Safety Pin
The safety pin was invented by Walter Hunt in 1849.

Sailboards
The very first sailboards date back to the late 1950s.

Sandwich
The origins of the sandwich.

Saran Wrap
The origins of Saran Wrap film and the history of the Dow Chemical Company.

Satellites
History changed on October 4, 1957, when the former Soviet Union successfully launched Sputnik I. The world's first artificial satellite was about the size of a basketball, weighed only 183 pounds, and took about 98 minutes to orbit the Earth on its elliptical path.

Saxophone
The history of the saxophone.

Scanning and Sorting Machine
Jacob Rabinow received a patent for a automated scanning and sorting machine.

Scanning Tunneling Microscope - STM
Gerd Karl Binnig and Heinrich Rohrer are the inventors of the STM, which provided the first images of individual atoms.

Scissors
There is history behind this cutting invention.

Scooters
The invention of scooters.

Scotch Tape
Scotch Tape was patented by the banjo playing, 3M engineer, Richard Drew.

Scotchgard
Patsy Sherman received a patent for scotchgard.

Screws and Screwdrivers
Early wooden screws - Archimedes Screw - Phillips Head Screw - Robertson Screw - Square Drive Screws - screwdrivers.

Scuba Diving Equipment
In the 16th century, barrels were used as primitive diving bells, and for the first time divers could travel underwater with more than one breath of air, but not much more than one.

Sea-cretion
Wolf Hilbertz patented sea-cretion, a construction material made from the electrolytic deposition of minerals from seawater.

Seat Belts
Volvo had the first safety belts in 1849.

Seaplane
On March 28, 1910, the first successful seaplane take-off from water at Martinque, France.

Seismograph
John Milne was the English seismologist and geologist who invented the first modern seismograph and promoted the building of seismological stations.

Self-Cleaning House
This amazing home was invented by Frances Gabe.

Seven-Up
Seven-Up is the bubbling lemon lime drink invented by Charles Grigg.

Sewing Machines
The history behind sewing machines.

Shrapnel
Shrapnel is a type of antipersonnel projectile named after the inventor, Henry Shrapnel.

Shoes/Shoelaces/Sandals/Sneakers
An interesting tale of the sole - "As late as 1850 most shoes were made on absolutely straight lasts, there being no difference between the right and the left shoe." Learn about the history of footwear and shoe making technology

Shoe Manufacturing Machine
Jan Matzeliger developed an automatic method for lasting shoes and made the mass production of affordable shoes possible.

Shopping Innovations
Who created the first shopping mall and other trivia.

Silly Putty
Silly Putty is a result of history, engineering, an accident and entrepreneurship.

Sign Language
The history of sign language.

Pyrotechnic Signaling System
Martha Coston invented a system of maritime signal flares.

Skyscrapers
The skyscraper like many other architectural forms, evolved over a long period of time.

Skateboard
A short history of the skateboard.

Skates (Ice)
The oldest pair of ice skates known, date back to 3000 B.C.

Skiing Equipment
There is a long history behind the sport of Skiing. The idea of skiing dates as far back as the stone-age period.

Pullman Sleeping Car
The Pullman sleeping car (train) was invented by George Pullman in 1857.

Sliced Bread
The history of sliced bread and the toaster, the best thing since sliced bread, but actually invented before sliced bread.

Slide Ruler
Before we had calculators, we had slide rulers.

Slinky
The slinky was invented by Richard and Betty James.

Slot Machines
The first mechanical slot machine was the Liberty Bell, invented in 1895 by Charles Fey

Smart Gels
Toyoichi Tanaka received a patent for Smart Gels, a synthetic (polyacrylamide) polymer gel with unusual properties.

Smart Pills
The name of smart pill now refers to any pill that can deliver or control its delivery of medicine without the patient having to take action beyond the initial swallow.

Smoke Detectors
The first battery operated home smoke detector was patented in 1969, Randolph Smith and Kenneth House.

Snack Foods
Snack food history - pretzels, popcorn, ice cream, soft drinks, gum and more.

Sneakers
Modern athletic shoes were designed by Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight.

Snowblower
Canadian, Arthur Sicard invented the snowblower in 1925.

Snowmaking Machines
The history of snowmaking machines and facts about making snow.

Snowmobile
In 1922, Joseph-Armand Bombardier developed the type of sport machine that we know today as the snowmobile.

