Inventions

This petite cutlery factory sits on the foundations of a defunct gasworks.

The only known working replica of the world's first self-propelled vehicle.

This exhibit pays tribute to the “humble tinkerer” who invented the implantable pacemaker.

A memorial to a dizzying sports device and its creator.

This improbable contraption was passed down through five generations of industrious Tennesseans.

In Phetchaburi, Thailand, a roadside vendor cooks his fare with 1,000 mirrors and the power of the sun.

Overlooking the burial ground is a tower designed to prevent thieves from snatching the recently deceased.

This inconspicuous pharmacy went down in history as the first gas station in the world after fueling the first road trip ever taken.

A collection of machines designed to break things for science.

This museum inside a museum tells the story of London's timepieces.

This gem from the industrial age helps visitors and residents alike traverse hilly Stockholm.

A rare chance to ride one of the few continuous elevators still in operation.

The world's largest private telescope collection hides in a secret wing of a Dutch auto museum.

A single light illuminates one man's overshadowed contributions to street lamp history.

Edison's cast-in-place concrete houses were a failure, but way ahead of their time.