The Gutenberg Bible was the first major printed book! Before the printing press, books were handwritten by scribes (a process that could take years). A single book could cost as much as a house. Gutenberg's press could produce hundreds of copies quickly. The printing press is often called the most important invention of the second millennium. Gutenberg died in poverty, having lost a lawsuit over his invention. His press spread rapidly across Europe. By 1500, printing presses in over 200 cities had produced millions of books. The printing press is credited with democratizing knowledge and breaking the monopoly of the Church and wealthy elites on information. UNESCO declared the Gutenberg Bible a Memory of the World register item.

Thomas Edison is credited with the practical light bulb! His team developed a high-resistance bulb that lasted over 1,200 hours. He also invented the electrical distribution system, including the first power plant (Pearl Street Station, New York City, 1882). Edison was a prolific inventor with 1,093 U.S. patents. He invented the phonograph in 1877 (his first great invention). He also developed the motion picture camera (kinetoscope). He famously feuded with Nikola Tesla (former employee) over AC vs DC electricity. Edison was deaf in one ear due to a childhood illness. He married twice and had six children. His last patent was filed in 1931, the year he died. Henry Ford (friend) asked Edison's son to capture Edison's last breath in a test tube (the tube is preserved at the Henry Ford Museum).

Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone! He was 29 when he invented it. Bell's mother and wife were both deaf, which influenced his work on sound and communication. The telephone patent (No. 174,465) was issued on March 7, 1876. Three days later, Bell successfully transmitted speech. Bell faced over 600 lawsuits over the patent, but none succeeded. He considered his most famous invention an intrusion on his work with the deaf. Bell also invented the metal detector (to try to find a bullet in President James Garfield after his assassination). He experimented with photophones (light-based communication) and hydrofoils. He refused to have a telephone in his study. Bell died in 1922; all telephones in North America were silenced for one minute in his honor. His name is remembered in Bell Labs (research institution).

Kitty Hawk, North Carolina was the site! The Wright Brothers made four flights that day; the longest was 59 seconds (Wilbur piloting). The Wright Flyer is now displayed at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. The brothers did not fly publicly until 1908. They faced skepticism from the press and scientific community. They patented their flight control system and spent years defending it in court. Wilbur died of typhoid fever in 1912; Orville lived until 1948 and saw the jet age. The Wright Brothers are considered the fathers of modern aviation. The centennial of their flight was celebrated in 2003 with reenactments. Their bicycle shop in Dayton, Ohio, is preserved as a museum.

TCP/IP is Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol! Vint Cerf and Bob Kahn developed the protocol suite in the 1970s. TCP ensures data is delivered reliably, while IP handles addressing and routing. The World Wide Web (not the same as the Internet) was invented by Tim Berners-Lee at CERN in 1989. He created the first web browser and web server, and the first website (info.cern.ch) went live in 1991. The Internet has no single inventor; it is the result of decades of collaborative work. There are over 5 billion Internet users today (about 63% of the global population). The Internet is often called the greatest invention since the printing press.

The Ford Model T was the car! It was affordable – the price dropped from $850 in 1908 to $260 in 1925 (about $3,800 today). The Model T had a 20-horsepower engine, top speed of about 45 mph, and got 13-21 mpg. Ford's assembly line revolutionized manufacturing and was copied by industries worldwide. Ford was a controversial figure: he was anti-union (violent labor disputes), anti-Semitic (he published a newspaper spreading conspiracy theories), and opposed to US entry into WWII. He was friends with Thomas Edison and shared a "winter estate" in Fort Myers, Florida. The Ford Motor Company survives today, one of the largest automakers in the world. Henry Ford's grandson, Henry Ford II, led the company after his death.

ENIAC was the first electronic computer! It was a secret military project during World War II. ENIAC's first public demonstration was in 1946. It cost about $500,000 (over $6 million today). The machine was programmed by plugging wires and setting switches; reprogramming could take days. The ENIAC programmers – Kay McNulty, Betty Jennings, Betty Snyder, Marlyn Meltzer, Fran Bilas, and Ruth Lichterman – were not invited to the celebratory dinner after ENIAC's demonstration. Their contributions were largely forgotten until the 1990s, when they were inducted into the Women in Technology International Hall of Fame (1997). ENIAC was decommissioned in 1955. Some of its panels are preserved at the Smithsonian and the University of Pennsylvania. The development of the transistor (1947) and the integrated circuit (1958) led to miniaturization and modern computers.

James Watt improved the steam engine! He was a Scottish instrument maker. Watt coined the term "horsepower" to compare his engine's output to draft horses (1 horsepower = 550 foot-pounds per second). He also invented the term "horsepower" to market his engines. The partnership of Boulton & Watt (with Matthew Boulton) became one of the most successful engineering firms in history. The Watt steam engine was used in mines, factories, mills, and later locomotives and steamships. The steam engine is considered the key invention of the Industrial Revolution. Watt was a member of the Lunar Society (a group of scientists and inventors in Birmingham). He retired a wealthy man. The SI unit of power (watt) and the light bulb company (Watt) are named after him.

Marconi is known for the radio! He was an Italian inventor who moved to England to develop his work. He founded the Marconi Company (which still exists as a telecommunications company). The first radio broadcast for entertainment was in 1920 (KDKA in Pittsburgh). Marconi also developed shortwave radio, which enabled long-distance communication. He was a supporter of Italian fascism (he joined the Fascist Party in 1923 and praised Mussolini). He died in Rome in 1937. Fascist Italy held a state funeral. In 1943, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Tesla's radio patents (filed in 1897) predated Marconi's (filed in 1900), but the decision had little practical effect. The debate over who invented the radio continues. The Nobel Prize remains with Marconi.

The transistor was invented at Bell Labs! The first transistor was a point-contact transistor, made of germanium. It was the size of a paperclip. Today, transistors are microscopic; a modern computer chip can contain over 50 billion transistors. The inventors were awarded the Nobel Prize. Shockley later became a controversial figure (he advocated for eugenics and was accused of racism). Bardeen was a quiet, modest genius; he won two Nobel Prizes in Physics. The integrated circuit (Jack Kilby, Robert Noyce, 1958-1959) allowed many transistors to be placed on a single chip, leading to microprocessors. Gordon Moore (co-founder of Intel) predicted that the number of transistors on a chip would double every two years (Moore's Law), which held for decades. The transistor revolutionized electronics and enabled the digital age.