There have been a lot of inventions that changed history, but a little toy from the late ’70s called Merlin was the inspiration for the iPhone. That is one of the many Inventions That Changed History that are featured in the series’ third and fourth episodes on Discovery+.
In these two episodes, they look at Silly String, Disco Ball, Teddy Ruxpin, Squatty Potty, Twister, Pinball, Bubble Blower and Lava Lamps, Mood Ring, Ouija Board, Slinky, Silly Putty, Merlin, and the Pez Dispenser.
Almost all of those items have a special place in our childhoods, but some of them were created in our great-great-grandparents’ childhoods, like the Pinball machine.
Each invention has an interesting history. Can you guess which history belongs to what invention? Did you know that Teddy Ruxpin is not a teddy bear? Which invention made $1 million overnight after appearing on Shark Tank? The inventors of one product tested it out on the owners of a company. Needless to say, the owners did not like it.
One game was considered too risque to sell in stores, so it wasn’t. In fact, it looked like a total failure until Johnny Carson played it on The Tonight Show. Then the next day, everyone wanted to own one. While that game was censored, another one was banned in several cities. So much so, NYC would send forces in to destroy them.
Did you know a tobacco heir created the first mood ring? You are never going to believe how the Ouija board got its name. There is an even crazier story about how it got its patent so quickly. Can you guess which inventor quit the business to translate Bibles in Bolivia? Which toy was a failed experiment?
And my favorite, which invention was inspired during a night of drinking?
As much as I am loving this series, I hate how much it is costing me. I run to Amazon after like every segment to buy something. The only item I returned was the Sea Monkeys. To find out why you have to watch the first two episodes. And then when you are done, you can watch these two.
There have been many monumental inventions throughout time, and Discovery+ is looking at some of my favorite ones. The first two episodes of Inventions That Changed History feature items we have all had or wanted.
In the first episode, they look at Waterbeds, Barf Bags, Big Mouth Billy Bass, Flushing Toilet, Super Soaker, Sea-Monkeys, Pool Noodle, and Slip’ N Slide. Then in the second one, we learn about Mr. Potato Head, Pop Rocks, Corn Cob Holders, Easy Bake Oven, Box Wine, Rubber Chicken, Listerine, and Vending Machines.
We learn things like what the water bed was originally filled with inside, which Game of Thrones actor is related to the man who invented the toilet, which inventions were pulled from the market for safety issues, and the holy reason how vending machines came into existence.
Several celebrities like Richard Kind (“Curb Your Enthusiasm”), Lance Reddick (“The Wire”), Nicole Sullivan (MADtv), Haskiri Velazquez (“Saved By The Bell”), Amanda Seales (“Insecure”), Flula Borg (Suicide Squad), Yeardley Smith (“The Simpsons”), Jeff Ross (Comedian), Erik Griffin (Actor/Comedian), Harvey Guillen (“What We Do in the Shadows”) and Rachael Harris (The Hangover) share their memories of the inventions. And the younger ones get to test them out.
So if you ever wanted to know the origin of Pop Rocks and Sea Monkeys, here is your chance. It is much more interesting than you ever thought it could be. I just wish I didn’t have to send back one of my most cherished belongings because the inventor was a neo-Nazi.
I know that most people will say the most innovative inventions are medical or tech related. Not me. I like Inventions That Changed History like Pop Rocks, waterbeds, lava lamps, Sea Monkeys, and the rubber chicken. If you are like me, then Discovery+ has a show for us debuting, the day before my birthday, on March 31st.
Inventions That Changed History will tell the fascinating stories of some of time’s wildest inventions. Their backstory is almost as intriguing as the creations themselves.
The items’ groovy tales will be told by Historians, Scientists, Pop Culture Experts, and Hollywood Celebrities like Richard Kind (“Curb Your Enthusiasm”), Lance Reddick (“The Wire”), Nicole Sullivan (MADtv), Haskiri Velazquez (“Saved By The Bell”), Amanda Seales (“Insecure”), Flula Borg (Suicide Squad), Yeardley Smith (“The Simpsons”), Jeff Ross (Comedian), Erik Griffin (Actor/Comedian), Harvey Guillen (“What We Do in the Shadows”) and Rachael Harris (The Hangover).
