We take for granted that adults are the ones who change our world by inventing new technologies. But what if I told you there were many times in history when the most interesting discoveries were made by smart kids.
Here are some cool inventions made by children.
1. Snowmobile
At the age of 13, Joseph-Armand Bombardier made a toy steam locomotive from a desk clock, then a steam engine from an old sewing machine. When he turned 15, his father decided to distract the young engineer from inventing “useless junk” and gave him an old broken Ford T.
Bombardier humbly accepted the gift and immediately started tinkering with the machine. A few days later, in 1920, he made a mechanical sled with an engine from the car and a propeller at the back.
2. Play-Doh
In 1912, a schoolgirl came up with the idea of using a soot cleaner to sculpt interesting figures. The cleaning chemicals were eventually removed from the pliable substance, and colored dyes were added, creating one of the most fun substances kids can play with — Play-Doh.
3. Braille
A shoemaker’s son, Louis Braille, who had been blind since 3, invented a special font for the sightless when he was 15. The young Frenchman took the “night font” used by the artillery captain Charles Barbier to read messages in the dark and improved upon it. Today, Braille is a special volumetric font, where each letter can be recognized by touch.
