The Roomba robotic vacuum cleaner has sold over 40 million units since its launch in 2002.

The dishwasher automated dish cleaning.

The first webcam was invented to check if a coffee pot in a Cambridge lab was full without walking downstairs.

Gyroscopes maintain their orientation in space and are used in navigation systems for aircraft, ships, and spacecraft.

The jet engine made high-speed air travel possible.

The '@' symbol was chosen for email addresses because it was the least-used character on keyboards at the time.

Netflix was founded as a DVD mail rental service — it didn't launch streaming until 2007.

Nintendo was founded in 1889 — originally as a playing card company.

The QWERTY keyboard layout was designed partly to slow typists down and prevent typewriter jams.