Inventions Created Due to the War (3 of 4)

11. Stainless Steel

We rely on stainless steel every single day even if we don’t know it. It comes in the form of silverware cutlery sets, machinery used in factories and also skyscrapers. The need for stainless steel arose in the beginning of the 1900s.

To be specific, British military officials wanted their guns to be perfected by creating them out of a substance which wouldn’t be easily corroded. The first guns were created with a weak metal which was damaged whenever a bullet was fired. Harry Brearley, a British soldier set out to find the best material for this – stainless steel.

12. Tea Bags

The tea bag wasn’t created in just one specific war. Over ten years prior to World War I, the tea bag had been accidentally discovered when a tea merchant dropped a few bags of tea leaves in water. The leaves diffused the tea the same as a teapot would and the tea bag was then created. They were used in World War I when a German tea company took on the tea bag blueprint so that they could have tea in the trenches. They were created by cotton which isn’t used today – but it works all the same.

13. Nescafe

Nescafe was created so that it could fight any excess of something specific instead of combating a sudden increase in demand for supply in something which was lacking. In this example, this excess was Brazillian coffee beans. Nescafe took advantage of using these beans as they were sat within a warehouse shortly after the Great Depression.

14. Sun Lamps

Sun lamps are often recommended to patients suffering from poor mental health for casual use as the use of it may be able to improve their mental state, providing clarity throughout whatever situation they’re facing. This isn’t just a wacky belief, either. In Berlin 1918, there was a vast majority of children who died due to a disease called rickets which is normally found through poor living conditions. Kurt Huldschinsky, a German physician made note of how the sick children looked; pale and sickly.

Believing that he could help, he pulled together a few children and made them sleep beneath lamps which emitted ultraviolet light. Eventually, their condition began to improve. During summer, he removed the lights and let the children rest in the sun. They continued to improve. It was later discovered that the use of UV light increased their intake of vitamin D.

15. Sunglasses

While you may link these type of sunglasses to pilots from Top Gun, it’s worth noting that they aren’t just to look cool. Driving towards the sun is bad enough but flying into the sun is even worse and can greatly affect a pilot’s ability which is the last thing they need during the war. Thus, the aviator sunglasses were born in the mid-1930’s and are now still worn as a fashion accessory.

They increased in popularity following a photo of US General Douglas MacArthur circulated. Following this photo, the demand for these type of glasses increased and now they can be seen in most places.