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Invention

One of China's hottest toys sold millions. The inventor made $830.

by Jennifer Pak
May 9, 2024
A person who comes up with a good idea might not always reap the rewards in China's manufacturing ecosystem.
It's hard to spot which carrot knives are originals and which ones are copies.
Charles Zhang/Marketplace
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The Transistor at 75

The transistor's story is one of innovation and immigration

by David Brancaccio and Alex Schroeder
Dec 16, 2022
Mohamed Atalla of Egypt and Dawon Kahng of Korea are responsible for the technology that helped harness the transistor's power.
The technology developed by two immigrants at Bell Labs in 1959 allowed transistors to become small enough so that more could fit on a microprocessor.
krystiannawrocki/Getty Images
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The Transistor at 75

75 years ago, the transistor ignited the fire of modern innovation

by David Brancaccio and Alex Schroeder
Dec 12, 2022
The transistor was born in 1947 at Bell Labs in New Jersey. We're looking into the culture of innovation that made it possible.
Nokia Bell Labs still has the first transistor, which was invented in 1947. Here's David Brancaccio holding it at the company's campus in Murray Hill, New Jersey.
Alex Schroeder/Marketplace
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The inventors of the now-ubiquitous barcode received a patent 70 years ago

by Stephanie Hughes
Oct 7, 2022
Inspired in part by Morse code, the barcode was originally conceived of as concentric circles.
Bernard Silver and Norman Joseph Woodland came up with the barcode concept, which got a patent a mere 70 years ago.
Getty Images
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Shelf Life

How William Perkin’s search for a malaria cure led to the color mauve

by Bridget Bodnar
Mar 12, 2018
A teenager tinkering in his lab invented a brilliant synthetic shade of purple in Victorian England.
The original mauve — similar to the shade depicted in this image — was much brighter than the color we know today.
William Thomas Cain/Getty Images
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Six Routes

Finding the beta version of Silicon Valley

by Marketplace Contributor
Mar 20, 2015
Does the American dream still exist in America? Location, location, location.
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