Inventing the 20th Century: 100 inventions that Shaped the World

RR 2001/36 Inventing the 20th Century: 100 inventions that Shaped the World Edited by Stephen van Dulken The British Library London 2000 246 pp. ISBN 0 7123 0866 0 L16.95

Keywords History, Technology, Patents

The editor has chosen 100 patents, ten per decade, from the last century The first is the aeroplane and the last is sidenafil citrate. In between are specific products like the outboard motor and Tupperwear, broader patents like fullerines and computers, and toys like Lego and Monopoly. There are items one has almost forgotten, like the Theremin, and items so commonplace that one probably never thought they were patented, like Rawlplugs, and traffic lights. There are items that have changed the way we live, like post-it notes and cellular phones. The choice is wide and varied. Each patent has a...