
101 Gadgets That Changed the World
2011 · 85m · Documentary
The alarm clock. The personal computer. The smartphone. The radio. You know the greatest gadgets of all time (and you’ve probably owned most of them), but which has changed the world more than any other? To make our list of 101, a gadget had to be something you could hold in your hands, mechanical or electronic, and a mass-produced personal item. The rest was up to the judges. Check out our selections.
More Like This

Zvorykin-Muromets
2010 · ★ 6
Parfenov's documentary is about a brilliant scientist and engineer, born in Russia, but only known on the other side of the ocean. The invention of modern television changed the history of mankind. The invention has an author, who is almost unknown in his homeland. Vladimir Zworykin, born in Murom, a Russian American, was the person who created distant wireless transmission of images.
More info →
The Story of Alfred Nobel
1939 · ★ 7
This John Nesbitt's Passing Parade short tells the story of Alfred Nobel, who invented dynamite, and later established the Nobel Prize.
More info →
The Sun Queen
2023 · ★ 8.8
Chemical engineer and inventor Maria Telkes worked for nearly 50 years to harness the power of the sun, designing and building the world's first successful solar-heated modern residence and identifying a new chemical that could store solar heat like a battery. Telkes was undercut and thwarted by her (male) boss and colleagues at MIT, but she persevered. Upon her death in 1995 Telkes held more than 20 patents, and now she is recognized as a visionary pioneer in the field of sustainable energy whose work continues to shape how we power our lives today.
More info →
Crazy Inventions and Daredevil Stunts
2014
This compilation of rare, vintage footage, is filmed proof that there is no shortage of crazy ideas in this world. You will see thrilling stunts, demonstrations of wacky new machines, flagpole sitting, an early voice simulator, a golf pro machine, the giant harmonica, a matchbox house, hand and mouth players, self-launching lifeboats, rocket airplanes, winged humans, yo-yo experts, and much more.
More info →
The Story of Doctor Carver
1938 · ★ 6
The story of Dr. George Washington Carver (1864-1943), black educator and horticulturist. He is perhaps most well known for developing over 140 products from all parts of the peanut plant, including the shells and husks. He also developed products based on sweet potatoes and soybeans, and developed a cotton hybrid that was named after him.
More info →
Fortune Seekers
1956 · ★ 8
This short film celebrates the hard work, tenacity, and ingenuity of inventors. Highlighted are some seemingly small inventions that have become part of daily life.
More info →

The Animograph, or I Was Born in a Shoebox
2022 · ★ 7.5
The amazing story of the animograph, a machine created in France in the sixties by the cartoonist and self-taught inventor Jean Dejoux (1922-2015), whose creation was intended to revolutionize the animation industry.
More info →
The Creative Brain
2019 · ★ 7.2
Neuroscientist David Eagleman taps into the creative process of various inventors, while exploring brain-bending, risk-taking ways to spark creativity
More info →
Intelligent Trees
2017 · ★ 7.6
Trees talk, know family ties and care for their young? Is this too fantastic to be true? German forester Peter Wohlleben and scientist Suzanne Simard have been observing and investigating the communication between trees over decades. And their findings are most astounding.
More info →
Women and Cars: The Story of an Underestimated Liaison
2022 · ★ 9
Since the invention of the automobile, women have distinguished themselves by their daring: the history of women in motor sport.
More info →