Can You Match These Inventors to Their Creations?

While on a foggy Pittsburgh train platform at the turn of the 20th century, Willis Carrier was struck with inspiration. He realized that by passing air through water, which produces fog, he could manufacture air with specific amounts of moisture in it. This idea created the fundamental building blocks for modern air conditioning.

While riding a streetcar in New York City one wet day, Mary Anderson noticed that in order to clear the rain from view, the driver had to open the two-paned windshield and manually move the water out of the way. This inspired Anderson to design the windshield wiper. Unfortunately, Anderson never made any money from her invention as the patent expired before her innovation caught on.

In 1881, U.S. President James Garfield was shot in the back and doctors were at a loss for solutions. Inventor Alexander Graham Bell was called in and attempted to locate the bullet lodged in Garfield's chest by creating a metal detector. Though the machine wasn't the first of its kind, it was a refined improvement and worked as intended.

Alfred Nobel may be known for the esteemed prizes bearing his name, but the chemist’s fame and fortune came earlier in life thanks to his invention of dynamite. Nobel trained alongside his peer Ascania Sobrero, the Italian chemist who invented nitroglycerine. Nobel ended up patenting his final product, dynamite, in 1866.

Thomas Jefferson created the revolving chair in 1775 while working on drafts of the Declaration of Independence. The Revolving Windsor Armchair now resides with the American Philosophical Society in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A Renaissance man, Jefferson also developed an improved plow, a device for making pasta, and a machine that could copy one's writing, known as a polygraph.

In the process of scouting for the next generation of fibers, DuPont researcher Stephanie Kwolek created a new class of polymer solutions that could be turned into "super fibers," one of which is the bullet-resistant brand Kevlar. The super fiber has not only served as body armor for the police and military but is also a protector of undersea internet cables and the fiber behind bridge-suspending ropes.

In 1871, tailor Jacob Davis discovered that by adding metal rivets to the weakest points on the pants' seams, they had less wear and tear. His invention was a hit, and he teamed up with local businessman Levi Strauss to mass-market the product. The two eventually toughened the pants even more by replacing the fabric with denim — and blue jeans were born.

In addition to being a founding father, Benjamin Franklin was a highly accomplished scientist and inventor. During his life, Franklin invented bifocals, the lightning rod, swimming fins, the Franklin stove, a urinary catheter, the glass harmonica, and more. Though he did conduct electrical experiments with kites, they were invented long before Franklin's time.

While Thomas Edison was working on some improvements for the telegraph and the telephone, he created what would become his favorite invention — the phonograph. Using rapidly moving paraffin paper attached to a metal cylinder and tin foil, Edison was able to make a machine whose vibrations would be indented into the cylinder and allow for playback. Edison tested it by reciting "Mary Had a Little Lamb."

While living in Mainz, Germany, Johannes Gutenberg spent years of his life working on his greatest creation — the printing press. Using an innovative system called "moveable type," Gutenberg's machine was able to copy works of literature far faster than the traditional process of handwritten facsimiles. His first printed copies were the "Gutenberg Bible" and parts of the Book of Psalms.