Everyone must have heard this well known phrase. So when was sliced bread invented? Otto Frederick Rohwedder of Davenport, Iowa invented the first loaf–at–a–time bread–slicing machine. A prototype he built in 1917 was destroyed in a fire, and it was not until 1928 that Rohwedder had a fully working machine ready again. The first commercial use of the machine was by the Chillicothe Baking Company of Chillicothe, Missouri, who produced their first slices on July 7, 1928. Their product, ...

He did not invent the light bulb but perfected the design so it could be manufactured on as mass scale. He also created a system to distribute electricity so that his invention could be commercialised.

Edison patented an electric distribution system in 1880, which was essential to capitalise on the invention of the electric lamp. On December 17, 1880, Edison founded the Edison Electric Illuminating Company. The company established the first investor-owned electric utility in 1882 on Pearl ...

The Phonograph.

Edison invented the first sound recording device which was patented on February 19, 1878.

He attached a needle to a telephone receiver and placed it close to a foil cylinder. The needle made indentations in the foil cylinder recording the vibrations caused by the sound of the voice. He was able to play back the message he had created realising he had invented a device to record sound.  

This brought him international fame.

In May 1889, the first "phonograph parlor" opened ...