Bar codes invention

The first parachute jump was made from a hot air balloon by Andre-Jacques Garnerinthe in France in 1793. But Leonardo da Vinci had made detailed sketches of parachutes in 1485. He also sketched studies for a helicopter, a tank and retractable landing gear. The first helicopter that could carry a person was flown by Paul Cornu in 1907. Tanks were first used during World War One in Cambrai, France in 1917. The first airplane with retractable landing gear was built in 1933. Da Vinci also suggested underwater breathing methods. Jacques-Yves Cousteau and Emile Gagnon introduced scuba diving only in 1943, 458 years later.

Who invented the light bulb? No, it wasn't Thomas Edison. Light bulbs - in particular Starr's electric lamp - were in use 50 years before Edison applied for the patent in 1879. In addition, British inventor Joseph Swan was awarded a light bulb patent the previous year. Edison went on to make big buck from the light bulb but Swan sued Edison for infringement and won. As part of the settlement, Edison was forced to take Swan in as a partner but later bought him out in the company that was to become General Electric.

In 1883, the US Patent Office ruled that Edison's patent on the light bulb might have been based on that of William Sawyer and were invalid. It is not that Edison stole the idea: there are many examples of different people thinking up the same concept at more-or-less the same time.

Thomas Alva Edison (1847 - 1931) certainly was not a lazy guy. He filed 1,093 patents, including those for electric railways and the movie camera. When he died in 1931, he held 34 patents for the telephone, 141 for batteries, 150 for the telegraph and 389 patents for electric light and power. Unlike Leonardo da Vinci who never built the inventions he designed, Edison was not just a great theorist. He coined the phrase: "Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration." He also said: "There are no rules here. We're trying to get work done."

The term "soda water" was coined in 1798. The soda fountain was patented by Samuel Fahnestock in 1819, with the first bottled soda water available in 1835. The first ice-cream soda was sold in 1874 in the US. The first cola-flavored beverage was introduced in 1881. Coca-Cola was invented in 1886 in Atlanta, Georgia by Dr. John S. Pemberton. Pepsi-Cola was invented by Caleb Bradham 12 years later. In 1929, the Howdy Company introduced its "Bib-Label Lithiated Lemon-Lime Sodas," which became 7 Up, which was invented by Charles Leiper Grigg.

Red Bull was introduced by Austrian Dietrich Mateschitz and Chaleo Yoovidhya, from Thailand, in 1987. It is based on the Thai drink called Krating Daeng which means red bull.

The first diet soft drink, called the "No-Cal Beverage" is launched in 1952. Aluminum cans were introduced in 1957 and two years later the first diet cola went on sale.

The pull-ring tab was invented in 1962 and the re-sealable top in 1965. Plastic bottles were first used for soft drinks in 1970. The Polyethylene Terephthalate bottle was introduced in 1973. The stay-on tab was invented in 1974.

The most popular beverage in the world is tea.