1

Duct Tape Was Made to Protect Ammunition Cases

During World War II, the ammunition boxes sent to American troops were sealed with paper tape and dipped in wax to keep water out. Soldiers were supposed to pull a small paper tab to open them quickly. But the thin tape could tear, leaving them struggling to reach the ammunition. Vesta Stoudt, who packed and inspected these boxes at the Green River Ordnance Plant in Illinois, recognized this danger. She also had two sons serving in the U.S. Navy, so she devised a solution.

Stoudt proposed replacing the paper tape with a strong, waterproof cloth tape that soldiers could easily pull off. As she had no response from her supervisors, she wrote directly to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, including drawings of her idea. Roosevelt sent the proposal to the War Production Board, which asked a Johnson & Johnson operating company to manufacture the tape. It not only worked, but troops soon used the strong tape to repair boots and fix military vehicles too. Today, duct tape is still the solution to many everyday repairs.

2

M&M’s Were Designed With Soldiers in Mind

You probably remember the iconic M&M's slogan "melts in your mouth, not in your hand." Well, this characteristic was intentionally created for troops, allowing them to eat chocolate even under the hot sun.

When businessman Forrest Mars Jr. was travelling to Spain in the late 1930s during the Spanish Civil War, he observed how soldiers ate chocolate encased in sugar shells. The sugar crust prevented the chocolate from melting, and soldiers could enjoy the treat, even in hot temperatures. Mars soon partnered with Bruce Murrie, the son of Hershey's president, to secure a steady supply of chocolate for American troops. Their collaboration led to the creation of M&Ms, named after the initials of their last names. By 1947, the candy was made available to the public.

3

The Jeep Was Built for the U.S. Army

In 1940, the U.S. Army asked automakers to create a small four-wheel-drive vehicle that could carry soldiers across rough terrain. Bantam, Willys, and Ford entered the competition, and Willys won the main production contract. However, the final Willys MB also borrowed some of Ford’s flat grille and hood fastener design.

The new Jeep could travel through mud, climb steep roads, and reach places trucks couldn’t. Soldiers and mechanics could repair it quickly, and its parts were easy to remove and replace. Soldiers liked it so much that demand continued after they returned home, and Willys introduced the civilian CJ-2A in 1945 shortly after the war ended. The modern Jeep Wrangler still carries the same adventurous spirit.

4

The Slinky Started With a Naval Engineer’s Spring

In 1943, naval engineer Richard James was developing a spring to keep equipment steady on ships during rough seas. One day, he knocked one of his experimental springs onto the floor. Instead of falling in one place, it moved end over end. James rapidly realized its potential as a toy.

He spent the next two years finding the right size and tension for the spring. His wife, Betty, named it "Slinky," because of its smooth movement, and they introduced it to the market in 1945. But shoppers were confused and didn’t know what to make of it at first. The situation changed after James demonstrated it at a Philadelphia department store: all 400 Slinkys were sold in less than two hours.

5

Super Glue Emerged From Wartime Research

Today, we use Super Glue to repair broken items, for crafting, woodworking, and for countless quick fixes. But in 1942, chemist Harry Coover created it while trying to make a clear plastic for military gunsights during World War II. He was testing chemicals called cyanoacrylates when his team found that they stuck to almost everything they touched. As that feature made them unsuitable for the original project, the researchers moved on.

Coover encountered the chemicals again in 1951 while his team was developing materials for jet canopies. This time, he realized that their powerful bond was useful because it required no heat or pressure. Kodak later refined the adhesive and released it as Eastman 910 in 1958. That accidental discovery became widely known as Super Glue.

6

Silly Putty Grew Out of a Search for Synthetic Rubber

Silly Putty is that stretchy stuff that comes in plastic eggs and bounces and bends, depending on how you pull it. It was created during World War II, when rubber was needed for tires, boots, gas masks, and other military supplies. Japan’s expansion in Asia cut the United States off from much of its natural rubber, so American scientists were forced to look for a replacement.

In 1943, General Electric engineer James Wright mixed boric acid with silicone oil and created a strange, elastic material. It bounced higher than rubber, but it wasn’t strong enough for the military’s needs. General Electric shared samples with scientists, hoping someone might find a practical use for it. Meanwhile, people began passing it around at parties for fun. At one of them, hosted by a General Electric executive, businessman Peter Hodgson watched guests play with it, recognized its potential as a toy, named it Silly Putty, and in 1950, he commercialized it.

7

Frozen Orange Juice Was Developed for American Troops

Orange juice provides vitamin C, which supports the immune system and helps the body heal wounds. During World War II, the military understandably needed to make sure troops received enough vitamin C. However, regular frozen juice lost its fresh taste during storage and transport, sometimes developing a flavor compared to turpentine. So in 1942, the Army asked researchers to create a frozen version that could travel without losing its flavor.

And by 1945, scientists of the Department of Agriculture removed water from fresh juice at low temperatures and then added a little fresh juice back into the concentrate. The process preserved the orange oils responsible for its familiar taste. The Army ordered 500,000 pounds, but the war ended before the product could be delivered. Instead, it reached American grocery stores in 1946 under the name Minute Maid and soon became a breakfast favorite.

