June 18, 2025
In the 1920s Thomas Midgley developed a way to prevent engine knocking in cars by adding lead to gasoline. While this fixed that problem, it also caused an untold amount of lead poisoning. In 1930 he discovered that chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) could be used as coolants in refrigerators. CFCs had a disastrous effect on the planet’s ozone layer and are now banned in much of the world.
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10 Inventions That Changed Your World
You may think you can’t live without your tablet computer and your cordless electric drill, but what about the inventions that came before them? Humans have been innovating since the dawn of time to get us to where we are today. Here are just 10 of the hundreds of inventions that profoundly changed
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Jun 17
Which U.S. denomination has stayed basically the same since 1929? -
Jun 16
Has a file baked in a cake ever helped free a prisoner? -
Jun 15
What animal dads carry eggs in their mouths? -
Jun 14
How many U.S. flag designs have there been? -
Jun 13
Which day is like “Black Friday” for tattoo parlors? -
Jun 12
How does a big spleen help divers? -
Jun 11
Can unruly hair be a medical condition? -
Jun 10
How did a roughly 3,500-year-old Egyptian obelisk end up in New York’s Central Park? -
Jun 09
Why did the U.S. develop stink bombs? -
Jun 08
Why was France once covered in towers with giant swinging arms?