Buzz
Every now and then, an idea is so innovative that it changes the world instantly. Other times, it takes a while to catch on. Some extraordinary concepts may even take centuries to fully take root.
So, don’t be disheartened if your brilliant idea doesn’t capture attention right away. It will eventually gain recognition, even if you’re no longer there to witness it. Here are 10 ideas that were far ahead of their time.
10. Indestructible Glass
Glass is a remarkable invention. Not only is it ideal for storing food and beverages, but it can also be crafted into luxurious items. First discovered around 3600 BC in Mesopotamia, glass was initially a material only accessible to the elite. Due to its fragile nature and the complex process of its creation, glass appeared destined to remain a rare and expensive commodity.
One innovation, however, might have changed everything. According to Pliny the Elder, an inventor approached Roman Emperor Tiberius with an intriguing discovery. The inventor had created an unbreakable, flexible form of glass.
In another version of the story, Tiberius received a glass cup that seemed aesthetically pleasing, but nothing remarkable by his standards. After Tiberius returned it to the inventor, the glassmaker proceeded to throw the cup to the ground. To the emperor’s astonishment, it didn’t shatter but only suffered a slight dent. Surely, the inventor was set for life?
In a way, he was. But it wasn’t a long life.
Apparently, Tiberius feared that this invention would undermine the worth of gold and silver, leading him to have the inventor executed. While Pliny doubted the truth of this tale, some researchers suggest the inventor may have created an early version of the unbreakable borosilicate glass used today.
9. The Atom
What happens if you take a slice of cake and cut it? You end up with two smaller pieces. What if you keep slicing? And slicing again?
For most ancient thinkers, there was no limit to how much you could keep cutting. No matter how many times you sliced, a smaller piece would always remain—like a sad, never-ending birthday cake. But for Democritus and Leucippus, there existed a fundamental, indivisible piece of cake. The Greek word for 'indivisible' is atomos, from which we derive the term 'atom.'
These philosophers believed that atoms existed in various forms. By combining these different types of atoms, all observable matter is formed. Today, we might refer to these combinations as molecules. Despite being proposed in the 5th century BC, the idea of atoms was still questioned by some well into the 19th century AD.
There were even early hints of quantum theory in the ancient world. Epicurus argued that atoms traveled in straight lines unless acted upon, but occasionally, they would 'swerve' unpredictably.
8. The Vending Machine
If most of us could come up with just one brilliant idea in a lifetime, we’d be content. But some fortunate individuals seem to be overflowing with brilliance.
Heron of Alexandria was a remarkable individual whose every idea seemed to spring from a well of brilliance. Living during the first century AD, he came up with numerous inventions, many of which would not resurface until nearly 2,000 years later.
One of his early innovations cleverly bridged the gap between science and religion. In the ancient world, holy water was an integral part of worship, and people were required to pay for it. Yet, under the watchful eyes of the deities, some would still try to cheat the system. Heron, however, had a solution.
Heron introduced the world’s first vending machine. Worshippers would insert a coin into a slot, triggering a lever that opened a pipe, allowing the water to flow. Once the coin dropped into the machine, the water ceased. This ensured each worshipper got exactly what they paid for, while the temple received its rightful dues.
7. Automated Doors
Seven books written by Heron of Alexandria have survived to this day, filled with extraordinary inventions. Some of his creations were intended to appear almost magical. Though we typically associate automatic doors with retail spaces, Heron’s intention was to amaze worshippers when he designed automatic doors for a temple.
In Heron’s concept, the temple doors wouldn’t open for just anyone who came near. Instead, they would only open when a fire was kindled on an altar. The heat from the fire warmed the air trapped inside the hollow altar, causing the expanding air to force water into a bucket. The weight of the bucket then pulled on a rope, causing the doors to open.
Today, we might be more amazed by automatic doors if we had a priest light a fire and chant as we approached them.
6. Steam Power
Heron wasn’t content with just religious inventions. One of his creations had the potential to truly change the world. If his steam-powered innovations had gained traction, the industrial revolution in 18th-century Europe could have occurred centuries earlier.
Heron understood that water expands when transformed into steam. He created a device called the aeolipile, a hollow ball with several pipes attached. By generating steam and releasing it through the pipes, the ball would spin rapidly. With this, Heron had effectively invented the first steam engine.
Sadly, the aeolipile remained little more than a curiosity and was mostly forgotten over time.
