History's Best Selling Tech of 1867

Extra! Extra! Step right up to inspect the definitive collection of first-rate tech releases from 1867. Discover the genuine articles of American ingenuity that captured the public's fancy and won nationwide acclaim during this historic era.

1. Dynamite

   Released in 1867 by Alfred Nobel

   On November 25, 1867, the world of engineering and industry was irrevocably changed when Alfred Nobel was granted a Swedish patent for his new invention, which he called 'Dynamite'. This date marks the official commercial and legal birth of a manageable high explosive. At the height of the Industrial Revolution, there was an immense need for a safer, more powerful alternative to black powder for blasting through rock in mines, quarries, and for the construction of canals and railways. Liquid nitroglycerin was potent but terrifyingly unstable. Nobel's patent represented the crucial solution: a method to tame nitroglycerin's power, turning it from an unpredictable killer into a reliable industrial tool, thereby paving the way for unprecedented construction projects and securing Nobel's legacy.