Children possess an unmatched sense of creativity, wonder, and possibility. To them, the world feels like an endless pool of opportunities. When they have an outlet for that creativity, greatness can occur in all forms. In fact, you may be surprised to know, a lot of the inventions that we know and love today were hatched in the minds of some incredible children.
Here are some of those very inventions that were brought to life by some amazing young geniuses!
1. Frank Epperson: Popsicle
Eleven-year-old Frank Epperson invented what we all love - Popsicles! On a chilly winter's eve in 1905, Frank made the decision to combine water and soda water powder to create a frozen concoction. He had accidentally left the drink outside for a little too long, with the stirring stick still in the glass. The mixture froze solid, and the first popsicle ever was born.
Though this was where it all began, the treat didn’t gain popularity until 1922, when Epperson gave it out at a fireman’s ball. He originally decided to patent the idea under the name “Eppsicle,” but later changed it after his own children started calling it a “popsicle.” Funny enough, the name and the idea were both created by children.
2. George Nissen: Trampoline
In 1930, George, then 16 years old, created the trampoline. He came up with this brilliant idea after seeing trapeze artists drop into a net at the end of their performances. He thought the act would be more exciting if they could simply keep bouncing around, and so he began working in his parent’s garage. When he was younger, his creation had a metal frame with a canvas stretched over it. As he got older, however, he improved the design by using a nylon canvas to give it more bounce.
3. Louis Braille: Braille
Louis lost his sight at the age of three after contracting a severe eye infection. He had great difficulty tracing his finger over raised letters and had struggled with it for years. He discovered a silent communication technique the French military employed when he was twelve. He simplified that very process, and suddenly he was able to read a whole lot easier. He gave his work a public debut in 1924. Today, Braille is used by the blind community worldwide.
4. Chester Greenwood: Earmuffs
It was 1873, and Chester Greenwood was just 15 years old when his ears got painfully cold one day while he was out ice skating. He found that wrapping a scarf around his head didn’t help at all, and so he decided to find a better solution. Greenwood designed a wire frame and had his grandmother sew beaver skins to it, thereby bringing the first ever pair of earmuffs to life. He ended up patenting his invention by the age of 19 and even selling them to soldiers during the first World War.
Are you as amazed as we are? We often think that creating inventions is a big person task, but we fail to recognize our own little ones' potential. So the next time your kid decides to go creatively bonkers, let them. Who knows, they might have the next big thing up their sleeves!
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