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The world would be unrecognizable without the groundbreaking contributions of Black inventors. Whether it’s the country’s most popular toy or a well-known piece of lifesaving battlefield gear, the extraordinary men and women who dreamed up these ideas did so while facing virulent racism and systemic injustice, yet persevered to make the world a better — or at least more interesting — place.

While Working at NASA, Lonnie Johnson Invented the Super Soaker

Inventor Lonnie Johnson has quite the résumé. A nuclear engineer by profession, Johnson worked at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, joined the Air Force, then jumped ship to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in 1979, where he worked on Galileo — a robotic orbiter studying Jupiter and its moons. While at NASA, Johnson worked on a heat pump that used water instead of Freon. “I was experimenting with some nozzles that I machined, and I shot a stream of water across the bathroom,” Johnson told CNN in 2020. “I thought, ‘Geez, maybe I should put this hard science stuff aside and work on something fun like a water gun.’” In 1989, Johnson licensed his famous invention, and in two years, the Super Soaker became the No. 1 toy in America, making more than $200 million in sales.

Alexander Miles Made Elevators Less Harrowing

Alexander Miles first found success as a barber, and then as an elevator innovator. The first passenger elevator debuted in 1853, but riding one was less than ideal. Because elevator doors had to be manually operated, elevator-related deaths were far too common. An owner of many buildings himself, Miles saw firsthand the dangers of elevators and decided to do something about it. Using a flexible belt attached to the elevator cage, drums above and below the doors on each floor, and other equipment, Miles’ invention automated the process of opening and closing elevator doors. Miles was granted a patent for his invention in 1887. At the time of his death in 1918 in Seattle, the barber-turned-inventor was the wealthiest Black man living in the Pacific Northwest.

The Inventor of the Home Security System Was a Nurse

Necessity is the mother of invention, and that can certainly be said of Marie Van Brittan Brown and her home security system. In the mid-1960s, Brown lived in a rough neighborhood in Queens, New York, while working as a nurse. She was often alone at night, so she decided to design her own peace of mind. Her invention featured four peepholes on the front door and a motorized camera that could look through the holes at varying heights. The camera was connected to a television inside the home, and a microphone both inside and outside the door allowed her to interrogate uninvited visitors. For added security, Brown also devised a way to alert police via radio. This ingenious use of cameras and closed-circuit television helped Brown score a patent for her security system in 1969. Today, Brown’s invention is widely regarded as the cornerstone of modern home security systems.

George Washington Carver Was the First Black American Honored With a National Monument

George Washington Carver is one of the greatest minds in American history. Primarily an agricultural scientist, he invented hundreds of products using sweet potatoes, soybeans, and peanuts (but not peanut butter, as a persistent myth suggests). Carver was born enslaved around 1864, but 30 years later, and after many trials, he earned a bachelor’s degree in science. And he put that degree to work. Carver developed crop rotation methods, invented the Jesup wagon (a sort of mobile classroom for Carver to teach farmers about agricultural science), and lots of peanut-based products, including milk, Worcestershire sauce, cooking oils, paper, cosmetics, and wood stains. Carver died in early 1943 having dedicated his life to science, and a grateful nation honored him for his efforts later that same year, when President Franklin Delano Roosevelt founded the George Washington Carver National Monument. It was the first national monument dedicated to a Black American — or to any non-President.

Traffic Signal Inventor Garrett Morgan Was Also a Hero

Garrett Morgan’s life as an inventor began at the turn of the 20th century, when he started working at a sewing machine factory. After learning the inner workings of his machines, Morgan patented an improvement that earned him some much-needed income. He later developed a hair-straightening cream that made him financially independent and able to pursue his own interests. In 1914, Morgan developed “safety hoods” for firefighters to wear when battling blazes, and the underlying design eventually found its way into the trenches of World War I. Then, in 1916, Morgan became a local hero when a tunnel explosion under Lake Erie trapped workers in close quarters with noxious fumes. Upon hearing of the accident, Morgan and his brother donned their breathing devices and saved two people’s lives. However, Morgan’s greatest invention came in 1923, when he developed the first automatic traffic signal to control stop-and-go traffic at intersections. He acquired patents for the device in the United States, Britain, and Canada, and it saved thousands of lives over the years.

