List: The world’s best inventions weren’t made for profit

Edward-M · Congressional Page Joined: 04 May 2008 Posts: 1

1. The internet. (The government & Tim Berners-Lee.)

2. Penicillin. “Florey believed it would be inappropriate to patent penicillin, but learned his lesson when some of his American collaborators did just that… Florey took no profit for himself.”
—http://time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,33700,00.html

3. AC power & modern electricity. (Tesla)
“Yet Tesla died destitute.”
—http://inventors.about.com/od/tstartinventions/a/Nikola_Tesla.htm

4. Phone. “Meucci was recognized as the first inventor of the telephone by the US House.” “[He] was unable to raise sufficient funds to pay for the patent application… In 1861 his cottage was auctioned.”
—http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonio_Meucci

5. Lightbulb. “Göbel [invented] the first practical bulb… in 1854, a quarter of a century before Edison’s patent.”
—http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinrich_G%C3%B6bel

Yes he died pennyless too.

6. Radio. “Tesla is now credited with inventing modern radio as well; since the Supreme Court overturned Marconi’s patent in 1943 in favor of Tesla’s earlier patents.”
—http://inventors.about.com/od/tstartinventions/a/Nikola_Tesla.htm

7. Almost everything else - through state funding of science & university research.

The point? While we all love for-profit economics, let’s not exaggerate their role either. At best they tend to succeed after government acceleration of new technologies.

from
http://newsrogue.com/list-the-worlds-best-inventions-werent-made-for-profit/