Smithsonian Channel - My Million Dollar Invention Series 1 (2015) Part 1 Shock and Awe

My Million Dollar Invention

What was Edison's questionable role in the development of the electric chair? Which household utensil came from the mind of a prisoner? How was the Maclaren baby buggy inspired by a fighter plane? Behind many million-dollar inventions are priceless stories of inspiration, controversy, triumph, and tragedy. Explore inventions large and small, lifesaving and life-taking, scary and playful, and meet the men and women who dedicated, and often risked, their lives to follow their vision and ultimately change the world.

Part 1 Shock and Awe

What was Edison's controversial role in the invention of the electric chair? What's the little-known link between the Civil War and the Ouija board, or stockings and roller coasters? And how did an explosive guilt trip lead to the birth of the Nobel Peace Prize? We explore four chilling inventions, and reveal the stories of the inventors whose million-dollar ideas shook the world and created legacies still with us today.

Smithsonian Channel

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