George Crum Accidentally Invented the Potato Chip

In the 1850s, George Crum (born George Speck) worked at Moon’s Lake House, a high-end restaurant in upstate New York. The legend goes that one day a surly customer didn’t like the way Crum prepared his french fries and complained they were too thick. With a not-so-subtle amount of spite, Crum cut some fresh potatoes incredibly thin and then fried them up for his needy patron. To Crum’s surprise, the thinly sliced fry — or potato chip, as we call it today — became a big hit, and soon the restaurant became known for its “Saratoga chips.” Although the owner of the restaurant tried to take credit for the invention, as did others, Crum soon opened his own establishment and provided a basket of chips on every table. The potato chip remained a local delicacy in upstate New York until Herman Lay began building his snack food empire in the 1920s.

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The ancient Egyptians were one of the most intriguing civilizations in history. They erected enormous stone pyramids without the use of any of the heavy machinery we have today, they had a culture rich in complex mythology, and they were one of the first groups of people to translate their spoken language into a written one. You don’t have to be an Egyptologist to know that we owe the Egyptians for many of the ideas we still use today, but it may surprise you to learn that these five things were invented by the ancient Egyptians too.

Toothpaste

The oldest known formula for toothpaste was found on a piece of papyrus that is said to be more than 1,600 years old. The writer of the recipe called it “a powder for white and perfect teeth,” which, once mixed with saliva, forms a “tooth paste” that cleans teeth. Ingredients included rock salt, mint, dried iris flower, and crushed pepper. One dentist who tried it said that it made his gums bleed, but that it was much more effective than some other toothpastes that were created in the last century.

Scissors

For some reason, many scholars credit Leonardo da Vinci with inventing scissors (maybe because he invented so many other things). There is proof, though, that the Egyptians were using scissors long before the great artist and polymath was even born — way back in 1500 BCE, to be precise. These scissors were composed of a single piece of bronze formed into two blades and held together by a strip of metal. The strip kept the blades apart until they were squeezed together to cut things.

Prosthetic Appendages

Scientists knew that the ancient Egyptian civilization was advanced, but they didn’t know just how advanced until they tested a prosthetic toe that came from the foot of a female mummy from about 950–710 BCE. While false body parts were often attached to mummies for burial purposes, experts agree that this toe was in fact used while the person was still alive. The wear and tear on the three-part leather and wood appendage (which was thought to be tied onto the foot or a sandal with string) proved that it was used to help the person walk, and tests using a replica of the toe fitted to a volunteer missing the same part of their foot showed that it significantly improved their gait in Egyptian-style sandals.

The Solar Calendar

While the Egyptians weren’t the first to invent a calendar, they did create the calendar that laid the basis for the one we use today — the solar calendar. Since farming was key to the Egyptians, they made a schedule of the different seasons tied to the flooding of the Nile and the movements of Sirius, also known as the Dog Star. After doing extensive research on the movements of the stars and the solar cycle, they broke each season into four months, each with 30 days (with a couple of extra days at the end of the season), which gave us the 365-day calendar we have been using ever since.

Marshmallows

Today marshmallows are largely reserved for campfires and hot chocolate, but in ancient Egypt they were a treat for the gods. The ancients took sap from the mallow plant (which grows in marshes) and mixed it with nuts and honey. Scholars aren’t sure what the treat looked like, but they know it was thought suitable only for pharaohs and the divine. It wasn’t until 19th-century France that confectioners began whipping the sap into the fluffy little pillows we know and love today.

