Amazing Inventions
A teaching resource designed to energise your English lessons.
About the series
From the first telephone to the Wi-Fi you use today, discover the stories behind the world's most famous inventions. Plus, a special bonus episode shows you the strange and funny ideas that didn't work!
Episodes (5)
1The Internet: Global Connections
Explore the digital revolution that began with a laughably small crash! This episode chronicles the accidental start of the internet with just two letters, "LO," and explains how its "digital confetti" design became a foundational idea, connecting the world in ways no one could have imagined.
7:03
2Vaccination: Changing our take on health
Journey back to a time of medical mystery and meet a brave 18th-century doctor. We’ll learn how his curious observation of a disease from cows became the unlikely key to fighting smallpox, a breakthrough that forever changed public health and inspired some very amusing historical cartoons.
5:06
3The Steam Engine: Powering the World
The invention that powers a new world. A kettle can show how steam pushes with great power; two clever inventors use this power to build the first trains and change how people travel.
5:05
4The mistake that stops bullets. Stephanie Kwolek was looking for a light material for car tires when she made a strange cloudy liquid; she tested it anyway, and it was five times stronger than steel.
4:34
5The Light Bulb: Bringing Light
Light for every house. Thomas Edison and his team try more than 6,000 materials. A small piece of bamboo makes a bright, safe light.
5:11
- 1
The Internet: Global Connections
Explore the digital revolution that began with a laughably small crash! This episode chronicles the accidental start of the internet with just two letters, "LO," and explains how its "digital confetti" design became a foundational idea, connecting the world in ways no one could have imagined.
6:20 - 2
Vaccination: Changing our take on health
Journey back to a time of medical mystery and meet a brave 18th-century doctor. We’ll learn how his curious observation of a disease from cows became the unlikely key to fighting smallpox, a breakthrough that forever changed public health and inspired some very amusing historical cartoons.
4:46 - 3
The Steam Engine: Powering the World
The invention behind the Industrial Revolution. A problem in England's coal mines leads to a clever invention: engineers learn to use the power of steam, and their new engines power factories, trains and a whole new world.
4:57 - 4
The laboratory mistake that saved thousands of lives. In 1965 a chemist called Stephanie Kwolek refused to throw away a liquid that looked wrong, and the fibre it made is now in the bulletproof vests of police officers and soldiers.
4:36 - 5
The Light Bulb: Bringing Light
The 6,000 tests behind a bright idea. Before the 1880s, people used candles and gas lamps at night. Thomas Edison's team tested thousands of materials. In the end, a thin piece of bamboo glowed for 1,200 hours.
4:59
- 1
The Internet: Global Connections
Explore the digital revolution that began with a laughably small crash! This episode chronicles the accidental start of the internet with just two letters, "LO," and explains how its "digital confetti" design became a foundational idea, connecting the world in ways no one could have imagined.
4:27 - 2
Vaccination: Changing our take on health
Journey back to a time of medical mystery and meet a brave 18th-century doctor. We’ll learn how his curious observation of a disease from cows became the unlikely key to fighting smallpox, a breakthrough that forever changed public health and inspired some very amusing historical cartoons.
4:51 - 3
The Steam Engine: Powering the World
The invention that powered the Industrial Revolution. A dangerous problem in England's flooded coal mines leads to one of history's most important inventions: engineers learn to capture the power of steam, and their engines transform factories, transport and the modern world.
5:02 - 4
Five times stronger than steel, and nobody was looking for it. DuPont wanted a lighter car tyre; what Stephanie Kwolek found in 1965 was a fibre that became body armour, and it started with a liquid every other chemist would have thrown away.
4:41 - 5
The Light Bulb: Bringing Light
The invention that lit up the modern world. Edison's team failed more than 6,000 times before a bamboo carbon wire glowed for 1,200 hours. Their bulb changed cities, factories and the way electricity reaches our homes.
5:06
🔒 Restricted content
This resource requires a subscription to be viewed.
Unlock the resourceIncluded in the subscription
