American inventions

From the Internet to beer can rings, a look at the indispensable inventions made in America.

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The Segway

The ubiquitous tourist-carrier was invented by Dean Kamen of New Hampshire in 2001. Kamen holds more than 440 patents for his other inventions in the fields of medicine and technology.

T.J. Kirkpatrick / Bloomberg News

The windshield wiper

In 1905, Mary Anderson of Alabama received a patent for her invention: a moving rod with a rubber blade that could be attached to a car. Although there were earlier attempts, Anderson’s invention worked, making rough-weather driving easier.

Jeffrey MacMillan / For The Washington Post

The CMOS image sensor chip

The CMOS chip is a commonly used sensor in cellphone cameras and digital cameras around the world. It was invented by Eric Fossum, a physicist and engineer from Yale, in the early ’90s.

William Woody / AP

The scroll wheel

The idea for a wheel on top of the computer mouse was developed in 1993, when Microsoft employee Eric Michelman was working on a project to make Excel navigation easier.

Torsten Silz / AP

Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Raymond Damadian, a medical researcher at SUNY in Brooklyn, invented the first MRI device in 1970. It ushered in a new way of looking at the human body.

Jim Cole / AP

Memory foam

Charles Yost, an aeronautical engineer, is a co-inventor of the “memory foam” material for NASA’s Ames Research Center to better protect astronauts from impact in 1966. Yost later sold the foam, which he called “Temper Foam,” through his own business.

Anonymous / ASSOCIATED PRESS

The Internet

The Department of Defense’s Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET), created by Lawrence Roberts and his team, was the Internet’s predecessor.

Rick Wilking / Reuters

The “pop-top” can

The simple act of popping open a can of beer wouldn't be possible for Americans without Ermal Fraze’s 1959 invention, the “ring-shaped tab for tear strips of containers.” His idea was first used in Iron City Beer cans made by the Pittsburgh Brewing Company, and later gained wider popularity.

Bill O'Leary / The Washington Post

Global Positioning System technology

Ivan Getting, a physicist and engineer with MIT during World War II, helped design a satellite-based navigation system that is the basis of GPS technology.

Bill O'Leary / The Washington Post

The iPod

Apple co-founder Steve Jobs released the first iPod in October, 2001, offering “1,000 songs in your pocket.” The plethora of devices that followed have changed the face of modern technology.

Marcio Jose Sanchez / AP

Facebook

From a dorm room to political revolutions, a movie and a stock market debut, Mark Zuckerberg's college creation changed the way people interact with each other online.

Rainier Ehrhardt / Getty Images

FEATURED PHOTO GALLERIES

BALTIMORE, MD - MAY 18: Jockey Gary Stevens rides Oxbow out to the front of the pack on the first straight away during the 138th Running of the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Md., on Saturday, May 18, 2013. (Photo by Toni L. Sandys/The Washington Post)

Oxbow wins and infield fun at Preakness Stakes in Baltimore

Oxbow put D. Wayne Lukas in the record books again with an upset of Orb in the Preakness, giving the Hall of Fame trainer his 14th win in a Triple...

Graduating students' with rain soaked mortar boards from a driving rain, listen as US President Barack Obama delivers the commencement address during a ceremony at Morehouse College on May 19, 2013 in Atlanta, Georgia. AFP PHOTO/Mandel NGANMANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images

Obama addresses Morehouse College graduates

President Obama gets personal about race and manhood in a speech to graduates of historically black Morehouse College.

Carly Rae Jepsen arrives on the red carpet at the 2013 Billboard Music Awards at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada, May 19, 2013. AFP PHOTO / ROBYN BECKROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images

Billboard Music Awards 2013 red carpet

Stars float down the red carpet in Las Vegas. Performers at the event include Prince, Justin Bieber, Bruno Mars, Miguel, Selena Gomez, Christina...

New York Yankees' Travis Hafner bats during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals Sunday, May 12, 2013, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

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WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 13: Many seminary graduates are choosing not to become pastors. Rebecca J. Cole received her Master of Divinity and is becoming a community organizer on Capitol Hill. She hugs another graduate after the ceremony. The 2013 Commencement ceremony for Wesley Theological Seminary was held on May 13 at the Washington National Cathedral. (Photo by Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post)

Eager to minister, but not from the pulpit

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epa03704474 A Muslim woman at the ThetKalPyin temporary relief camp near Sittwe in Rakhine State, Western Myanmar, 17 May 2013. A total of 13 people were confirmed dead in neighboring Bangladesh as people began to return home from shelters, a day after Cyclone Mahasen hit the coast, officials said 17 May. EPA/NYEIN CHAN NAING

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LOS ANGELES, CA - MAY 16: American Idol Season 12 Winner Candice Glover (C) is seen onstage during Fox's 'American Idol 2013' Finale Results Show at Nokia Theatre L.A. Live on May 16, 2013 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

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US actress Claire Julien smiles on May 16, 2013 while posing during a photocall for the film 'The Bling Ring' at the 66th edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes. Cannes, one of the world's top film festivals, opened on May 15 and will climax on May 26 with awards selected by a jury headed this year by Hollywood legend Steven Spielberg. AFP PHOTO / ALBERTO PIZZOLI (Photo credit should read ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP/Getty Images)

Eye on entertainment

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