Smithsonian Channel - My Million Dollar Invention Series 1 (2015) Part 3 Criminal Riches

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 3 Criminal Riches

How did one man's invention to save soldiers' lives set off an American crime wave? Which common household appliance first existed as a flattened chicken bone adorned with animal hair? And what's the connection between burglar alarms and the literary team of Holmes and Watson? We explore the origins of four inventions with criminal ties the Tommy Gun, the home alarm, cash registers, and the toothbrush meet the brilliant minds willing to do anything to bring their innovations to the world.

Smithsonian Channel

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