Buzz
By the year 1900, inventions like railroads, telephones, bicycles, and electric lights had dramatically changed the world compared to the 1800s. For every breakthrough, though, there were many failures—ideas that didn't succeed or gained no traction. Additionally, some inventions became successful only after years of development, as crucial materials or technologies were initially unavailable, causing their early attempts to falter.
10. Talking Doll by Thomas Edison
Talking dolls have existed for many years, ranging from pull-string varieties like Woody from Toy Story to today’s advanced electronic versions. However, the first talking doll ever sold turned out to be a massive flop for Thomas Edison, one of America’s most renowned inventors.
In 1877, Edison introduced the phonograph, and by 1890, a smaller version was created that could fit inside a doll’s body. The idea of a doll that could speak seemed like a surefire hit. Edison's factory in New Jersey began producing dolls capable of reciting a 20-second nursery rhyme. To make each doll, the rhyme had to be individually recorded, with women in the factory repeating “Jack and Jill” or “Hickory Dickory Dock.” To activate the doll’s voice, the child receiving it had to turn a crank located on its back.
The dolls were large (22 inches tall), heavy (weighing 4 lbs), and pricey ($10—equivalent to over $200 today). They were a commercial failure. The phonograph wasn’t durable enough to withstand the rough handling by children, the sound quality was terrible, and the crank was easily lost.
Launched in April 1890, the dolls were pulled from the market by May 1890 after a flood of complaints and returns. Edison was left with 7,500 unsold dolls and a storeroom full of parts. The inventor himself referred to the dolls as “little monsters”—but if you discover one in your attic, it could be worth a considerable amount today.
9. Atmospheric Railway by I K Brunel
Isambard Kingdom Brunel was an extraordinary engineer known for his remarkable work in building railways, ships, and bridges. In 2002, he earned second place in a BBC poll to determine the Greatest Briton. His brilliance drove him to continually experiment with new ideas, though not all of them proved successful.
In the 1840s, Brunel dedicated much of his time to constructing the Great Western Railway, stretching from London to the farthest reaches of western England. As the railway passed through the hilly terrain of Devon, Brunel decided to attempt a novel approach to train transportation—an atmospheric railway.
This system did not use locomotives. Instead, stationary steam engines created a vacuum in pipes laid along the tracks, which in turn pulled the trains. While this system successfully moved the trains at around 20 miles per hour, it contained a critical flaw.
The pipes required a flexible seal, and the only material available at the time was leather. To keep the leather flexible, it had to be frequently coated in tallow (animal fat). Unfortunately, rats found the leather coated in fat irresistible and began chewing through the seals, halting the trains. After less than a year, Brunel was forced to admit failure and return to conventional locomotives.
With modern materials, atmospheric railways have become a reality. One such system, called Aeromovel, operates at a Brazilian airport, and a second is under construction in the city of Canoas, Brazil.
8. Indoor Ice Rink by John Gamgee
In April 1876, the first-ever indoor skating rink with real ice opened its doors to the public. Located in Chelsea, London, it was created by John Gamgee and was named the Glaciarium.
The rink’s ice surface measured just 37 feet by 24 feet, but it operated similarly to modern rinks. A refrigerating machine positioned outside the rink cooled a liquid, which then flowed through pipes underneath the floor. A thin layer of water was spread over the surface, and the cold pipes froze it, creating a smooth, solid sheet of ice.
What a 21st-century visitor would find most striking about John Gamgee’s Glaciarium is the boiler house beside the rink building, with its chimney puffing out smoke. Both the refrigeration machinery and circulating pumps were powered by a steam engine. The creation of the ice rink depended on a stoker shoveling coal.
Three additional rinks were constructed using Gamgee’s patent, including one built in a floating swimming pool on the River Thames. However, all of them failed commercially due to their high construction and operational costs. The first artificial rink in the United States was opened at Gilmore’s Garden (the precursor to Madison Square Garden) in 1879, but it, too, was short-lived. It wasn’t until the end of the century that the technology caught up with the concept, and public rinks began to open and operate profitably in major cities.