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Election season may feel like it never ends in the U.S., but at least we have elections. The same can’t be said for much of the world throughout history, with many kings and queens lording over their subjects for decades on end — a practice that shaped countless countries and produced no shortage of fascinating records. Here are five of the longest, shortest, and strangest reigns in political history, from Queen Elizabeth II’s 70 years on the throne to the head of state who only served for 45 minutes.

Queen of Superlatives: Queen Elizabeth II

No list would be complete without her. When she died at age 96 on September 8, 2022, after ruling for 70 years, Queen Elizabeth II was the longest-reigning queen ever, and the second-longest-reigning monarch in world history (behind French King Louis XIV, who ruled for 72 years). She was also Britain’s longest-lived monarch, and the first British monarch to celebrate her Platinum Jubilee (70 years on the throne) and Sapphire Jubilee (65th anniversary). She previously had Diamond (60 years), Golden (50 years), Ruby (40 years), and Silver (25 years) Jubilees. She’s also the only monarch to not only be the subject of an award-winning Netflix series about herself but to also watch it.

Shortest Reign: Louis XIX

King Louis XIX of France holds an unfortunate Guinness World Record: shortest reign of a monarch in history. He reigned over France for a mere 20 minutes in 1830 following the abdication of his father, Charles X, before he himself stepped down as part of the July Revolution. (Legitimists — supporters of the Bourbon dynasty — didn’t accept this, however, and considered him the rightful king for the rest of his life.)

Some consider Louis XIX’s record to be a shared one, however. Luís Filipe, Prince Royal of Portugal, was fatally wounded in the same attack that killed his father, King Carlos I, on February 1, 1908, and survived 20 minutes longer. The 20-year-old was technically king for those few minutes, but never formally declared ruler, and his younger brother Manuel II became the last King of Portugal on that fateful day instead. His reign wasn’t especially long, either: Portugal became a republic as a result of the October 5, 1910 revolution and Manuel spent the remainder of his life exiled in England.

Shortest U.S. Presidency: William Henry Harrison

At the time he was elected in 1841, William Henry Harrison was the oldest person to assume the presidency — a distinction he held for 140 years. The fact that he was 68 may partially explain why it was a bad idea for him to deliver the longest inaugural address in American history on a cold, wet day without a hat or overcoat after arriving to the ceremony on horseback. His nearly 8,445-word speech took him nearly two hours to deliver, but his day didn’t end there: Harrison then spent three hours in the White House receiving line, continued his horseback journey as part of the inaugural parade, and attended three balls that night.

He fell ill a few weeks later and died (reportedly of pneumonia, though there’s some debate) on April 4, exactly one month after taking office. His last words were “Sir, I wish you to understand the true principles of the government. I wish them carried out. I ask nothing more.” That he was succeeded by Vice President John Tyler seems obvious today, but at the time the precise wording of the Constitution was considered unclear; it wasn’t until the 25th Amendment was ratified in 1967 that this practice was made official despite several other Vice Presidents becoming President under similar circumstances in the intervening century. At only 32 days, Harrison’s term was (and is) the shortest of any U.S. President.

45-Minute Head of State: Pedro Lascuráin

A month-long presidency is short, but it’s nothing compared to the tenure of Pedro Lascuráin. Mexico’s 38th president set an unfortunate record of his own by being in office for a mere 45 minutes on February 19, 1913 following a coup that overthrew his predecessor, Francisco I. Madero. As foreign secretary, Lascuráin was third in the line of succession following the vice president and attorney general; because both of those men had likewise been ousted, Lascuráin was appointed president for just enough time to make General Victoriano Huerta — the architect of the coup — interior secretary and then immediately resign so that Huerta could replace him. This odd maneuvering was also Huerta’s idea, as he believed it would make his rise to power look more legitimate in the eyes of Mexican citizens.

