Our daily lives are governed by inventions. From what we wear to the food we eat and our methods of travel – it’s all been invented or significantly altered by inventions.
But sometimes an invention comes along that doesn’t just change the way we do things but changes the world.
Inventions That Changed The World examines not only how and why life altering inventions got off the ground in the first place, but also how they created a domino effect spawning other essential inventions in their wake.
Beginning with the gun, Jeremy reveals that successful attempts to create ever more lethal weapons have not only shaped the world but led directly or indirectly to all of the following: the industrial revolution; the production line; cowboy films; street lighting; the car exhaust pipe and the development of trauma medicine.
Other inventions covered in the series include: The computer, without which we couldn’t fly planes, drive cars or even run our dishwashers;
The jet which plays a key part in our weather, mass tourism and outbreaks like SARS;
The telephone which was invented by mistake by a man trying to make a humming telegraph. The telephone has not only changed the way we do business but also led to the development of the Internet;
The television which was invented by two men with wildly different visions: John Logie Baird, a Scotsman, and a 14-year old American Mormon, Philo T Farnsworth, both died unrewarded but their invention, Jeremy reveals, helped win the Battle of Britain.
Throughout the series Jeremy gives his own passionate and witty take on some of the inventions and inventors that he believes have helped change the course of history.