7. Vacuum Cleaner by Hubert Booth
In 1901, Hubert Booth witnessed a demonstration of a cleaning machine that blew dust away. He quickly realized that sucking up the dust would be a better approach. Being a practical thinker, he put his theory to the test. He placed a handkerchief on the seat of a railway car and sucked through it with his mouth (don’t try this at home!). When he saw how much dust was collected on the other side, he knew he was onto something great.
Booth designed a horse-drawn machine powered by an internal combustion engine. London residents began booking his vacuum cleaner service, and Booth’s machine would park outside their homes. Hoses were fed through the windows, and the rooms were cleaned by suction.
The business ran successfully for several years. However, in 1907, across the Atlantic in Ohio, a janitor named James Spangler invented his own version of a vacuum cleaner. Spangler combined an electric motor, a fan, and a pillowcase to create a small, portable cleaning machine he named the Electric Suction Sweeper. Struggling to sell his invention, he eventually sold his patent in 1908 to a man named William Hoover, the husband of a cousin. The rest, as they say, is history, and Booth’s giant street-based vacuum cleaner was soon out of the picture.
6. Great Eastern by I K Brunel
Isambard Brunel had already constructed two steamships, the Great Western and the Great Britain, when he conceived the idea of a massive vessel capable of traveling from the UK to India without needing to refuel with coal. His plan was based on the idea that economies of scale would dramatically reduce the cost per passenger or per ton of cargo compared to standard-sized ships.
Launched in 1858, the SS Great Eastern measured 692 feet in length. In terms of volume, it was eight times larger than the average ship being built at that time. It would take 41 years before a ship even bigger than it was constructed. There were numerous difficulties during its construction and launch, and the ship never turned a profit from passenger voyages. In fact, it was perhaps too large. Though designed to carry up to 4,000 passengers, it never came close to that capacity. Several companies went bankrupt trying to make it profitable on transatlantic voyages.
Ultimately, in 1864, the Great Eastern was sold for a mere £25,000, despite having a scrap value of £100,000. The new owners refurbished the ship and used it to lay the first telegraph cable across the Atlantic. This marked the beginning of instant communication between North America and Europe. Over the next 14 years, the ship would lay over 30,000 miles of cable across the world's seabed. At last, Brunel's monumental ship proved its worth.
5. Antiperspirant by John Gamgee
John Gamgee, the inventor of the ice rink, also had a keen interest in public health. In the 1870s, he set out to develop a new disinfectant, ultimately creating a substance he named “Chloralum” (hydrated chloride of aluminum). He claimed it was a highly potent antiseptic, disinfectant, and deodorizer.
Gamgee patented his creation, and The Chloralum Company Ltd was established to market the product. However, its primary buyers were breweries, which used it to disinfect barrels. The company dissolved in 1885, and Gamgee likely regarded Chloralum as a failed venture.
Had Gamgee lived in a later era when body odor was a growing concern, he might have become quite wealthy. His patent for Chloralum has been referenced by the global company Unilever in patents related to “antiperspirant compositions and methods for reducing perspiration,” with one of these patents being granted as recently as 2015.
If you grab a can of aerosol deodorant from a supermarket and check the ingredients, you’ll likely spot “aluminum chlorohydrate” near the top of the list. Millions of people use it daily to freshen up, making life a bit less smelly for themselves and those around them. So, next time you’re packed into a sweltering elevator, bus, or train, and the body odor is tolerable, spare a thought for Professor John Gamgee.
4. Panama CanalFerdinand De Lesseps
Between 1859 and 1869, Ferdinand de Lesseps oversaw the construction of the Suez Canal. Stretching 120 miles, it connected the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea, reducing the journey between Europe and South Asia by 4,000 miles.
After the success of the Suez Canal, de Lesseps shifted his focus to Central America. He advocated for the construction of a canal connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans at Panama. By 1880, he had secured funding and was ready to begin the ambitious project.
However, the two canal projects were vastly different. The Suez Canal had been built through soft sandy soil, with land barely rising above sea level. But the Panama Canal was intended to be at sea level as well, which meant a colossal challenge: blasting through a solid rock hill standing 300 feet tall.
