9 Technologies Invented During WWII That We Still Use Today
Australian Military Aviation History / YouTube
World War II was a time when the world saw a lot of change, not just in terms of countries and their boundaries but also in the kind of technology we use. A lot of things we take for granted today were actually invented during those tough times. Here are nine things that came out of World War II that we still use today.
1. Computers
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The very first computers were not for playing games or surfing the Internet. They were actually made to help crack codes. The biggest and most important one was called Colossus. It was huge and helped solve puzzles that helped the good guys understand secret messages. Today, from the laptop I’m using to write this, to the phone in your pocket, computers are everywhere, helping us in work, school, and play.
2. ATMs
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Imagine wanting to take some money out of your bank account but not being able to because the bank is closed. Thanks to Luther Simjian, you don’t have to. He first thought of a way for people to get money anytime by inventing the ATM in the late 1930s. It took a while for banks to trust this idea, but now ATMs are on nearly every street corner, making life a lot easier when you need cash.
3. Superglue
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This super sticky stuff was found by accident. A guy named Dr. Harry Coover was trying to make clear sights for guns when he came across a formula that stuck to everything. It was so sticky, once two things were glued together, they were nearly impossible to pull apart. At first, he didn’t know what to do with it. But now, superglue is used by everyone to fix all sorts of things.
4. Penicillin
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Ok, so penicillin, the medicine that kills bacteria, wasn’t exactly invented during World War II, but it became famous then. Howard Florey and his team worked hard to make it in big amounts. It was used to help soldiers and civilians heal faster from infections. Today, penicillin and its family of antibiotics still save millions of lives.
5. Satellites
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The technology to launch things into space was first made by the Germans. After the war, the United States and Russia used this invention to send satellites up above the Earth. These help us understand space better, but they also do things like make your TV work and help your phone map tell you where to go.
6. Freeze-dried coffee
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A lot of people love coffee, right? Well, during the war, there was too much coffee sitting around in Brazil. People asked a company called Nestle to find a way to keep it good for longer. They came up with a method to dry it out so well, you could store it for a long time. When you wanted a cup, you just added hot water. This idea led to the freeze-dried coffee we have today.
7. Radar
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Britain improved radar technology a lot during the war. It was used to spot enemy planes coming to attack. Now, we use radar for many things like checking the speed of cars on the road, predicting the weather, and even at the airport to help planes take off and land safely.
8. Ballpoint pens
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Have you ever used a pen and noticed the ink doesn’t smear? That’s because of Laszlo Biro, who got tired of fountain pens making a mess. He saw a type of ink in a printing shop that dried super fast. Biro used this idea to make a new kind of pen, and the British Royal Air Force loved it because it worked great even high up in the air where regular pens would leak.
9. Jet Engines
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Near the end of World War II, planes that could fly really fast because of jet engines started to appear. The German ME 262 was one of the first, but soon other countries were making them too. Today, almost all planes that carry people across the world use jet engines. It makes flying faster and a lot cheaper than it used to be.
