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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 4 episodes in the next two weeks

    Edison: How Edison Reinvented Invention
    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

  • 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.
    Watch free

  • During WWII, Actress Hedy Lamarr, deemed the world's most beautiful woman, invented a technology that laid the groundwork for the wireless internet of today.
    Watch free

  • The early days of online video were plagued by low resolution, stamp-sized video, and unbearable buffering times but that changed when a breakthrough technology revolutionized streaming video and set the foundation for the era of Netflix.
    Watch free

  • Dwight Eisenhower's interstate highway system was the biggest infrastructure project of its time, a bold plan to connect all corners of America and boost the post-war economy, but it also ended up deepening the divide between rich and poor.
    Watch free
  • Edison: How Edison Reinvented Invention

    Edison pioneered the world's first research and development center in Menlo Park and worked with a group of experimenters to methodically zero in on the holy grail of electric light.
    Upcoming
  • 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

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The Lightbulb Moment

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

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