So what are some of the featured game-changing inventions? The first episode will focus on Waterbeds, Barf Bags, Big Mouth Billy Bass, Flushing Toilet, Super Soaker, Sea-Monkeys, Pool Noodle, and Slip’ N Slide. Then the second will feature Mr. Potato Head, Pop Rocks, Corn Cob Holders, Easy Bake Oven, Box Wine, Rubber Chicken, Listerine, and Vending Machines.
I didn’t know that I cared about their evolutions. But now that I do, I cannot wait to watch this series.
What is your all-time favorite invention? Mine will always be the Pet Rock!
There have been plenty of alien abductions since the 1960s, and there are two that everyone knows about. Discovery+ is going to look at those two cases and share with us the information we haven’t seen or heard before. Shock Docs: Alien Abduction includes interviews with abductees, along with recreations of the abduction and expert interviews.
The first case, which is the first known case, took place in 1961 to Betty and Barney Hill. They were driving home to New Hampshire from their honeymoon when they saw something odd in the sky. They tried to drive away from it, but it followed them on their route. Eventually, it caught up with them, and that is when the two of them lost a few hours of time, and couldn’t really remember what happened.
They told their story to a few family members, who told them to call the nearby air force about it. Back then, no one else had claimed they were abducted by aliens. So it was hard to get people to believe them. Plus, Henry was a civil rights leader and did not want to go public about what happened to him.
Betty spent the next few years of her life having horrible nightmares of that night. So in 1964, she went to a hypnotist who put her under. He recorded their session, and we get to hear what she told him from those tapes. Her husband also told his story to the hypnotist. You can hear in his voice how scared he was to relive that night, but he did.
To hear the encounter in their own words makes it more believable than reading or watching about it. It gets even more harrowing when you see her talk about it in her later years. We don’t see her husband talk about it because he passed away in 1969.
Then 14 years later, Travis Walton was abducted near his hometown of Snowflake, Arizona. He and his logging crew were driving home after a long day of work when they saw a light in the sky. Travis got out of the truck and looked up at the light. Then, all of a sudden, he disappeared.
His buddies drove back to town and told people what happened, and no one believed them. In fact, they thought they killed him, and they came up with this crazy story to hide their crime.
Over the next five days, his six co-workers were questioned over and over again. They even underwent a polygraph test, which they passed. Even more shocking to the investigators is that they all told the same story.
On the fifth day, Travis called his family and asked them to pick him up. When they got there, he was skinnier and dehydrated and had no recollection of the last five days. He thought that it was still the same night as his abduction.
His family tried to hide him in a hotel away from time to give him time to recover. However, they found out where he was hiding.
He started to tell people his story, some believed him and others didn’t. But he and his co-workers are still telling it like they told it almost 50 years ago. How do I know? Because he, several of them, and his then-girlfriend/now-wife were all interviewed for the documentary.
Travis even took the camera crew to the place where he was abducted. Therefore, we get to see his reaction when he returns to the place that changed his life forever.
I knew about both of their cases because I saw the movies (The UFO Incident and Fire in the Sky) based on their abductions. However, those movies were fiction, so I was intrigued to learn the real stories from them. Shock Docs: Alien Abduction did not disappoint.
Whether you believe in alien abductions or not, you will find these special episodes fascinating. Both the Hills and Walton were the first people to go public with their abductions and be accepted for it. We would not have those movies about it if it weren’t for them. So learn how it all started on Discovery+.
President Joe Biden is going to appear in an NBC interview before the Super Bowl on Sunday. And his brand new puppy Commander is going to make his debut during the more important game with his mother, First Lady Jill Biden.
Together the two of them are going to be on Puppy Bowl XVIII with a special message about love the day before Valentine’s Day. “Valentine’s Day is one of my favorite holidays because it is all about love,” FLOTUS said. “What’s so wonderful about having pets is that they bring us unconditional love, joy, and comfort every day.”
That they are. And I am so grateful that we have a dog and a cat in the White House again. It says a lot about a person if they own a pet and how they treat them. The Bidens are very loving to their fur babies, and they are running the country the same way.
Puppy Bowl XVIII airs on Animal Planet and Discovery+ on Sunday. Who cares about Rams and Bangles when you have puppies? Go puppies!
