Saving lives and taking lives are the hallmarks of the inventions of the 1910s. The umbrella supplies the inspiration for a new device that lets airplane pilots parachute to safety. Sonar navigation comes to the aid of ships at sea; and a garment manufacturer develops the first safety hood to protect firefighters inside burning buildings. From charcoal to lightly browned, the quest for perfect toast is finally realized. And, the Tommy Gun unleashes the fearsome power of the machine gun.
War is the driving force behind much of the innovation in the 1940s. In a desperate attempt to secure aerial supremacy, the British win the race to develop the jet engine. Under the Reich, a German engineer builds what is now recognized as the world's first true computer. In the United States, the microwave is born after a self-taught inventor realizes that military equipment is responsible for melting a chocolate bar in his pocket. A U.S. Air Force doctor is ordered to stop experimenting on himself, and so he duplicates himself, giving us the first crash test dummy. And, a sailor returns home and hits pay dirt with an invention that finally brings cats in from the cold: kitty litter.
The 1950s heralds the end of vacuum tubes and the rise of mobile technologies when two Japanese inventors shrink cabinet-size radios down to something small enough to fit in your pocket. An intrepid crime scene photographer puts boozy breath to work, busting drunk drivers with the roadside breathalyzer. Aircraft crash investigators get a foolproof witness that rides in a Black Box with the crew. A cushion of air opens the way for a brand new land/sea hybrid that changes the face of transportation. And, the space race officially begins when the Soviet Union launches a satellite they call Sputnik.
The 1960s is a decade of both cultural and technological change. A weather satellite that can save lives by tracking weather patterns and predicting hurricanes is launched into orbit. Robots begin to appear in the workplace, taking over some menial tasks, freeing up workers to focus on more complicated jobs. Home entertainment goes from the kitchen table to the TV screen when the video game console is unveiled. The taser is introduced, giving police forces a non-lethal way of using electricity to shut down the bad guys. And, the United States finally wins the decade-long space race, taking a giant step for mankind by landing astronauts on the moon.
The future comes to bomb disposal safety when a remote-controlled robot takes the human equation out of the picture. The cell phone moves from the car console to the hand when an engineer is inspired by a science fiction series. Paper notes no longer blow off the desk in a breeze when two scientists collide on a project and the Post-It is born. The hybrid car is reborn as an answer to the concerns over fossil fuels and pollution thanks to a tenacious inventor and the Environmental Protection Agency. The invention of the digital camera is kept in the darkroom for 20 years.