De Lesseps, a skilled diplomat and promoter, lacked the necessary engineering expertise. The project was plagued by problems, and progress was painfully slow. Thousands of workers perished from yellow fever and malaria. By 1888, the idea of a sea-level canal was scrapped, and the renowned engineer Gustave Eiffel (known for the Eiffel Tower) was brought in to design the necessary locks.
In 1889, funds ran dry, and all work came to a halt. Worse still, after raising millions of francs without producing results, de Lesseps, his son, and Eiffel were accused of fraud. The resulting scandal, known as the “Panama Affair,” put an end to any chance of a French-built canal.
In 1904, the United States took control of the project, utilizing more advanced machinery for excavation. The Panama Canal finally opened in 1914, 24 years after de Lesseps had first started work on it.
3. ComputerCharles Babbage
In the early 1800s, anyone needing to perform mathematical calculations for their work relied heavily on printed tables. These tables were crucial for navigators, engineers, bankers, insurance brokers, architects, and many others. However, these tables were manually calculated, copied, and typeset, leading to inevitable errors. In some cases, these mistakes had dire consequences, especially for sailors and engineers.
Charles Babbage, a brilliant mathematician at Cambridge University, conceived the idea of a mechanical calculating device that would eliminate such errors. He called it the Difference Engine. After gaining the support of the British Government for funding, work began. The machine was planned to contain 25,000 components and weigh about 4 tons upon completion. But in 1833, after a falling out with his toolmaker, the project was halted, and thousands of parts were melted down and sold for scrap.
Undeterred, Babbage started designing a second machine, the Difference Engine 2, which was even larger and would weigh about 5 tons. Additionally, he conceptualized the Analytical Engine, a device that contained all the components of a modern computer, such as memory and the ability to execute programs. These programs were run using punched cards. Ada Lovelace, Lord Byron's daughter, collaborated with Babbage on the Analytical Engine and is often credited as the first computer programmer.
The intricate mechanical design and Babbage’s often difficult temperament meant that neither the Analytical Engine nor the Difference Engine 2 were constructed during his lifetime. However, two functioning replicas of the Difference Engine 2 now exist—one in London and the other in California.
2. AirshipJules Henri Giffard
By the 1850s, hot-air and hydrogen balloons had already become popular methods for achieving flight. However, the major issue was the lack of control over the direction or speed of the journey. Flight was essentially a matter of letting the wind decide your path.
Then, in 1852, the French inventor Jules Henri Giffard succeeded in building a lightweight steam engine. While 'lightweight' is a relative term, Giffard's engine weighed 250 pounds, with an additional 150 pounds for the fuel and water. Nevertheless, this weight was still manageable for a hydrogen balloon to lift.
Giffard attached his engine to a 144-foot-long balloon. The engine powered a 10-foot diameter, three-bladed propeller, and the airship was also equipped with a large rudder. On September 24, 1852, Giffard made his historic flight from Paris, traveling 17 miles while successfully steering his airship in circles, marking the first-ever controlled powered flight.
Unfortunately, Giffard's small steam engine wasn't powerful enough to fight against the wind and return to his original location. He ended up with a one-way trip, still at the mercy of the wind except in very calm conditions. The development of practical airships would have to wait until the advent of the more powerful and lighter internal combustion engine.
1. Telephone Recording MachineEdison/Bell
In 1881, the Philadelphia Local Telegraph Company connected an early version of the telephone to one of Thomas Edison’s phonographs. The goal was to develop a device capable of recording telephone conversations—not voicemail, but a system designed to document entire business calls for use in case of disputes. The idea of “Calls may be recorded for monitoring purposes” dates back nearly 140 years.
The invention was only a prototype, and Edison seemed to think his job was complete. He was quoted in a newspaper saying, “There’s the invention, and it’s only a mechanic’s job to make it marketable.” However, transforming the device into something people would actually want to buy proved too much for the mechanic of the time. The world had to wait until the 1940s for voicemail to become a reality.