5. Contact Lenses
Eyeglasses, worn on the face to aid vision, first appeared in Italy in the 13th century. Anyone who wears glasses can attest that, in this era of face masks, there are some drawbacks to having glasses perched on your nose. Wouldn’t it be easier if you could just place the lenses directly in your eyes?
In 1508, Leonardo da Vinci wrote a treatise describing how submerging your head in water changes your vision. He conceptualized funnels with lenses filled with water that could be placed over the eyes. Unfortunately, these were far from practical.
Rene Descartes envisioned a simpler version. Why not fill a glass tube with water and attach it directly to the eyeball? These would have been the first lenses to make direct contact with the eye. Unfortunately, they would have also prevented the user from blinking.
To enhance Descartes’s design, Thomas Young shortened the length of the glass tubes so that the eyelids could close. However, to keep them in place, he had to use wax to adhere the tubes to the eyeball. Contact lenses were a brilliant idea, but the technology just wasn’t advanced enough yet.
4. Underfloor Heating
Fires have a certain charm. On a cold winter evening, it’s pleasant to sit and watch one crackle. However, they are woefully inefficient when it comes to heating a home.
Most of the heat from a fire escapes up the chimney. Those who sit close to the fire might burn from the heat near them, while their backs remain cold. The Romans, however, were determined to solve this problem, and they invented a way to heat their homes centrally.
When constructing their villas, the Romans first dug out hollow spaces beneath the ground. These spaces were supported by tiles, which were spaced apart to create large gaps.
Called hypocausts, these structures allowed hot air to circulate through them. A fire was directed into the hypocaust, and the heated air radiated upward, warming the house from below. The air also flowed through channels in the walls, ensuring that the entire house was heated, not just the area around the fire.
When the Roman Empire fell, hypocausts became obsolete, and Europe grew much colder for centuries.
3. Computers (Again)
Charles Babbage’s mechanical calculating machine wasn’t the first of its kind, but it took researchers some time to realize that. In 1900, corroded lumps of metal were retrieved from an ancient shipwreck off the coast of Antikythera, leaving historians baffled about their purpose. These green fragments had to wait until they were examined with X-rays to reveal their true nature.
The fragments, later identified as the Antikythera mechanism, consisted of at least 30 interlocking metal gears housed in a wooden box. This device dates back to around 100 BC.
The gears were inscribed with symbols that could be read by the user, allowing them to calculate the positions of the Sun, Moon, and planets. By turning the wheels, the mechanism could show you the configuration of the heavens on any given night.
Some of the dials featured balls that represented the celestial objects they tracked—for instance, a golden Sun and a red Mars. The mechanism could even predict lunar and solar eclipses.
No other device like the Antikythera mechanism has ever been found. Ancient writers make reference to devices that could model the night sky, but these objects appear to have been lost to history. It’s possible that other ancient creations still lie beneath the sea, awaiting discovery and the chance to astonish us.
2. Computer
In 1822, Charles Babbage submitted a paper to the Royal Astronomical Society in London. Titled “Note on the Application of Machinery to the Computation of Astronomical and Mathematical Tables,” it presented nothing less than his concept for a mechanical computer.
At the time, lengthy calculations were made easier by consulting large volumes of mathematical tables. To reduce errors in these crucial tables and speed up the process, Babbage designed a machine that could perform repetitive calculations.
Babbage’s difference engine would have been an extraordinary invention. Composed of 8,000 parts made from bronze and weighing five tons, this hand-cranked machine could have produced all the mathematical results anyone could ever need. It even printed out the answers to the calculations it processed.
Sadly, the difference engine was never finished. Despite receiving an enormous £17,000 grant from the British government, Babbage was unable to complete a functioning model.
It wasn't until the 1990s that Babbage's designs were actually brought to life. Just as his machine’s outputs suggested, it turned out that Babbage had been right all along—his difference engine would have worked as intended.
1. Flushing Toilets
Toilets are undeniably a brilliant invention. Given how contact with human waste is one of the quickest ways to spread diseases, moving sewage away from where people live seems like an obvious necessity.
For most of history, the best someone could do was walk a short distance from their home to use a toilet, which was little more than a hole in the ground. Often, the toilet within the home was just a pottery vessel that had to be emptied into the street.
Around 1700 BC, in the Minoan Palace of Crete, toilets were designed that used running water to carry away sewage. This remarkable palace may have been the first to feature flushing toilets.
Communal toilets with long rows of seats and running water persisted for centuries. However, it wasn’t until much later that the modern flushing toilet found its way into private homes, along with the invention of soft toilet paper.
