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Lessons from the Past 135: Where Innovations Changed Our World
Walter Vieira 22 August 2025
Consumer Interest
In two previous articles, I had talked about innovations that had been developed and which, unfortunately (at least to our knowledge), had not made any impact in the marketplace. It was a list of nearly ten very useful innovations which could prove to be a boon to the community in India, and perhaps even to the world at large.
 
It would be wrong to end this series without also talking about some of the innovations that have been introduced in the world over these past decades and which have changed our lives in many simple ways (as in more complex), making our lives more comfortable.
 
It’s like All Souls' Day, where Christians remember their ancestors and say a prayer that their souls may rest in peace. In every religion, there is a remembrance—sometimes every day, sometimes once a year - to thank those who have gone before us and have made this a better world for us to live in. In some communities, they have a practice of keeping aside a little food, from the generous banquet served at a party, for their dead ancestors. It may seem strange, because the dead cannot talk—and obviously they cannot eat!  But it is the thought—a symbolic gesture of 'thank you' for whatever it may be worth, in completely ‘logical terms’.
 
The list of people we all need to thank and who have seldom been acknowledged is given below. These are individuals who discovered, gave and disappeared without building large corporations. Or they are individuals who did build large corporations, from which their descendants benefited immensely. There could be those who went half the way and then sold out or were taken over by someone much bigger who had the resources and the talent to take the enterprise further.
 
For me, looking at such a list was a revelation (obviously, this is a small speck, because a list of innovations for the last three decades could be very, very large). It had many surprises but it was also most interesting.   
 
For example:
 
#. The pencil with an attached eraser was developed by Hyman Lippman. A great invention? No.. A useful invention? Yes. All of us know this!
 
# The safety razor was invented by King C Gillette. From the single blade to twin blade: to three blades…to…?  Part of P&G.
 
#. The drunkometer was invented by Dr Rolla Harger, followed by the breath analyser by Robert Borkenstein. What would the police force do without this equipment, anywhere in the world, to manage drunk driving?
 
#. The Yale lock (tumbler lock) was created for banks in 1847 by Linus Yale Sr (1797 to 1858). It was adapted for use on other doors by Linus Yale Jr. It was lucky that the Yale family went on to the second generation of creativity!
 
#.  The pill that could easily be dissolved in the stomach (known as a ‘friable’ pill) was invented by William Upjohn. Upjohn Laboratories has had a long innings and has now been part of the game of mergers and acquisitions in the pharma world!
 
#. The bread slicing machine was created by Otto Rohwedder and millions use it without knowing who they should be thankful to.
 
#. The first Brownie camera was created in 1901 by Kodak. 120 years later, Kodak is no longer the name synonymous with photography. But the Samsungs and Canons have to pay homage to Kodak for having shown the way!
 
#. Aaron Montgomery began the world’s first mail-order business in 1872.
 
#. Garrett Morgan was given the first patent on a three-signal traffic light and yet we never think of him or know about him, as we cross signals 50 times a day!
 
#. Frank Epperson was 11 when he invented the first popsicle in the world.
 
#. Dr John Pemberton invented Coca-Cola in May 1886. See where Coca-Cola has gone! It was selected by Fortune magazine as the sixth most admired brand in the world after Job’s Apple.
 
#. Carrier (with Willis Haviland) invented air-conditioning in 1921. Thank goodness, we are still here to know and sometimes buy Carrier air-conditioners over 100 years later.
 
#.  Eugene Polley invented the remote control in 1955. It makes it possible for us to relax in a chair or on the bed, and reduce our physical exercise! 
 
#. John Curtis was the first to produce chewing gum on a commercial scale. While Singapore may have banned the use of chewing gum, the rest of the world goes on chewing, at least using the pretext of’ fresh breath’!
 
#. Jacob Davis invented blue jeans. And these are now a symbol of a world youth unified code for people from all parts of the world, even though mostly worn in the West, and though mostly produced in China!
 
To all these ‘solos’ who were initiators and opened new doors and showed new paths, our gratitude and respect from the ‘large corporate world’. If not for them, we would not have been here, whether in the East or the West, enjoying the many comforts flowing from these innovations.
 
 
 
You may also want to read other articles written by the author. Here is the link https://moneylife.in/author/walter-vieira.html
 
(Walter Vieira is a Fellow of the Institute of Management Consultants of India - FIMC. He was a successful corporate executive for 14 years, capping his career as Head of marketing for a Pharma multinational, for India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka- and then pioneered marketing consulting in India in 1975. As a consultant, he has worked across four continents. He was the first Asian elected Chairman of ICMCI, the world apex body of consultants in 45 countries, in 1997. He is the author of 16 books, a business columnist, international conference speaker and has been visiting professor in Marketing in the US, Europe, and Asia for over 40 years. He was awarded Lifetime Achievement Award for Consulting in 2005, and for Marketing in 2009. He now spends much of his time in NGO work - Consumer Education and Research Centre, IDOBRO, and some others.)
 
 
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