GAME CHANGERS CHANGERS
Mio Debnam
Contents Key inventions in history . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Chapter 1 Then, now and the future . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Small inventions that made a BIG difference . . . . . . . . . 16 Chapter 2 On the move! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Amazing bikes around the world . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Chapter 3 Lost? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Inventions inspired by nature: spider glass . . . . . . . . . . 44 Chapter 4 Smile! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Beauty inventions through history . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Chapter 5 Action! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 Early contact lenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 Chapter 6 Hello? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 Inventions inspired by nature: hook and loop fasteners . . . 82 Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84 Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 About the author. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86 Book chat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Key inventions in history
1888
1885
1891
Kodak camera
safety bike
2
Kinetograph and Kinetoscope camera
1925
television
3
1980s 1921
Winkel map mobile phones
Then, now and the future
Introduction
Look around you, at the things at home or school. Think about the things that you use every day – from getting up, to going to bed.
Now imagine you have a time machine which can transport you backwards and forwards in time.
How different do you think your life would be if you went back 300 years to 1725?
How about back
100 years to 1925?
What if we went forward 100 years to 2125?
Chapter 1
4
London in 1725
If you went back in time to London in 1725, something you’d notice right away would be the smell!
Flushing toilets didn’t exist. Most people in the city shared an indoor “privy” which was a board you sat on, with a hole over a bucket.
The buckets were supposed to be emptied into a cesspit … but sometimes people just threw the contents out of their windows, so the unpaved streets were dirty and stank!
a privy
5
There was no running water either, so most people didn’t wash very often, adding to the general smell.
The streets were dark at night. Most homes were dark too, lit only by log fires and candles.
Evenings would have been quite different in those days. Many people went to bed early, when it got dark, and got up when it was light outside. There was no television, no internet … and not many books, either, as many people couldn’t read or write!
6
If you had a message, you had to tell that person directly – or write a letter. Letters had to be delivered by hand or on horseback, as cars hadn’t been invented yet.
Rich people had plenty of time for entertainment. They played games and did sports.
Some leisure activities were enjoyed by everyone – such as walks in “pleasure gardens” or parks, and visits to fairs. The theatre was also open to everyone –though poor people had to stand to watch the plays!
a pleasure garden
7