Inventions That Shook The World

“The 1940's”

War is the driving force behind much of the innovation in the 1940s. In a desperate attempt to secure aerial supremacy, the British win the race to develop the jet engine. A German engineer builds what is now recognized as the world's first true computer. In the US, the microwave is born; a U.S. Air Force doctor gives us the first crash test dummy; and, a sailor returns home and hits pay dirt with an invention that finally brings cats in from the cold: kitty litter. (5 of 10)

10.1 and 36.2