1.自行車

Bicycle (1861)
自行車（1861年）

The French vélocipède, invented in 1861 by Pierre Marchaux, is widely considered to be the first true bicycle. There are a billion bicycles now worldwide, twice as many as automobiles.
1861年法國人皮埃爾·馬特烏斯發(fā)明了世界公認(rèn)的第一輛自行車?，F(xiàn)在全世界有10億輛自行車，數(shù)量是汽車的兩倍。

2.阿司匹林

Aspirin (1899)
阿司匹林（1899年）

The first recorded use of Aspirin-like remedies goes back to nearly 500 BC when Hippocrates, the "father of modern medicine," wrote about treating such symptoms as headaches, pains, and fevers using willow bark and leaves -- which contain salicylic acid.
有記載的首次使用類似阿司匹林的藥物要追溯到公元前500年左右，被譽(yù)為“現(xiàn)代醫(yī)學(xué)之父”的希波克拉底發(fā)現(xiàn)柳樹皮和柳樹葉可用于治療頭痛、身體疼痛和發(fā)燒，那是因?yàn)榱鴺淦ず蜆淙~中含有水楊酸。

The formula was perfected in 1899 by a French chemist who developed acetylsalicylic acid, which maintained the benefits of pure salicylic acid with less severe side effects. By 1899, Bayer was selling it around the world.
1899年，法國化學(xué)家研制出乙酰水楊酸，改進(jìn)了之前的配方，在保留水楊酸作用的同時(shí)，減輕了嚴(yán)重的副作用。到了1899年，拜耳公司開始在世界范圍銷售阿司匹林。

3.車輪

Wheel (3500-3350 BC)
車輪（公元前3500年到3350年）

The invention of the wheel has been pivotal for technology in general, setting the foundation for future developments such as the water wheel, the cogwheel, and the spinning wheel. Modern descendants include the propeller, the jet engine, and the turbine. Pictured is the Wheel of the Etruscan chariot (ca. 530 BC)
車輪的發(fā)明對后世技術(shù)的發(fā)展有著舉足輕重的作用，以后的水輪、齒輪和紡車等都是在車輪基礎(chǔ)之上發(fā)明的?，F(xiàn)在的螺旋槳、噴氣發(fā)動機(jī)和渦輪機(jī)也都是車輪的派生物。圖為伊特魯里亞的戰(zhàn)車車輪（約530公元前）。

4.胸罩

Bra (Early 1900s)
胸罩（20世紀(jì)初）

Mary Phelps Jacob was looking for an alternative to the ubiquitous and sometimes unisightly corset. She ended up creating a bra using a handkerchief and ribbon. Jacob was awarded a patent in 1914 and would later sell her business to Warner Brothers Corset Company for $1,500.
瑪麗·菲爾普斯·雅各布希望能夠改進(jìn)當(dāng)時(shí)婦女普遍穿戴的難看的束胸。最后她用手帕和緞帶制造出了一副胸罩。雅各布在1914年獲得了胸罩產(chǎn)品專利，之后她以1500美元的價(jià)格將這一專利權(quán)出售給華納兄弟制衣公司。

5.馬桶

Flush Toilet (1596)
抽水馬桶（1596年）

Various versions of flushing toilets were used as far back as the 26th century BC in the Indus Valley, where the cities of Harappa and Mohenjo-daro had a flush toilet in almost every house, attached to a sophisticated sewage system. The true prelude to the modern flush toilet began in 1596 when Sir John Harington installed his version of a flush system for the Queen of England.
早在公元前26世紀(jì)，印度河流域的哈拉帕和摩亨佐達(dá)羅等城市的每個(gè)住家都已經(jīng)用上了不同樣式的抽水馬桶。所有馬桶都連接到一個(gè)先進(jìn)的排污系統(tǒng)。真正的現(xiàn)代抽水馬桶出現(xiàn)于1956年，約翰哈靈頓爵士為英國女王安裝了他設(shè)計(jì)的抽水馬桶。

6.溫度計(jì)

Thermometer (16th Century)
溫度計(jì)（16世紀(jì)）

The word thermometer (in its French form) first appeared in 1624 in La Récréation Mathématique by J. Leurechon, who describes one with a scale of 8 degrees. But each inventor and each thermometer was unique -- there was no standard scale. Finally in 1724 Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit produced a temperature scale which now (slightly adjusted) bears his name. Pictured is a classic Galileo model.
1624年，J·勞伊雷肖恩首次使用“溫度計(jì)”一詞來描述一支有8個(gè)刻度的溫度計(jì)。但當(dāng)時(shí)每個(gè)發(fā)明者都各行其是，溫度計(jì)的計(jì)量單位沒有統(tǒng)一標(biāo)準(zhǔn)。終于，在1724年，丹尼爾·加布里埃爾·華倫海特制定了統(tǒng)一的溫度計(jì)量單位——現(xiàn)在以他名字命名的華氏溫度。圖為典型的伽利略溫度計(jì)。

