We’re all probably using a lot more soap these days, but… what is it exactly? How does it work? Who invented it and how has it changed the world? Join Robert and Joe as they explore the invention of Soap. This episode marks the final installment of Invention as a standalone podcast, but invention-based episodes will continue on the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Apr 20, 2020•1 hr 8 min
Chewing gum is everywhere today, but where does it come from? What did we chew before Bubblicious? How does gum affect us? Robert and Joe explore in this episode of Invention. (Originally published 7/8/2019) Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Apr 13, 2020•1 hr 4 min
We all love a good museum, but how long have we had them? In this episode of Invention, Robert and Joe discuss just what a museum actually is and when the concept seems to have entered human civilization. (7/1/2019) Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Apr 06, 2020•1 hr 7 min
It’s hard to imagine how anyone looked cool before the invention of sunglasses, but just when did humans pop their first pair of shades? In this episode of Invention, Robert Lamb and Joe McCormick discuss everything from the blinding white hell of arctic wastes to the blood-soaked spectacle of gladiatorial combat. (Originally published 1/7/2019) Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Mar 30, 2020•45 min
A fungal accident in the early 20th century opened the door for the medical wonders of the antibiotic age. In this episode of Invention, Robert and Joe explore what came before and how Alexander Fleming’s discovery changed the world. (Originally published 7/15/19) Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Mar 23, 2020•49 min
Where do new words come from? Robert and Joe explore in the latest episode of Invention. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mar 16, 2020•53 min
Where do new words come from? Robert and Joe explore in the latest episode of Invention. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mar 09, 2020•51 min
You may very well encounter barbed wire everyday -- and, in all likelihood, you see THROUGH this flesh-ripping barrier. Where did this invention come from? How did it change the world? Robert and Joe discuss “the devil’s rope” in this episode of Invention. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mar 02, 2020•50 min
Fire technology depends on the ability to not only create and foster fire, but also the ability to snuff it out as needed. Today, the fire extinguisher is an important active fire protection device, but where does this technology emerge in human techno-history? Robert and Joe explore in this episode of Invention. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Feb 24, 2020•49 min
Fire technology depends on the ability to not only create and foster fire, but also the ability to snuff it out as needed. Today, the fire extinguisher is an important active fire protection device, but where does this technology emerge in human techno-history? Robert and Joe explore in this episode of Invention. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Feb 17, 2020•46 min
Mastery of fire was one of humanity’s greatest technological leaps forward, but even the ability to create fire only gets you so far if the flame is not easily generated and/or transferred. Thus, the millennia-spanning quest to create the subtle technology we so easily take for granted: the modern matchstick. Join Robert and Joe for a multi-episode Invention exploration on fire-generation technology. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/list...
Feb 10, 2020•35 min
Mastery of fire was one of humanity’s greatest technological leaps forward, but even the ability to create fire only gets you so far if the flame is not easily generated and/or transferred. Thus, the millennia-spanning quest to create the subtle technology we so easily take for granted: the modern matchstick. Join Robert and Joe for a multi-episode Invention exploration on fire-generation technology. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/list...
Feb 03, 2020•42 min
Mastery of fire was one of humanity’s greatest technological leaps forward, but even the ability to create fire only gets you so far if the flame is not easily generated and/or transferred. Thus, the millennia-spanning quest to create the subtle technology we so easily take for granted: the modern matchstick. Join Robert and Joe for a multi-episode Invention exploration on fire-generation technology. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/list...
