Front -- Title Page -- Copyright -- Dedication -- Acknowledgements -- Contents -- Introduction -- Science and Technology -- The Radio -- The Telescope - and Why They Laughed at Galileo -- Air Conditioning: The King of Cool -- The Robotic Arm -- The X-ray Is a Hoax -- The Telephone Is a Meaningless Toy -- Computers - Who Needs Them? -- The Jet Engine -- Satellite Communications -- Microwave Ovens -- The Fireman's Safety Hood -- The Parachute -- Ancient Inventions We Still Use Everyday -- Archimedes (287-212 BC) -- Hoisted by Their Own Petard: Inventors Killed by Their Creations -- Food -- The Potato -- Worcestershire Sauce: Who were Mr Lea and Mr Perrins? -- Who Is on the Menu? (Culinary Inventions) -- Popular Culture -- The Hula Hoop -- The Record Executive Who Might Have Kicked Himself to Death -- That's a Terrible Idea for a Book -- More Authors Who Suffered Brutal Rejections -- Superstars Who Were Told Not to Give Up Their Day Jobs -- Monopoly -- The Pet Rock -- Billy Bob's Teeth -- The Grand Canyon -- The Yo-yo -- Blockbuster Films Initially Rejected as Terrible Ideas -- Glorious Failures -- Thomas Edison -- Sigmund Freud -- Winston Churchill -- Abraham Lincoln -- Socrates -- Henry Ford -- Walt Disney -- Frederick W. Smith -- Frank Winfield Woolworth -- Business and Industry -- Crude Oil -- Clinton's Ditch -- Unzipped - The True Story of the Zipper -- The Bra -- It Was a Close Shave -- Kitty Litter -- Ballpoint Pen? What's That, Then? -- The Railway Networks -- The Horseless Carriage -- Velcro -- E-commerce - The World at Your Fingertips -- The Post-it Note - The Accidental Billion-Dollar Invention -- Vulcanized Rubber: Charles Goodyear -- Black & Decker Workmate - 'You Will Sell about a Dozen of Those' -- The Barcode -- The Tin Can -- Going Underground - You Want to Run Steam Trains Where? -- Accidental Inventions -- Saccharin -- Popsicles.

Viagra -- Coca-Cola -- The Hamburger: From a German Snack to American Icon -- Safety Glass -- Penicillin -- Suppressed Inventions: True or Urban Legend? -- The Rifle Beam -- The Light Bulb -- Cold Fusion -- The Chronovisor -- Wardenclyffe Tower -- The Cloudbuster -- The Anti-Gravity Device -- The EV1 -- The Water Fuel Cell -- The Implosion Generator -- Project XA -- Ridiculous Inventions You Wish You Had Invented -- Spanx -- The Snuggie -- The Plastic Wishbone -- The HeadOn -- Billy Big Mouth Bass -- The Beanie Baby -- Tamagochi -- iFart -- Yellow Smiley Faces -- The Wacky Wall Walker -- The Slinky -- The Million-Dollar Homepage -- Eponymous Inventions -- Maxim Gun -- The Leotard -- The Jacuzzi -- The Guillotine -- The Davy Lamp -- Shrapnel: Maximum Damage -- The Diesel Engine.