6 Teenage Inventors That Changed The World
It's frustrating being a teenager, unable to drive, or drink, or vote. It's like society doesn't trust you with anything.
Well, in most cases, society is right: Give a kid a car and he's immediately going to see how high he can ramp it off something. But that doesn't change the fact that some very ambitious teens have changed the world. For instance ...
#6. Superman Was Invented by High School Kids
Every elementary school kid has doodled a superhero on the back of a notebook at some point. But we're guessing your sloppy depiction of "Butt Man" didn't make you a millionaire and change pop culture forever. That is, however, what happened when a young Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel first conceived the Man of Steel in high school.
Their design would wind up being the template for pretty much every superhero that would come later. For instance, have you ever asked yourself why superheroes wear spandex and Speedos? It's not exactly practical crime-fighting wear. Well, it's because a couple of kids were most likely inspired by 1900s circus strong men like Zishe Breitbart.
listverse
Seen here about to sucker punch some rebar.
Breitbart was world-famous right around the time Siegel and Shuster were growing up. His mailing address was actually "Superman-New York," and the advertisements for his shows bragged that he could stop a speeding locomotive. And guys like him wouldn't be seen on stage without a tiny pair of shorts or tights.
As teenagers, Siegel and Shuster self-published their crude comic in a fanzine. And forget Lois, the Daily Planet, and Lex Luthor -- the first fictional superman was a creepy, sort-of evil mentalist who probably menaced renamed replicas of local bullies. After the Nazis went and soured the world on the whole concept of a "super man," Siegel and Shuster reinvented him as the captain of truth, justice and the American way.
dccomicsartists
The American way is to take your wrench-beatings with a smile.
Finding it difficult to track down anyone who had a serious interest in the character and style, it took an almost unbelievable three more years for the granddaddy of all superheroes to find an independent publisher.
extravaganzi
What kid in the Great Depression would want to read this boring thing?
By the way, there is an almost Batman-esque element to Jerry Siegel's story. Siegel was a hugely unpopular proto-nerd, and his only solace came from seeking the elusive approval of his successful father. His father was mysteriously murdered while Jerry was still a kid, thus motivating him to dedicate his life to fighting crime. Since he didn't have billions of dollars or serious mental problems, he used comics instead of batarangs.
#5. The Inventors of Hip-Hop Were Age 17 and 12
Obviously no one person sat down and just invented hip-hop out of the blue. It evolved over time and has many fathers. But two of the most prominent fathers were a couple of kids in the Justin Bieber age range.
It was the early 1970s and everyone was getting over that whole peace and love thing. A 17-year-old named Clive Campbell had just emigrated from Jamaica, and boy did he love music and partying. He became known as DJ Kool Herc and proceeded to put on some of the first block parties.
styledepth
The fan is for the auto-tuning.
Herc noticed how anxious the people at the parties got waiting for the beat to start so that they could start dancing. So he decided to play with their impatient asses by playing the beat from a song, and then fading in a beat from another song, and then fading to another beat, creating an on-the-fly mix of nothing but beats. He also had a unique vocal style of calling out in his microphone to the attendees in rhymes such as "B-boys, B-girls, are you ready? Keep on rock steady," and "This is the joint! Herc beat on the point," inadvertently laying the basis for what would become rap.
Getty
And if the lyrics ain't broke, never ever, ever fix 'em.
Soon, the DJ had his own pupils known as the first MCs, who spread hip-hop throughout the Northeast. One of these pupils, Grand Wizard Theodore (who we assume loved Dungeons and Dragons), claims that once when he was in his basement messing around with his turntable, his mom came down and started yelling at him. Trying to stop the record by pushing it down, Theodore accidentally abruptly slowed the disc and so heard the first scratch.
Promptly ignoring his mother, he did it over and over, trying to perfect the sound. And that was that -- record scratching became a thing, and later would appear on the first really successful hip-hop track ever, Herbie Hancock's "Rockit." Oh, and if Grand Wizard Theodore sounds like a ridiculous name for a cutting-edge musician, he has an excuse: He was 12 years old at the time.
thafoundation
It's like having your 11-year-old foxxygrrl69 Hotmail address on your CV.
#4. Sam Colt Was in His Late Teens When He Invented the Revolver
Even if you know nothing about guns, you know the name "Colt." You've heard someone refer to a certain pistol as a "Colt 45" or some character in a Western refer to his Colt revolver. Today the Colt company makes the M16 rifles carried by the U.S. military and a whole lot of other guns you've fired in a Modern Warfare game. It all goes back to one guy, who spent his teens tinkering with gun designs. So what kind of guy devotes his life to making a better killing machine?
