BABY CARRIAGE
The history of the baby carriage or stroller.
BAKELITE
Leo Hendrik Baekeland patented a "Method of Making Insoluble Products of Phenol and Formaldehyde." Setting out to make an insulator, he invented the first true plastic and transformed the world.
BALL POINT PENS
The ball-point pen was invented by Ladislo Biro in 1938. A patent battle erupted; learn how Parker and Bic won the war.
BALLISTIC MISSILES
A ballistic missile can be any of a variety of weapons systems that deliver explosive warheads to their targets by means of rocket propulsion.
BALLOONS AND BLIMPS (AIRSHIPS)
The history and patents behind airships, balloons, blimps, dirigibles and zeppelins.
BALLOONS (TOYS)
The first rubber balloons were made in 1824 by Professor Michael Faraday for use in his experiments with hydrogen.
BAND-AIDS
Band-Aid® is the trademarked name for the 1920 invention belonging to Earle Dickson.
BAR CODES
The first patents for bar code were issued to Joseph Woodland and Bernard Silver on October 7, 1952.
BARBECUE
In America, barbecue (or BBQ) originated in the late 1800's during Western cattle drives.
BARBED WIRE
Don't fence me in -- all about the invention, development, and use of barbed wire.
BARBIE DOLLS
The Barbie doll was invented in 1959 by Ruth Handler.
BAROMETER
The barometer was invented by Evangelista Torricelli in 1643.
BARTHOLDI FOUNTAIN
The Bartholdi Fountain was designed by the same inventor of the Statue of Liberty.
BASEBALL AND BASEBALL EQUIPMENT
The evolution of baseball bats changed the sport entirely; modern baseball was invented by Alexander Cartwright.
BASIC (CODE)
BASIC (Beginner's All Purpose Symbolic Instruction Code) was invented in 1964 by John Kemeny and Tom Kurtz.
BASKETBALL
James Naismith invented and named the game of basketball in 1891.
BATHROOMS (AND RELATED INVENTIONS)
The history of ancient and modern plumbing from around the world—baths, toilets, water closets and sewage systems.
BATTERIES
Batteries were invented in 1800 by Alssandro Volta.
BEAUTY (AND RELATED INVENTIONS)
The history of hair dryers, ironing curlers and other beauty appliances. The history of cosmetics and hair products.
BEDS
Yes, even beds have a rich history of invention. Learn more about waterbeds, Murphy beds, and other kinds of beds.
BEER
We can trace the beginning of beer far back beyond the dawn of recorded time. Apparently, beer was the first alcoholic beverage known to civilization.
BELLS
Bells may be categorized as idiophones, instruments sounding by the vibration of resonant solid material, and more broadly as percussion instruments."
BEVERAGES
The history and origins of beverages and the equipment used to make them.
BLENDERS
Stephen Poplawski invented the kitchen blender.
BIC PENS
Learn about the history of Bic pens and other writing instruments.
BICYCLES
The history of the foot-powered riding machine.
BIFOCALS
Benjamin Franklin is credited with creating the first pair of eyeglasses that help both near- and far-sighted people see better.
BIKINI
The bikini was invented in 1946 and named after the Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands, the site of the first atomic bomb testing. The designers of the bikini were two Frenchmen named Jacques Heim and Louis Reard.
BINGO
"Bingo" originated from a game called Beano.
BIOFILTERS AND BIOFILTRATION
The first proposition to use biological methods to treat odorous compounds came as early as 1923.
BIOMETRIC AND RELATED TECHNOLOGY
Biometrics technology is used to uniquely identify or verify an individual through characteristics of the human body.
BLOOD BANKS
Dr. Charles Richard Drew was the first person to develop the blood bank.
BLUE JEANS
Non other than Levi Strauss invented blue jeans.
BOARDGAMES AND CARDS
Puzzle over the history of board games and other brain teasers.
BODY ARMOR AND BULLET-PROOF VESTS
Throughout recorded history, people have used various types of materials as body armor to protect themselves from injury in combat and other dangerous situations.
BOILERS
George Babcock and Steven Wilcox co-invented the water tube steam boiler, a safer and more efficient boiler.
BOOMERANG
The history of the boomerang.
BOURDON TUBE PRESSURE GUAGE
In 1849, the Bourdon tube pressure gauge was patented by Eugene Bourdon.
BRA
It's 1913 and Mary Phelps Jacob's corset was not the undergarment to wear under her new shear evening gown.
BRACES (DENTAL)
The history of dental braces or the science of Orthodontics is complex, many different patents helped to create braces as we know them today.
BRAILLE
Louis Braille invented braille printing.
BRUSH (HAIR)
Brushes were used as early as 2,500,000 years ago.
BUBBLE GUM
The invention and history of chewing gum, bubble gum, gum wrappers, gum tins and bubble gum machines.
BULLDOZER
It is not certain who invented the first bulldozer, however, the bulldozer blade was in use before the invention of any tractor.
BUNSEN BURNERS
As an inventor, Robert Bunsen developed several methods of analyzing gases, however, he is best known for his invention of the Bunsen burner.
BUTTERICK (DRESS PATTERNS)
Ebenezer Butterick, together with his wife Ellen Augusta Pollard Butterick, invented the tissue paper dress pattern.