Small Inventions That Made a Big Difference

Pockets, matches, spectacles, postage stamps.

Whether it's the stitches that hold our clothes together or the syringes that deliver life-saving vaccines, small things really do make a big difference. Yet these modest but essential components of everyday life are often overlooked.

Science and comedy writer Helen Pilcher shares the unexpected stories of 50 humble innovations from the accidental soldering of two bits of metal that created the pacemaker, to the eighteenth-century sea captain whose ingenious invention paved the way for the filming of Star Wars and celebrates the joy of the small yet mighty.