Common Things Invented for Military Use

After writing my post about the ARPANET and realizing that the inspiration of the Internet was originally created by the Department of Defense, I became interested in researching what other commonly used objects were invented for military use as well. What I found was that a wide variety of things were actually made for this purpose, some of which I expected but many of which surprised me. Here are a few of the most interesting ones.

1. GPS

As many people probably know, the GPS, or Global Positioning System, was a project originally launched by the Department of Defense in the 1960s, during the Cold War. After the launching of Sputnik, the idea of using a satellite-based navigation system was born, and experiments began. While it was not fully operational until 1995, it was launched for civilian use in 1996, and has now become so common that cars and phones come preprogrammed with GPS's of their own.

2. Microwaves

This is a fairly well-known one as well. During WWII, the US Army began using radar technology that was capable of releasing small waves of electromagnetic radiation that generates heat. In 1945, American engineer Percy Spencer discovered that the heat released by the waves was enough to raise the temperature of food, and subsequently developed the microwave oven. While they remained too large and expensive for the general consumer to use for the first few decades, by the 1970's they had become the common household appliance that we know and love today.

3. Silly Putty

After Japan had invaded Malaysia during WWII and had taken over all the major rubber-producing countries in the Pacific Rim, forcing the US to ration its rubber supply and to find a similar, more abundant product they could use instead. Through this, silly putty was born. Although it's widely disputed whether Earl Warrick or James Wright came up with the idea first, both men made a similar discovery: by creating a chemical reaction between boric acid and silicone oil, they could create a substance with properties very similar to those of rubber. However, it did not have all the necessary properties for it to replace rubber completely; instead, a toy store owner decided to market the putty as a toy, and thus was born the great invention of Silly Putty.

4. Aviator Sunglasses

While most commonly known as a modern fashion trend or what Tom Cruise wore in Top Gun, aviator sunglasses actually did originate as a military invention. In the 1930s, they were developed as an alternative to traditional flight goggles. Being lighter and thinner, they held many benefits over the classic goggles, plus they made the pilots look a lot cooler. Eventually, aviator sunglasses were trademarked as Ray Bans, and with that new name rose to the level of popularity that they enjoy today.

5. A lot of other stuff!

Duct tape, Jeeps, walkie-talkies, EpiPens, cargo pants, digital cameras... the list goes on! Many of today's most commonly used inventions were once used for the purpose of national defense. While few of these inventions still retain that purpose today, I personally find it very cool how much was actually first invented for use by the military.