10 Brilliant Inventions Everybody Once Thought Would Fail

What if we told you that some of the most ordinary objects and life-changing technologies we take for granted today were once ridiculed as absurd, impractical, or even dangerous?

From a simple fork to the revolutionary internet, history is full of inventions that were dismissed sometimes brutally by skeptics and experts alike.

Yet, these innovations not only survived the ridicule but went on to reshape our lives in ways their critics could never have imagined. Click, scroll, or read on as we explore ten brilliant inventions that everyone once thought would fail.

The humble fork, now a staple of every dining table, was once a source of public mockery. Thought to have been introduced to Western Europe in the 10th century by Byzantine princesses Theophano Skleraina or Maria Argyropoulaina, the pronged implement was initially seen as unnecessary and frivolous.

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Both women were ridiculed for using it, and it took centuries for the utensil to gain widespread acceptance. Venice popularised the fork in the 16th century, but much of Europe did not adopt it until the late 18th century. Today, it is hard to imagine dining without this simple yet essential tool.

Though woodblock printing had existed in China since the 7th century, the first true movable-type printing press was developed around 1440 in Mainz, Germany, by Johannes Gutenberg. This revolutionary invention made books accessible and affordable, fundamentally changing society. Yet, Gutenberg faced fierce criticism.

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Critics like the German abbot Johannes Trithemius doubted printed books would endure, insisting parchment was superior. Others warned that mass-produced texts could lead to chaos, misinformation, and the erosion of spiritual authority. Despite early scepticism, the printing press laid the foundation for modern education, literacy, and information sharing.

The microwave oven’s invention was as accidental as it was revolutionary. In the 1940s, scientist Percy Spencer, working on radar technology for the U.S. military, noticed that a chocolate bar in his pocket melted due to microwaves emitted from a magnetron.

His experiments led to the first commercial microwave, the “Radarange”, in 1947. Weighing over 750 pounds and standing more than six feet tall, it was unsuitable for homes. It took decades for microwaves to shrink in size and price, becoming affordable kitchen staples by the 1970s. By 1997, over 90% of U.S. households owned one.

Today, the umbrella is a ubiquitous tool for rainy weather, yet when Jonas Hanway introduced it to London in the 1750s, he faced scorn and hostility. The first man in England to use an umbrella publicly was mocked, pelted with trash, and even nearly run over by horse-drawn carriages.

Imported from Persia through France, umbrellas were seen as effeminate for men. Hanway ignored the ridicule, and within decades, umbrellas became socially acceptable and commonplace, proving that perseverance often beats public scepticism.

Food preservation was a pressing concern during the French Revolutionary Wars. In 1795, the French government offered a 12,000-franc prize to anyone who could develop a reliable method. Nicolas Appert’s ingenious solution involved sealing food in bottles and sterilising them by boiling.

Over the next 14 years, he perfected the method using tin cans. The invention initially failed to gain traction because can openers had not yet been invented, leaving consumers with the cumbersome task of chiselling open lids. Eventually, the combination of cans and can openers transformed food storage forever.

In 1796, English physician Edward Jenner conducted a pioneering experiment to prevent smallpox, inoculating an eight-year-old boy with cowpox. Jenner observed that milkmaids exposed to the mild disease appeared immune to smallpox.

He coined the term “vaccine” from the Latin vacca, meaning “cow”, and published his findings in 1798. Despite the clear success, Jenner faced ridicule and religious criticism, with detractors horrified by the idea of using animal pus in humans. Satirical cartoons depicted grotesque consequences, yet vaccination eventually became a cornerstone of public health.

Early cell phones in the 1980s were bulky, expensive, and largely inaccessible, leading many experts to doubt their potential. McKinsey predicted just 900,000 U.S. users by 2000, but reality surpassed expectations with over 108 million users that year.

Even engineers like Martin Cooper, who developed the first mobile phone, were sceptical about its future, assuming it would never replace landlines. Today, mobile phones are indispensable worldwide, connecting billions and transforming how we communicate, work, and live.

The Osborne 1 (1981) and the Compaq Portable (1983) marked the beginnings of portable computing. Early laptops were heavy, limited in function, and extremely expensive—some costing the equivalent of $17,000 today. Critics dismissed them as impractical for everyday users.

A New York Times article in 1985 predicted the portable computer would fail, arguing that most people would never want to carry one around. Yet laptops evolved, became affordable, and revolutionised how people work, study, and create.

When the internet emerged in the mid-1990s, many experts saw it as a passing fad. Clifford Stoll’s infamous 1995 Newsweek article, “The Internet? Bah!”, predicted failure, while Ethernet inventor Bob Metcalfe declared it would “catastrophically collapse” by 1996.

Metcalfe famously ate a printed copy of his article when proven wrong. Today, the internet is integral to modern life, powering commerce, communication, education, and entertainment globally.

Electronic mail dates back to 1965 at MIT, with the first message sent across ARPANET in 1969. Initially, the technology was dismissed as unimportant. Even in the 1990s, sceptics doubted its relevance.

In 1994, UK officials questioned whether Prime Minister John Major should have an email account, fearing it would never catch on. Yet email has become a foundational tool for personal, academic, and professional communication, reshaping the way humans interact digitally.