Soaps
Soap making was known as early as 2800 B.C. - in the synthetic detergent industry it is not as easy to pinpoint exactly when the first detergents were invented.

Soccer
Not much is known about the origin of soccer, however, football and ball kicking games were played by the ancient Greeks and Romans.

Soda Fountain
In 1819, the "soda fountain" was patented by Samuel Fahnestock.

Softball
George Hancock invented softball.

Soft Drinks
An introduction to the history of soft drinks including Coca-Cola, Pepsi-Cola and the history behind other pop drinks.

Software
The history of different software programs.

Solar-Powered Cars - Solar Panels - Photovoltics
In 1839, Edmund Becquerel, a French physicist was the first person to observe the photovoltaic effect. Solar-powered electric demonstration vehicles were first built by universities and manufacturers during the late eighties.

Sonar
Experience the history of Sonar.

S.O.S Soap Pads
Ed Cox invented a pre-soaped pad with which to clean pots.

Sound Recording
The history of sound recording technology - from early recorded sounds and wax cylinders to the latest in broadcasting history.

Soup
Where did soup come from.

Spacesuits
The history of spacesuits.

Spark Plugs
The history of spark plugs.

Spectacles
The history of eyeglasses from the oldest known glass lens to the first pair of spectacles invented by Salvino D'Armate and beyond.

Spectrograph
George Carruthers received a patent for the far-ultraviolet camera and the spectrograph.

Spectrometer
The history of the spectrometer.

Spinning Jenny
Hargreaves patented the spinning jenny used for weaving yarn.

Spinning Mule
Samuel Crompton invented the spinning mule.

Spinning Wheel
The spinning wheel is an ancient machine that turned fibers into thread or yarn, which were then woven into cloth on a loom. The spinning wheel was probably invented in India, though its origins are obscure.

Spork
The spork is half spoon and half fork.

Sports
Yes, there are patents involved with sports.

Sporting Goods Innovations
Learn who invented the skateboard, the frisbee, sneakers, the bicycle, the boomerang and other sporting goods.

Sprinkler Systems
The first fire sprinkler system was invented by American, Henry Parmalee in 1874.

Stamps
Rowland Hill invented the postage stamp in 1837, an act for which he was knighted.

Stapler
Brass paper fasteners were introduced in the mid-1860s, and by 1866 George W. McGill had developed a machine to insert these fasteners into papers. The first stapling machine with a magazine that held a supply of preformed wire staples that were fed automatically to the staple-driving mechanism was patented in 1878.

Statue of Liberty
Bartholdi was a French sculptor born in Alsace - He created many monumental sculptures - his most famous work was the Statue of Liberty.

Steamboats
Robert Fulton invented the first successful steamboat on August 7, 1807.

Steam Engines
Thomas Newcomen invented the atmospheric steam engine in 1712 - steam engine history and information on the men and women involved with steam engines.

Steel
Henry Bessemer invented the first process for mass-producing steel inexpensively.

Sterotyping
William Ged invented stereotyping in 1725. Sterotyping is a process in which a whole page of type is cast in a single mold so that a printing plate can be made from it.

Stoves
The history of stoves.

Straws
In 1888, Marvin Stone patented the spiral winding process to manufacture the first paper drinking straws.

Street Sweeper
C. B. Brooks invented an improved street sweeper truck and patented it on March 17, 1896.

Styrofoam®
What we commonly call styrofoam, is actually the most recognizable form of foam polystyrene packaging.

Submarines
Study the evolution of submarine design, from the submarine's beginning as a compressed air or human-powered warship to today's nuclear-powered subs.

Sugar Processing Evaporator
The sugar processing evaporator was invented by Norbert Rillieux.

Sunglasses
Around the year 1752, James Ayscough introduced his spectacles with lenses made of tinted glass.

Supercomputer
Seymour Cray and the Cray Supercomputer.

Superconductors
In 1986, Alex Müller and Johannes Bednorz patented the first high-temperature superconductor.

Super Soaker
Lonnie Johnson invented the Super Soaker® a squirt gun. Johnson also patented thermodynamics systems.

Suspenders
The first patent ever issued for modern suspenders, the kind with the familiar metal clasp was patent by Roth.

Swimming Pools
The history of swimming pools -  the first heated swimming pool was built by Gaius Maecenas of Rome.

Syringe
The history behind this medical device.

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