The Life-Changing Inventions that Experts Said were Impossible

‘It always seems impossible until it’s done.’ It’s a quote often attributed to Nelson Mandela, but regardless of who said the famous words, it is true when it comes to humankind’s ability to succeed. The rate of technological innovation has exploded in the past century but life-changing inventions are seldom welcomed with open arms at first. The rate of technological adoption is greater than any other time in human history, but it seems there will always be those who don’t believe. Here are just some of the most embarrassing announcements claiming that an invention would not work, but it went on to change the world.

The Light Bulb
Less than 150 years ago the idea of the light bulb was said impossible by many so-called experts at the time. Thomas Edison already had a different reputation in the world of science after inventing the phonograph, but it wasn’t enough to earn him the benefit of the doubt when it came to his latest big idea. In 1878, when Thomas Edison announced he was working on a lamp, the British parliament set up a committee to look into the situation – and their conclusion was not a good one for Edison. ‘Good enough for our transatlantic friends ... but unworthy of the attention of practical or scientific men,’ the parliamentary committee said. A few years later, in 1880, Henry Morton, President of the Stevens Institute of Technology, said when referring to Edison’s light bulb, ‘Everyone tries with this subject will realise it as a failure.’ However, it was later considered the invention of the century. Whoops!

The Automobile

The history of the automobile is a long a winding road but one that can be traced back to Karl Benz who patented the three-wheeled motor car in 1886. His car was practical, used a gasoline-powered internal- combustion engine and worked much like modern cars do today. ‘The ordinary “horseless carriage” is at present a luxury for the wealthy; and although its price will probably fall in the future, it will never, of course, come into as common use as the bicycle,’ claimed the Literary Digest in 1899. In addition to this, in 1902 Harper’s Weekly wrote, ‘The building of roads only for motor cars is not for the near future.’ Industrialist Henry Ford successfully sold the invention to a lot of people. ‘If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses,’ he is famously reported.