with fun facts such as record breakers and timelines. Each pocket-size encyclopedia is filled with facts on subjects ranging from animals to history, cars to dogs, and Earth to space and combines a child-friendly layout with engaging photography and bite-size chunks of text that will encourage and inform even the most reluctant readers.

Who invented the traffic light? What about transportation itself? Farming? Art? Modern chemistry? Who made…cats? What if I told you there was ONE answer to all of these questions? That one answer? BLACK PEOPLE! Seriously. And this book is like a mini-encyclopedia, full of more evidence than WikiLeaks and just as eye-opening! Do you know just how much Black inventors and creators have given to modern society? Within the past 200 years, Black Americans have drawn on a timeless well of inner genius to innovate and engineer the design of the world we live in today. But what of all the Black history before then? Before white people invented the Patent Office, Black folks were the original creators and builders, developing ingenious ways to manage the world’s changes over millions of years, everywhere you can imagine, from Azerbaijan to Zagazig! With wit and wisdom (and tons of pictures!) this book digs deeper than the whitewashed history we learn in school books and explores how our African ancestors established the foundation of modern society! Have you inherited this genius? What can you do with it? Inspired by solutions from the past, we can develop strategies for a successful future!

This reference work describes the trial-and-error experiments, discoveries, and inventions of early humans who lived from before recorded history to the Middle Ages. Krebs travels through the ancient periods of Egypt, China, and Mesoamerica, to the classical Greek and Roman periods, and finally to the Christian era, providing students with the link between science and history, while revealing information about many cultures around the world. Each entry provides the who, when, and where of each discovery, invention, or experiment. Entries include calendars, gunpowder, anesthesia, contraception, spontaneous generation, the Arctic Circle, language, and tides. Part of the Groundbreaking Experiments, Inventions, and Discoveries through the Ages series, this book provides readers with a detailed look early humans' relation to world around them and the scientific advancements they made. It will be useful to high school and college students, teachers, and the general public interested in the history and science behind ancient civilizations.