Jan 27, 2020•54 min
It’s easy to take the pencil for granted, but that eraser-capped wooden cylinder with a core of graphite has a story and a history -- and Robert and Joe explore it in this episode of Invention. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Jan 20, 2020•45 min
The Mai Tai isn’t only the most famous Tiki cocktail, it’s one of the most well known cocktails on the planet. But where does it come from? Who invented it? In this episode of Invention, Robert and Joe turn to noted Tiki historian and mixologist Jeff “Beachbum” Berry for answers. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Jan 13, 2020•1 hr 7 min
Chopsticks are such an intuitive and precise eating utensil, it’s easy to assume they’ve been with us. But as Robert Lamb and Joe McCormick explore, this neolithic invention didn’t really leave the kitchen for the dinner table in a major way till the fifth century CE. Prepare to explore the invention of chopsticks. (Originally published 12/17/18) Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Jan 06, 2020•58 min
Join your Invention hosts Robert and Joe for another round of listenener mail on recent episodes devoted to the Microwave Oven and all sorts of toys. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Dec 30, 2019•39 min
As the first year of Invention comes to a close, Robert and Joe catch up on listener mail for everything from air conditioning and ketchup to toys and bubble wrap. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Dec 23, 2019•42 min
As the holiday season sets in, Robert and Joe open up Santa’s toy bag to consider the invention of various toys -- toys intended to teach, toys intended to puzzle and toys that leverage technology for good old fashioned childhood fun. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Dec 16, 2019•1 hr 14 min
As the holiday season sets in, Robert and Joe open up Santa’s toy bag to consider the invention of various toys -- toys intended to teach, toys intended to puzzle and toys that leverage technology for good old fashioned childhood fun. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Dec 09, 2019•51 min
As the holiday season sets in, Robert and Joe open up Santa’s toy bag to consider the invention of various toys -- toys intended to teach, toys intended to puzzle and toys that leverage technology for good old fashioned childhood fun. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Dec 02, 2019•54 min
You probably use one everyday: to warm up your lunch, to explode pats of butter or simply to reheat your coffee. But how does a microwave oven work and where does this amazingly useful invention come from? Find out in this episode of Invention! Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Nov 25, 2019•38 min
You probably use one everyday: to warm up your lunch, to explode pats of butter or simply to reheat your coffee. But how does a microwave oven work and where does this amazingly useful invention come from? Find out in this episode of Invention! Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Nov 18, 2019•40 min
In this episode of Invention, Robert and Joe continue the month’s journey through human CULINARY techno-history -- this time with the story of the turnspit dog. This now-extinct breed of dog turned the meat in many a European kitchen, before it was replaced by machines. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Nov 11, 2019•1 hr 5 min
In this episode of Invention, Robert and Joe kick off a month of food content with the history of canning! Yes, from Napoleonic bottles of soups to our modern bounty of canned sustenance, you’ll explore where it came from, who invented the process and how it changed the world. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Nov 04, 2019•48 min
Once more, for Halloween! The 18th century Guillotine represents the absolute pinnacle of mechanical decapitation. In this episode of Invention, Robert Lamb and Joe McCormick explore its origins and legacy. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Oct 28, 2019•52 min
Sure, caskets and coffins are essentially just containers for the dead -- but we stash far more than our corpses inside them. We also pour in a generous helping of human anxiety, hope and magical thinking. In this three-part exploration of Invention, Robert and Joe consider the nature of caskets and look at some of the stranger designs from human history. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Oct 21, 2019•32 min
Sure, caskets and coffins are essentially just containers for the dead -- but we stash far more than our corpses inside them. We also pour in a generous helping of human anxiety, hope and magical thinking. In this three-part exploration of Invention, Robert and Joe consider the nature of caskets and look at some of the stranger designs from human history. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Oct 14, 2019•47 min
Sure, caskets and coffins are essentially just containers for the dead -- but we stash far more than our corpses inside them. We also pour in a generous helping of human anxiety, hope and magical thinking. In this three-part exploration of Invention, Robert and Joe consider the nature of caskets and look at some of the stranger designs from human history. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Oct 07, 2019•1 hr 3 min
You love it. You put it on everything. But where does ketchup come from? In this episode of Invention, Robert and Joe explore the mysterious origins of everyone’s favorite sweet red sauce -- and consider the jaw-dropping fact that ketchup isn’t always red and isn’t always made from tomatoes. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Sep 30, 2019•1 hr 3 min
