I am a far cry from the time when I can let my work prove to the world that I am anything remotely close to a genius - a heavy reality to carry, no doubt. OK, just a tad! It's impossible not to wonder, "What was I doing while Benjamin Franklin invented his swimming paddles at 11, Louis Braille made up his notation at 15 and George Nissen began hurling himself into what would become the trampoline at 16?" Still, for many of these early concepts, one young boy or girl did not produce them.
Galileo Timed the Universe with His Own Pulse
In 1583, as 19-year-old medical student Galileo Galilei stared at a swinging chandelier inside Pisa Cathedral in Italy, he measured the time of its swings against his own pulse, noticing that they took the same amount of time no matter what the size of the swing (this idea would become known as isochronism). Galileo researched different pendulums at home and designed the pulsilogium, a tool to record pulses. Dutch astronomer Christiaan Huygens created the first working pendulum clock years later.
Pascal Built His Father a Brass Calculator
The father of Blaise Pascal, when working for the government, calculated by hand these same taxes in Rouen for the better part of every day. Well, in 1642, Blaise Pascal, 18, decided to make some changes to that situation. Three years later, he designed an automatic adding and subtracting (through the use of nines' complements) calculator consisting of an interlocking set of cogged wheels connected to a brass box. "pascalines" – approximately 20 of which he created, earning him a Royal Privilege from France in 1645 – were always limited to addition and subtraction, which, let us be honest, it did not need to do anyway.
Franklin's First Invention Was for Swimming Faster
Back in about 1717 when he was 11 years old and was swimming in Boston, Franklin hit upon a way to swim faster. He made two pieces of wood with holes for his thumbs, and found these worked. He also made a couple of wooden slippers to put on his feet to see if they would help him swim faster, but they were too heavy, so he gave up. He wrote about these experiments himself but not until decades later.
Braille Shrank a Military Code into Something Readable
Three-year-old Louis Braille became blind. When he was 15 years old in 1824, he encountered night writing at the Royal Institute for Blind Youth in Paris. An officer, Charles Barbier, invented this system as a way to communicate during the night to the soldiers; it consisted of 12 raised dots that could be felt as a way to read in the dark. The cells were too large to be read with one fingertip, so, between ages 15 and 20, Braille devised his own version of night writing - six raised dots in two columns of three. He published it at age 20, in 1829.
A 12-Year-Old Mill Worker Built a Safety Guard, No Patent
1850: At age 12, while working at a Manchester, N.H., cotton mill, Margaret E. Knight had a steel-tipped wooden shuttle ricochet from its slot on a loom and strike a child. Knight built a guard of wood and wire to catch the shuttles and prevent their flight. The mill adopted the device. Knight was unaware of patent law and received no royalties.
Westinghouse's First Patent Was a Flop That Started Everything
George Westinghouse participated in the Civil War and at 19, he resumed work at his father's machine shop in Schenectady, NY. On October 31, 1865, Westinghouse patented a rotary steam engine, though ultimately, that machine was of no use in industry. The patent still led him in that direction as he would eventually file a total of 361 patents, including the 1873 patent for the railway air brake.
Greenwood's Cold Ears Led to a Spring-Steel Fix
Far away, back in December 1873, a 15-year-old Farmington, Maine, native named Chester Greenwood was out ice skating and decided he wanted to keep his ears warm, although he found the itchiness of his wool cap too much to bear. Instead, he bent wire into ear-shaped loops and asked his grandmother, Phrelove Wood, to cover them in fur and velvet pads. To keep the loops from slipping off the ears, he fashioned a spring-steel headband that encompassed them and added a swivel hinge. That was not the "first time that anyone ever covered their ears." He did that in 1877, at age 18.
Samuelson Boiled Planks in His Mother's Kettle to Ski on Water
In June, 1922, 18-year old Ralph Samuelson of Lake City, Minnesota, one day decided to see if he could use snow skis on water. Having no better material for skis, he picked up two eight-foot sections of pine, boiled the ends of the two while in the apple kettle in his mom's house, to bend them just enough to accept a strap across the top and bottom of the skis. To attach his feet to the skis, he cut holes in each bent end of the board and looped in leather foot straps. Then he hitched onto his brother's motorboat and just about 4 miles out of Lake Pepin he was flying on his water skis! He never did get a patent!
FAQ's
What inspired youth inventions?
Many iconic products—like the trampoline, water skis, and the popsicle—were invented by teens and children driven by curiosity, boredom, or a desire to solve everyday hassles.
Who invented the trampoline and at what age?
George Nissen invented the trampoline at age 16 in 1930 after watching circus trapeze artists bounce into safety nets.
How was the popsicle invented?
In 1905, 11-year-old Frank Epperson accidentally left a cup of soda with a stirring stick in it outside overnight, letting it freeze in the chilly air.
Are these young inventions legally protected?
Yes, many young creators secured patents for their ideas, such as 6-year-old Robert Patch for a multi-purpose toy truck and 12-year-old Cassidy Goldstein for the crayon holder.
Do modern teens still create major innovations?
Absolutely. Contemporary young geniuses regularly develop advanced tech solutions, including high-speed phone superchargers, pediatric medical devices, and environmental cleanup prototypes.
