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The Lightbulb Moment
The Lightbulb Moment

The Lightbulb Moment

—The surprising impact of less-celebrated inventions and the moments of inspiration that made them possible.
Documentary, News

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Record to watch 10 episodes in the next two weeks

    Like Button: The Unintended Consenquences of the Facebook Like Button
    Cubicle: How the Cubicle Became Universally Hated
    Barcode: How the Barcode Shaped Our Modern Economy
    Florida: How Real Estate Rogues Invented Florida as We Know It
    Mauve: The Fake Color That Made Our Modern World
    Vanilla: The Bean That Shaped the Future of Food
    The Hollywood Actress That Laid the Groundwork for WiFi
    Streaming: The Invention That Revolutionized Streaming Video
    Interstate: How the Interstate Connected and Divided America
    Edison: How Edison Reinvented Invention
  • Like Button: The Unintended Consenquences of the Facebook Like Button

    When first presented with the like button Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg worried that a quick thumbs up or down would discourage more meaningful online interaction but eventually his team changed his mind and transformed the world.
    Upcoming
  • Cubicle: How the Cubicle Became Universally Hated

    The Cubicle was originally designed to set workers free; a futuristic designer named Robert Propst dreamed up the cubicle as a groovy 1960s workplace utopia that would unleash the modern knowledge worker's vast untapped potential.
    Upcoming
  • Barcode: How the Barcode Shaped Our Modern Economy

    Barcodes have radically changed global commerce, helping fuel the rise of everything from massive companies like Walmart to world powers like China, and it all started with a man daydreaming on a beach in 1949.
    Upcoming
  • Florida: How Real Estate Rogues Invented Florida as We Know It

    Florida wasn't always the Sunshine State; in the 1920s, an army of real estate boosters set out to redefine Florida from an economic backwater to a ritzy vacation destination, sparking a land boom the likes of which America had never seen before.
    Upcoming
  • Mauve: The Fake Color That Made Our Modern World

    In 1856, a chemistry student accidentally created a strange substance with a rich purple hue; Mauve takes over the fashion industry, make food look more appetizing, and enable stunning advances in medicine.
    Upcoming
  • Vanilla: The Bean That Shaped the Future of Food

    In 1841 on the small island of Réunion, a 12-year-old slave did something no one had done before; the vanilla bean takes the world by storm, sparking the artificial flavor revolution and forever changing how we eat.
    Upcoming

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The Lightbulb Moment

More about The Lightbulb Moment

The surprising impact of less-celebrated inventions and the moments of inspiration that made them possible.

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