20 Inventions That Should Be Widespread All Over The World
While some inventors reach for the stars with their fabulous designs of self-driving cars, human-like robots or endeavors to send people to Mars, others spend their time making everyday life just that bit easier for everyone with their simple and subtle ideas. Their contributions are by no means any less worthy and in fact, we ask ourselves why such exquisite inventions haven't already been implemented all over the world.
These 20 ideas, you probably didn't even realize you needed, are both simple and genius at the same time.
1. Exit signs also positioned lower, in case an actual fire forces you to crawl out of the building because of smoke-filled corridors.
2. This tip of a highlighter is hollowed out, making it easier to see what you are actually highlighting.
3. Wheelchair and stroller-friendly access path at the beach.
4. A convenient handle to raise and lower the toilet seat.
5. Handy magnifying glasses attached to shopping carts, making it easier for the elderly to read fine print on products.
6. This elevator indicates how close it is to the maximum weight transportation allowance.
7. This traffic light has a special sensor the elderly or disabled people can tap on to activate a longer crossing time.
8. A clever invention: calculators attached to shopping carts so customers can work out how expensive their shop will be.
9. A train loading indicator to let passengers know where their are plenty of seats (light green), where the carriage is half full (dark green), where there is standing room only (yellow) and where the carriage is full (orange).
10. In this city in Ukraine, traffic lights like these make it hard for drivers to use the excuse that they didn't see the lights change when running a red.
11. This plug with a hole in it, makes it easier to pull it out of the socket, which often requires quite a bit of strength.
12. No need to carry your heavy bike up and down these steps with this inbuilt ramp that allows you to effortlessly push it instead.
13. This pill container digitally indicates the last time it was opened.
14. This elevator has the emergency button positioned at floor level in case the person needing help has fallen and can't get up again.
15. A hands-free handle that lets you open the toilet door with your foot so as to avoid picking up germs.
16. The button to call the elevator is positioned 12 feet away so it arrives by the time you get to it.
17. A specialized grapefruit spoon.
18. Angled trash cans for cyclists disposing of their waste on the go.
19. Little viewing windows that allow you to peek in and see how much milk you've got left.
20. A section of mirror is heated in this Japanese hotel, so that it doesn't get all steamed up after a hot shower.
So, these inventions aren't exactly rocket science but they are certainly more helpful to us than the ability to fly to Mars! More often than not, it's the small things, such as magnifying glasses on shopping carts or viewing windows to see how much milk you have left, that make all the difference.