8 Inventions That Were Mocked At First But Then Became World-Changing Superhits

8 Inventions That Were Mocked At First But Then Became World-Changing Superhits They were mocked, dismissed, and laughed out of the room, until they rewrote daily life. From cars to aeroplanes, these ideas proved that doubt often trails genius Share Your Feedback + Follow usOn Google History is filled with inventions that were initially laughed at, dismissed as pointless, or labelled worthless, only to later become indispensable to everyday life. These ideas did not just succeed; they reshaped civilisation. From telephones and electric bulbs to aeroplanes, motor cars and smartphones, many innovations we now take for granted were once ridiculed. Ironically, these very inventions went on to make life easier, faster and more connected. Recommended Stories The Telephone Was Branded A Child’s Toy The first such story belongs to the telephone. When Alexander Graham Bell invented it, Western Union, the leading telegraph company of the time, flatly rejected the idea. They reportedly dismissed the telephone as a ‘toy’ with no commercial value. That so-called toy later became the foundation of the global communication revolution. From landlines to mobile phones and eventually smartphones, Bell’s invention changed how the world speaks. At the time, people were astonished that voices could travel instantly across thousands of kilometres, something we now consider ordinary. The Electric Bulb Was Mocked As Dangerous The second invention to face ridicule was the electric bulb. Thomas Alva Edison’s bulb promised to banish darkness from homes, replacing gas lamps that were widely considered safe and reliable, despite frequent fire accidents. When Edison demonstrated the bulb, critics rejected it outright, calling it ‘too fragile’ and ‘dangerous’ for household use. Yet Edison persisted. More than a century later, electric lighting is a universal necessity, illuminating homes across the globe. Can Humans Fly? Perhaps the most shocking scepticism surrounded the invention of the aeroplane. When the Wright brothers first demonstrated powered flight, many believed it would never become practical, let alone global. Around 1900, newspapers and scientists confidently declared that humans would never fly. One scientific journal even claimed that human flight might be possible, but not within the next million years. When the Wright brothers proved otherwise, critics still called it unsafe. Fast forward to today: between 100,000 and 115,000 commercial flights operate worldwide every day. Including cargo, military and private aircraft, the numbers rise even higher. At peak times, 8,000 to 20,000 planes are airborne simultaneously. By 2025, global flights are projected to reach around 39 million annually, carrying 13 to 15 million passengers daily. Cars Were Considered Slower Than Horses The motorcar faced equal resistance. When cars appeared in the 19th century, many argued that nothing could ever be faster or more reliable than a horse-drawn carriage. In Britain, the fear was so strong that the ‘Red Flag Act’ required a man to walk in front of a car waving a red flag to warn pedestrians. Today, cars are essential to modern life, and daily commuting without them is almost unimaginable. Computers Were Called a Waste of Time When early...

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