7.收音機(jī)

Radio (1895)
收音機(jī)（1895年）

Though guys like James Clerk Maxwell, Nikola Tesla, and Thomas Edison all made important contributions to the development of radio technology, it was Guglielmo Marconi who built a wireless system capable of transmitting signals at long distances in 1895.
雖然詹姆斯·克拉克·麥克斯韋、尼古拉·特斯拉和托馬斯·愛迪生等人都為收音機(jī)技術(shù)的研發(fā)做出了重要貢獻(xiàn)，但第一臺能夠遠(yuǎn)距離傳輸信號的無線系統(tǒng)，是由古列爾默·馬可尼在1895年制造的。

8.紙

Paper (105 AD)
紙（公元105年）

Papermaking has traditionally been traced to China about 105 AD and is considered one of the country's four great inventions.
一般認(rèn)為造紙術(shù)是中國人在公元105年左右發(fā)明的，造紙術(shù)被稱作中國四大發(fā)明之一。

9.微波爐

Microwave Oven (1945)
微波爐（1945年）

The development of the microwave oven was one of those happy accidents. American engineer Percy Spencer was working for Raytheon building magnetrons for radar sets when he noticed that a Mr. Goodbar in his pocket started to melt. Spencer realized it had been the microwaves that had done the trick. The first food he deliberately cooked? Popcorn of course.
微波爐的發(fā)明源于一次快樂的“事故”。美國工程師珀西·斯賓塞為雷神公司的雷達(dá)裝置制造磁控管時(shí)，發(fā)現(xiàn)口袋中的巧克力受熱融化了。斯賓塞意識到這是微波導(dǎo)致的。他第一次用微波試驗(yàn)烹制的食物是什么？當(dāng)然是爆米花啦！

10.電燈泡

Light Bulb (19th Century)
電燈泡（19世紀(jì)）

While Thomas Edison is often mentioned as the inventor of the light, historians Robert Friedel and Paul Israel cite at least 22 earlier inventors. Edison's version (pictured) was able to transcend others because of some key details, including finding an effective incandescent material and being able to achieve a higher vacuum and a high resistance.
人們常說電燈泡的發(fā)明者是托馬斯·愛迪生，但歷史學(xué)家羅伯特·弗里德爾和保羅·伊斯里爾至少能舉出20人，在愛迪生之前就發(fā)明了電燈泡。愛迪生發(fā)明的燈泡之所以能夠勝出，是因?yàn)橐恍╆P(guān)鍵的細(xì)節(jié)，包括更合適的白熾燈燈絲材質(zhì)，燈泡能夠?qū)崿F(xiàn)更高的電阻和更好的真空狀態(tài)。

11.回形針

Paper Clip (1867)
回形針（1867年）

According to the Early Office Museum, the first patent for a bent wire paper clip was awarded in the United States to Samuel B. Fay, in 1867. Despite the early patent, Fay's design never really took off; instead the Gem paper clip, which was never patented, took off in Great Britain. It's still the design we use today, producing 18 billion in the U.S. alone.
根據(jù)早期辦公博物館的資料，早在1867年，美國人塞繆爾·B·費(fèi)就注冊取得了彎曲金屬回形針的專利。盡管很早就取得了專利，但他的設(shè)計(jì)從未被采用。反倒是后來從未申請專利的寶石回形針，在英國取得了商業(yè)上的成功?；匦吾樀脑O(shè)計(jì)一直沿用至今，僅在美國一地就有180億枚的產(chǎn)量。

12.指南針

Compass (1117)
指南針（1117年）

Before the compass, getting lost was more or less a guarantee. The discovery of Magnetic North allowed man to explore the world. The first incontestable evidence for the use of a compass as a navigational device appeared in Chinese records in 1117. Early compasses were typically constructed by floating magnetized needles in bowls of water.
指南針發(fā)明之前，人們時(shí)常迷失方向。地磁北極的發(fā)現(xiàn)，使人類的探索行動成為可能。指南針用于航海的最早記錄見于1117年的中國。早期的指南針，就是將磁針懸于盛水的碗中。