Longest U.S. Presidency: Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Only one President of the United States has served more than two terms: Franklin D. Roosevelt, who eschewed the tradition established by none other than George Washington of stepping down after eight years. It wasn’t until shortly before the 1940 Democratic Convention in Chicago that FDR decided the third time was the charm, reasoning that the outbreak of World War II in Europe presented unprecedented challenges for an incoming President. He won reelection in his third consecutive landslide later that year (449 electoral votes to challenger Wendell Willikie’s 82).

Roosevelt faced even less internal opposition from fellow Democrats four years later, and won a fourth term just as easily; after years of declining health, however, he died in office just months after beginning that term. It wasn’t until the 22nd Amendment was ratified in 1951 that a President serving two terms became law rather than tradition, but breaking with the norm has hardly hurt FDR’s legacy: He’s consistently ranked alongside Washington and Abraham Lincoln as being one of the greatest Presidents in American history.

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The Inca Empire was a powerful pre-Columbian civilization that stretched for thousands of miles, once covering almost the entire west coast of South America. Machu Picchu is probably their most famous achievement, but there is much more to the Inca Empire than some ruins on a mountain. Here are five incredible facts about the Inca Empire.

The Inca Empire Was Massive

The Incas didn’t have a writing system, so it’s hard to determine when the empire officially started. However, it’s often said to have reached its prime between 1400 and 1533 CE. The Incas built a strong central government and a massive military that was sustained on taxes (more on those below). By 1471, the empire stretched for more than 3,400 miles, from the border between modern Ecuador and Colombia to about 50 miles south of what’s now Santiago, Chile. It was the largest empire in the world at the time, including European nations, and consisted of 10 million people ruled by 40,000 Incas.

The Incas Built an Incredible Network of Roads

Although they never had access to the wheel, the Incas built a vast network of roads that stretched for more than 25,000 miles. These roads were primarily used for trade, military operations, and quickly sending messages across the huge empire. Llamas were one of the Incas’ most important assets; these fuzzy beasts of burden were used as pack animals to carry goods and supplies. The roads also included small or large rest stops every couple of miles, so that travelers could take a break or spend the night during longer voyages. Many of the roads (and rest stations) still exist, and are part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Incas Developed Their Own Postal System

Because their empire was so large and intricate, the Incas had to come up with a way to quickly and efficiently spread messages throughout the land. Chaski were the postal carriers of the Inca Empire. They were trained runners who could collectively cover up to 150 miles per day to deliver a message or goods. The runners worked using a relay system — the first chaski ran 6–9 miles until he reached a small house, called a chaskiwasi, where another runner waited to complete the next leg of the journey. They used the extensive road network and specialized rope bridges to quickly move through the empire. Because there was no written language, each messenger carried a quipu, a unique type of Andean textile that uses a system of knots to record data and information.

The Incan Central Government Collected Taxes

The Incas had a strong centralized government and regularly collected taxes from citizens. Because currency didn’t exist, taxes were collected in the form of food, goods such as precious metals or textiles, and even services. The Inca rulers performed annual censuses to keep track of the population and calculate taxes for a given area.

Foodstuffs were stored in government-owned warehouses to feed the army and to help in times of famine. Those who were not farmers or manufacturers could offer labor in lieu of physical taxes. These workers helped with state-run projects, such as building roads.

Machu Picchu Was Never Finished

Machu Picchu was built starting in the late 1400s and was an engineering marvel even by today’s standards. Constructed high up in the Andes — 7,800 feet above sea level — the monument consists of over 200 buildings carefully built into the landscape. The precise purpose is unclear; it may have been a royal retreat or served a religious purpose.

Unfortunately, the Incas never got the chance to finish it. After Spanish conquistadors landed in South America in the late 1400s, disease wiped out most of the Indigenous population. Machu Picchu was abandoned around 1533. The site is so hard to get to, it wasn’t officially discovered by modern researchers until 1911. Today, the ruins are a protected UNESCO World Heritage Site and open to visitors.