Inventions That Shook the World

The decade that kicked off the 20th Century was responsible for two inventions that helped define the next 100 years. The airplane and the radio set the planet on a course to becoming truly a global village.

The roaring 20s marked a decade of unprecedented prosperity. Its no wonder the inventions that defined the 1920s are all about entertainment and convenience. Motion picture and television are two of the greatest inventions since sliced bread - both of which were invented during this time.

It was a decade of big bands and big bangs. During the Second World War, the 1940s bring us some of the greatest inventions of all time. And in the peaceful years that followed, all that inventing know-how would carry on in ways we never imagined.

The inventions of the 1960s were all about transforming science fiction into fact. Robots, satellites and a trip to the moon help make what was once only fantasy, become a reality.

Its the decade of Ronald Reagan and Margret Thatcher; cold war and glasnost; big beats, big hair and fashions that seemed like a good idea at the time. The inventions of the 1980s have us looking inward at our own DNA and outward to the far reaches of space.