The 50 Best Inventions of 2009
From a rocket of the future to a $10 million lightbulb, here are TIME's picks for the best new gadgets and breakthrough ideas of the year
Full List
The Best Inventions
- The Best Invention of the Year: NASA's Ares Rockets
- The Tank-Bred Tuna
- The $10 Million Lightbulb
- The Smart Thermostat
- Controller-Free Gaming
- Teleportation
- The Telescope for Invisible Stars
- The AIDS Vaccine
- Tweeting by Thinking
- The Electric Eye
- The Mercury Probe
- The Personal Carbon Footprint
- The Solar Shingle
- The Handheld Ultrasound
- The YikeBike
- Vertical Farming
- The Planetary Skin
- The $20 Knee
- A Watchdog for Financial Products
- The Electric Microbe
- The Bladeless Fan
- The Custom Puppy
- The Cyborg Beetle
- The Biotech Stradivarius
- The Nissan Leaf
- The Robo-Penguin
- The Universal Unicycle
- YouTube Funk
- Dandelion Rubber
- Wooden Bones
- The Living Wall
- The School of One
- The No-Punt Offense
- The Human-Powered Vending Machine
- The Handyman's X-Ray Vision
- Meat Farms
- Packing, Improved
- The Foldable Speaker
- The Levitating Mouse
- The Edible Race Car
- The High-Speed Helicopter
- The Supersuit
- The Eyeborg
- Spiderweb Silk
- The Sky King
- The Smart Bullet
- The Fashion Robot
- The 3-D Camera
- The Newest Cloud
- The World's Fastest (Steam-Powered) Car
The Five Worst Inventions
Poll Results
Special Features:
-
Photos: The Ares Rocket Launches
-
Photos: Inventors and Their Inventions
-
Photos: A Steam-Powered Car Sets a Land Speed Record
-
Photos: The Robo-Penguin
-
The Five Worst Inventions
-
Video: The Telescope for Invisible Stars
-
Video: Best Inventions of 2009
-
Video: The Ares I Rocket
-
Video: Five Worst Inventions
-
50 Best Inventions 2008
Most Popular »
- Don't Call Introverted Children 'Shy'
- What The Birds Know
- The Pregnancy Project: Why One Girl Decided to Fake Her Baby Bump
- Interview: Lionel Messi on His Sport, Cristiano Ronaldo — and Argentina
- The Upside Of Being An Introvert (And Why Extroverts Are Overrated)
- Can Computers Replace Teachers?
- Happy Birthday Opportunity! The Mars Rover Turns Eight
- Quiz: Are You an Introvert or an Extrovert?
- 50 Best iPhone Apps 2011
- The Dealer
- The Upside Of Being An Introvert (And Why Extroverts Are Overrated)
- Interview: Lionel Messi on His Sport, Cristiano Ronaldo — and Argentina
- The Dealer
- Climate Change and Farming: How Not to Go Hungry in a Warmer World
- The Oil Off Cuba: Washington and Havana Dance at Arms Length Over Spill Prevention
- I Hope I Die Before I Have to Live with Old People
- The Case for Making It in the USA
- Warren Buffett Is on a Radical Track
- Super Brother
- George Tenet