Wikipedia
Some men were born small, but this man gave them the means to shoot into the air and go "Yee-haw!"
For starters, Sam Colt was put into a boarding school as a kid, where he was unpopular, had no friends and did poorly in class. And like most of the other 15-year-olds, he wanted to get popular fast. So, the story goes that one day he made a crude firework and set it loose outside. This had the expected results and got him popular, until it burned down the school.
emilydickensonmuseum
At which point he blossomed into a full-grown Fonzie.
His school days over but still interested in explosives, soon thereafter Colt had a light bulb moment and began carving the initial design of a gun in wood. A prototype was built, and this .45 caliber gun performed remarkably in its beta testing, and by that we mean it blew up. Colt reworked his design, and even went so far as to show it to some gunsmiths ... who told him it sucked and would never fire. Colt changed careers, going on the road and charging people to huff laughing gas. No, really.
This venture somehow failed, and he was forced back into gunsmithing. After opening a factory (thanks to borrowing cash from his dad), he set out selling his crude guns, and failed spectacularly.
abbeville
Probably because he started making a knife 90 percent of the way through.
That all changed when one night, he found a stall on the corner of the street with a guy selling his unsold guns at dirt cheap prices. Rather than sue his ass, Colt met Sam Walker, captain of the Texas Rangers. (Yes, his name really was "Walker, Texas Ranger.") Walker not only suggested improvements for the gun, but also ordered a thousand of them for use in the Mexican-American War. The rest is history: Since then, Colt's company has sold over 30 million goddamned guns worldwide.
If that's really a picture of Zishe Breitbart, he's pretty old. In every picture I've seen, he has lots of hair. His hair was a lot like Christopher Reeves'.
ReplyNice article. Why the reference to modern warfare though? All shooters these days are military shooters.
ReplyThey weren't looking for much of a change if all the winner did was chuck another 2 stars onto the flag and have it come out looking essentially the same as before.
ReplyAmerica's flag was designed by a 17 year old.
ReplyAmerica's anthem was based off a drinking song.
America itself was born purely by accident.
AMERICA, f**k YEAH!
America's flag was made by a 17 year old.
ReplyAmerica's anthem was based off a drinking song.
America itself was born purely by accident.
AMERICA, f**k YEAH!
#5 Great, the origins of the most socially accepted douchebags in society today, and a movement dedicated to celebrating stupidity, violence, and of course douchebaggery.
ReplyThat describes most genres of music. You're going to have to be more specific.
No, this is about hip-hop, not punk rock.
Sugar Hill Gang 1979 "Rapper's Delight" - check yourself before you wreck yourself on the history of hip hop.
Reply Hide All See All 3 Repliescool story bro
did you even read the article? Or did you just read, "early 1970's" and lose your shit?
I think you need to visit the "Hip-Hop" Cracked topics page.
I am a 25-years-old servicewoman (working in Air Force), mature and charming but still single. I am seeking one who can give me real love, so I joined in the online service ---Kissinguniform.c0m---. It's a 10-year-old club for uniformed personnel finding their intimate lovers. Well, being in military service does not mean to be lonely; you can meet the Mr. or Miss Right there.
Replyp.s. The admirers of those uniformed person are also warmly welcome, there are lots of servicemen and women.
What the hell has America become, letting 10 year olds into the military again?
cool story bro
ReplyHappy New Year!!
I'm a 29 years old girl, sweet, friendly, honest and caring, but still single ...now i am seeking a lover who can give me a real love, So I jioned in the --casualloving' C óM-- with the name Elaine. It’s the best club for casual encounters or NSA relationship, safe and private. More than 160000 members enjoy this website with real photos and profiles..Well, you do not have to be lonely , you can meet the Mr. or Miss. Right there.
Heh, yeah, I totally work for the NSA. So, um... A/S/L?
If you work for the NSA, don't you already have all that info?
lol flag
ReplyThat odd moment when you live in Lancaster, Ohio and it is mentioned on Cracked.
ReplyIt's way harder living in Detroit if you're talking about references.
"But the puckering anus one is a close second."
Replyyo i f*****g died
Accidental downvote, I assure you good sir.
Gave an upvote to correct for beatrix here. Cracked commenters gotta watch each other's backs.
When he was two years old, Teddy Roosevelt pimped out his wet nurse. Or maybe not, I read too much Cracked.
Replydon't get me wrong, I know the American Flag was a great invention, but for the Americans not the world, the US government would still rage war for Oil even with a different flag.
Reply Hide All See All 6 RepliesIgnoring the fact that it was the American flag, concentrate on the fact that a teenager designed it, sent it to the nation's leaders, and had it approved. That's the hook, not that it was specific to the U.S.
