Time Tested Archives - Inventors Digest

Fortunate Misstep

by Reid Creager | Dec 3, 2019 | Time Tested

It was 1943. Richard James, a naval engineer, was trying to develop a meter for measuring horsepower on naval battleships. During his work with tension springs, one of them fell from a shelf to the floor. The spring didn’t stop moving when it landed, briefly “walking” along the floor. An idea for a children’s toy was soon put into motion.

A Last Will for Peace

by Reid Creager | Aug 31, 2019 | Time Tested

When Alfred Nobel read his obituary, it could have killed him.

Short Song: The Rise and Fall of Napster

by Reid Creager | Jul 26, 2019 | Time Tested

Despite its meteoric rise and fall, Napster has a permanent place in innovation and internet history. It has often been called the fastest-growing business of all time; perhaps more important, it revolutionized the music industry and forced it to adjust to the commercial realities of the internet age.

The 45 at 70

by Reid Creager | Jul 25, 2019 | Time Tested

The 45 RPM single reflects a simpler time in technology and the world. The 70th anniversary of its release reveals some detailed and surprising origins.

Death by Inventing: The Mystery of Flight

by Reid Creager | Jul 24, 2019 | Time Tested

We focus on accomplished and would-be innovators who were unable to achieve what Orville and Wilbur Wright eventually mastered: flight.

Cool As Ice

by Reid Creager | Mar 22, 2019 | Time Tested

Zamboni resurfacing machine rolls on as an iconic invention.
It has been 70 years since Frank J. Zamboni applied for, and later received, a patent for the Model A Zamboni Ice Resurfacer.

Glass Backboards: A Smashing Success

by Reid Creager | Jan 23, 2019 | Time Tested

Basketball innovation has evolved in its 100-plus years.

Time Tested Candy Corn

by Reid Creager | Jan 10, 2019 | Time Tested

It’s an iconic Halloween treat, but candy corn gets little respect.
Candy corn is said to have been invented by George Renninger of the Wunderle Candy Co. in the 1880s.

‘TV Miracles’: Eugene Polley’s Wireless Remote

by Reid Creager | Oct 18, 2018 | Product Development, Time Tested

Eugene Polley’s wireless remote control is a modern-era institution. The Zenith Flash-Matic “makes me think maybe my life wasn’t wasted. Maybe I did something for humanity—like the guy who invented the flush toilet.” —Eugene Polley