Have you ever heard someone use the term, chindōgu? This Japanese term literally translates to unusual tool. These are tools that might be useful and work, but they are strange and impractical. Kenji ...

In this rapidly approaching reality, what tools will we need not just to survive, but to retain our humanity? We turned to ...

Hundreds of thousands of patents are issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for new inventions every year. Some of these creations, such as the lightbulb, personal computer, and automobile, ...

Inventions can change the world. And women have been using them to live their best life for eons. Freckles can be seen as a mark of beauty, but others consider them skin flaws. So in 1930s, women who ...

Marvin Minsky, a pioneer in the field of artificial intelligence, crafted the Useless Machine at Bell Labs in 1952. This device, a simple box with a single switch, performs no function other than to ...

With hits like the Dyson Airwrap, Stanley ice cube trays, and the Ninja Creami, innovation in the 21st century is at an all-time high. Many of these inventions stand out for their clever design or ...

13 Bizarre Inventions That Never Took Off Without inventions, we wouldn’t have many of the modern luxuries we have today. But not all inventions are major wins like cellphones, stoplights, or washing ...

Hugo Gernsback was a pioneer in the world of science fiction during the first half of the 20th century—so much so that the Hugo Awards are named after him. But Gernback also edited serious tech ...

From wind instrument covers to germ-killing robots, necessity was the mother of invention for these pandemic creations Some pandemic office-goers invested in desk-sized air purifiers (ranging from $80 ...

Sometimes we just don't get it quite right. One example is a wire-enclosed "baby cage" said to have been invented in 1922 as a way to suspend toddlers outside of apartment building windows as a means ...