Uncover the extraordinary origins of "ordinary" things – and the moments of inspiration that made them possible.

When first presented with the like button (then dubbed “the awesome button”) Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg had a simple response: “No.” He worried that a quick thumbs up or down would discourage more meaningful online interaction. Eventually, his team changed his mind and transformed the world.

LIKE BUTTON | The Unintended Consequences of the Facebook Like Button

The Cubicle was originally designed to set workers free. A futuristic designer named Robert Propst dreamed up “The Action Office” as a groovy 1960s workplace utopia that would unleash the modern knowledge worker’s vast untapped potential. This is how it all went so wrong.

CUBICLE | How the Cubicle Became Universally Hated

Barcodes have radically changed global commerce, helping fuel the rise of everything from massive companies like Walmart to world powers like China. And it all started with a man daydreaming on a beach in 1949.

BARCODE | How The Barcode Shaped Our Modern Economy

Florida wasn’t always the Sunshine State. In the 1920s, an army of real estate boosters set out to redefine Florida from an economic backwater to a ritzy vacation destination, sparking a land boom–and bust–the likes of which America had never seen before.

FLORIDA | How Real Estate Rogues Invented Florida As We Know It

In 1856, a chemistry student accidentally created a strange substance with a rich purple hue -- the world’s first synthetic dye. In just a few years, ‘Mauve’ would take over the fashion industry, make food look more appetizing, and enable stunning advances in medicine.

MAUVE | The Fake Color That Made Our Modern World

In 1841 on the small island of Réunion, a 12-year-old slave did something no one had done before; artificially pollinate the vanilla plant. The vanilla bean took the world by storm, sparking the artificial flavor revolution and forever changing how we eat.

VANILLA | The Bean That Shaped the Future of Food

Actress Hedy Lamarr, “the world's most beautiful woman,” had a knack for inventing. During WWII, in an effort to help the Allies, she devised a technology designed to intercept Axis communications – and created the foundation of wireless internet.

WIFI | The Hollywood Actress Who Laid the Groundwork For Wi-Fi

The early days of online video were plagued by low resolution, stamp-sized video, and unbearable buffering times. But one day that all changed. In the late 90s, a breakthrough technology revolutionized streaming video, setting the foundation for the era of Netflix.

STREAMING | The Invention That Revolutionized Streaming Video

Dwight Eisenhower’s interstate highway system was the biggest infrastructure project of its time, a bold plan to connect all corners of America and boost the post-war economy. So how did it end up dividing the nation, and deepening the divide between rich and poor?

INTERSTATE | How The Interstate Connected and Divided America

Edison pioneered the world’s first research and development center in Menlo Park, New Jersey, working with a group of experimenters to methodically zero in on the holy grail of electric light. In the process, he transformed invention from a solo to a communal activity.