We are living at a truly remarkable time of history, when new technologies are making unprecedented levels of invention and innovation possible. I think history will look back on this era and remark on it being a golden age of technological advancement. So, each passing it’s probably worth pausing and trying to note what has happened in the preceding twelve months.
Here’s the best list I have found so far, from TIME magazine, of 25 wonderful inventions. But what would you add to this list?
What makes an invention great? Sometimes it solves a problem you didn’t think could be solved. Skyscrapers can’t turn invisible. Pens can’t write in midair. Paraplegics can’t walk. Except now they can. And sometimes an invention solves a problem you didn’t know you had. Maybe you didn’t realize you needed to eat a doughnut and a croissant at the same time, or resurrect an extinct frog, or turn your entire body into a living password. Now you do. Want a list of the best things that were invented in 2013? Now you have one. Just keep reading.
Here’s TIME’s list:
- The driverless (toy) car
- Gravity (the movie): Lightbox
- Alcoholic coffee
- Sony’s smart lens
- The cronut
- The mission R (motorcycle)
- Plus pool
- The Oculus Rift (3d headset for immersive gaming)
- Edible password pill
- Invisible skyscraper
- 3Doodler pen
- Volvo’s solar pavilion
- Artificial memories
- The Amplituhedron
- Nest Protect Smoke Alarm
- A New Atomic Clock
- The GravityLight
- SpaceShip Two
- The Gastric-Brooding FROG (back from the dead)
- The Atlas Robot