Wage Against The Machine
Yes, we spend trillions of dollars to go to war for less than 10% of our oil. Makes total sense
Yep were waging war in the US Canada and Mexico. Oh wait...
Between you and Muhammed, I am getting the distinct impression that this site has been selected for a little Muslim outreach. Totally pointless, if you ask me, but troll true believer.
Yeah, and f**k Louis Braille, while we're at it. Who cares if blind people can read Balzac and Zola. Braille should totally have been invented by someone from a country with better books.
What the hell is your point? The American flag is not a particularly great invention, but it did take an "Aha!" moment to arrange 50 stars in even rows that fit into the blue area, more or less as it was-- that is, one that looked proportionate to the rest of the flag. It's about math, not oil.
I don't understand how people can learn braille, my fat fingers can't even tell how many bumps there are let alone what shape they are set in.. I think its a conspiracy.
Reply Hide All See All 5 RepliesIt is a matter of training, I guess.
A huge part of your brain is devoted to sight. Lose your eyes and it all stops working, until your brain rewires itself to use that extra capacity for everything else, including increasing the sensitivity of your fingertips until you can "see" with them. Braille also used to whistle while he was walking around, building up an image of the world around him by listening to the echoes, like a goddamn bat.
You know, I speak Braille.
Also, @moosemaimer, he was the very first bat man. =D See what I did there?
What's always baffled me is how the hell a blind person is supposed to find signs written in braille in the first place. It's all good and well that most of the signs in my building have braille text on them, but what good does that do if you can't see where the signs are?
If a person is born blind, or loses sight in the first few years of life, the part of the brain that would see will get rewired to whatever the person is doing otherwise. People born blind don't grow more nerves in their fingertips, but if they have more brain cells dedicated to interpreting information they get through touch-- which is why very young blind children should be exposed to Braille, even before they are old enough to read.
It's also the reason Deaf people can monitor things happening in their peripheral vision so well, without finding it distracting, and the reason people born without arms can do amazing things with their feet. The brain cells that would hear, or wire up to their hands, wire up to sight, or feet.
But anyone who loses a sense, even an adult undergoes some brain rewiring. That's what rehabilitation is for. It matters why you lose the sense, though. If you lose sight from brain damage, you don't have the brain cells to get rewired. If you lose sight because you eyes, or optical nerve, are damaged, it's a different story.
E pluribus anus!
ReplyI refuse to believe that anyone in Canada has ever invented anything useful. Ever.
Reply Hide All See All 9 RepliesCome on! Wolverine is Canadian! And a certain mister Tupper, who invented the Tupperware was also Canadian!
No. You are lying, Canadian spy. Also, I just have to say, 'Tupper' is a hilarious surname.
Wait, wolverine as a character, or the guy who plays wolverine? Because if it's the guy who plays wolverine, I do believe he's Australian...
Rush, Bachman Tuner Overdrive, Rush, The Band, Neil Young, Rush, Joni Mitchell, Rush... they have a lot of musicians in the industry and most of them are better than Justin Bieber (even though, unfortunately, his is Canadian).
Rush?! Bachman?! Oh wait, different Rush and Bachman.
Basketball was invented in Canada.
deadmau5 is Canadian, so is EpicMealTime!
Is that you, Barney Stinson? We gave you Robin so you shut your mouth!
Yeah, and Justin Bieber is Canadian! Oh wait.
Mayor of Napoleon, Ohio, is NOT a major accomplishment in life. Trust me, I live here, and it's nothing but cornfields. I can't even imagine what it was like back then.
ReplyYikes, had to Google that, even and I'm a Buckeye. Obscure town is obscure.
I mean, closest I ever got was family in Perrysburg. The 75 corridor is like a barren wasteland featuring fast food, gas stations, and that mosque up there.
Ah, the joys of living in Ohio.
Yeah! Un québécois dans la liste! We're so proud of Bombardier in Québec! Because we know how to deal with snow up here!
ReplyI'm so jealous of people who know how to deal with snow. I live in Texas on the Gulf Coast, and if we get any snow at all, they declare a bad weather day and half of everything is closed or cancelled because nobody knows how to drive in snow.
Slowly adamantmuse, the answer is drive slowly.
wow hip hop sucks
Reply Hide All See All 4 RepliesAt least you know what is and what is sounds like for you to say that and I'm very sure you can name at least 10 artists right of the top of your head unlike any other genre.
Also your hatred for Hip-Hop only makes even more popular.
your fear of the word it scares me masta_X
And I am sure what you listen to is sooo excellent! Hip Hop is awesome because it incorporates elements from all other music genres. There is no other music genre that does this like Hip Hop. Keep the hate train rolling!
wow that comment sucks