8

Penicillin Became Widely Available Through U.S. Wartime Production

Penicillin offered a powerful solution to bacterial infections, which could otherwise turn a small wound deadly. But there was still one major problem: even a small amount took a lot of time and effort to produce. With thousands of wounded troops needing treatment during combat, the Allies had to find a way to produce much more of it.

British researchers brought their work to the United States, where government laboratories and drug companies took on the challenge. Scientists then found that growing the mold in deep tanks with a corn-based liquid produced much larger amounts . By 1944, American factories were making enough penicillin to treat Allied troops wounded during the D-Day invasion.

9

Aerosol Bug Spray Protected Soldiers From Insects

A mosquito bite wasn’t just annoying during war; it could literally take a soldier out of action. In tropical regions, mosquitoes carried malaria and other diseases that sickened lots of soldiers. An easy way to kill insects in tents and planes was needed, and large sprayers weren’t that practical.

Department of Agriculture researchers Lyle Goodhue and William Sullivan developed a small pressurized canister that released insecticide as a fine mist. Nicknamed the "bug bomb," it allowed troops to spray an entire space in seconds. It was patented in 1943, and more than 40 million cans were produced for military use during the war. It didn’t take long for that same technology to be used for home repellents.

10

Synthetic Rubber Kept American Vehicles Moving

A great number of wartime items needed natural rubber. — to make tires, hoses, engine belts, seals, life rafts, gas masks, and many other waterproof parts . But after Japan captured major rubber-producing areas in Southeast Asia, the U.S. lost access to most of its supply. Recycling and rationing efforts helped, but it wasn’t enough.

The government took action and brought oil, chemical, and tire companies together to build a synthetic-rubber industry at home. Made mostly from petroleum-based chemicals, the new material could do many of the same jobs as natural rubber. U.S. production grew from only 230 tons in 1941 to more than one million tons in 1945. Synthetic rubber kept military vehicles moving during the war and remained essential for tires and other everyday products afterward.

1

Ray Bradbury

Image: Rod Long

Perhaps the most emblematic name in American science fiction, Ray Bradbury was an author and screenwriter best known for his novel Fahrenheit 451 , and his short story collections The Martian Chronicles , and The Illustrated Man .

His works not only imagine what extraterrestrial colonies might be like but also explore how such experiences would affect humans on a deeply personal level. His prose is both poetic and informative, making it accessible to both young and adult readers alike.

2

Philip K. Dick

Image: Filip Filkovic Philatz

If you’ve ever seen the movie Blade Runner or the TV series The Man in the High Castle , then you’ve been exposed to the work of Philip K. Dick. This prolific novelist wrote numerous novels and short stories that explore philosophical and social questions such as the nature of reality, human nature, and characters struggling against illusory environments, monopolistic corporations, and authoritarian governments.

His novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? was the basis for Blade Runner and his works have earned him countless awards all over the world.

3

William Gibson

Image: Brian McGowan

The creator of the now-ubiquitous term "cyberspace," William Gibson was a speculative fiction writer whose works explore the effects of technology, cybernetics, and computer networks on humans (fans of Black Mirror will likely find this author to their liking).

His first novel, Neuromancer , was credited with revitalizing science fiction literature in the 1980s, and he was described in 1999 as "probably the most important novelist of the past two decades.

4

L. Ron Hubbard

Image: Luna Wang

"While he is now more famous for founding Scientology, L. Ron Hubbard was a genuine science fiction writer who authored works such as Battlefield Earth, To the Stars, Buckskin Brigades, and Death’s Deputy , among other titles.

Hubbard was quite a prolific pulp science fiction and fantasy writer in his early career and, in 1950, he published Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health , establishing organizations to promote and practice Dianetics techniques.

5

Theodore Sturgeon

Image: Rod Long

A critic turned writer, Theodore Sturgeon wrote over 120 short stories, 11 novels, and even a handful of scripts for the original Star Trek television series. His first science fiction novel, More Than Human , won the 1954 International Fantasy Award for that year's best novel.

Though he was not as well known to the general public as contemporaries like Isaac Asimov or Ray Bradbury, Sturgeon gained recognition among readers of mid-20th-century science fiction anthologies. At the height of his popularity in the 1950s, he was the most anthologized English-language author alive.

6

Alfred Bester

Image: Steve Johnson

One of the few writers credited with inventing modern science fiction, according to one of his colleagues, Alfred Bester was an author, TV, radio, and comics scriptwriter, and magazine editor. His novel, The Demolished Man , was the first winner of the Hugo Awards in 1953.

While working as a scriptwriter for DC Comics, he created the supervillain Solomon Grundy and also wrote extensively for television, magazines, and radio.

7

H. P. Lovecraft

Image: Alejandro Piñero Amerio

An author whose work is as famous in the science fiction genre as it is in horror, H. P. Lovecraft was a writer of science fiction, fantasy, horror fiction, and a mixture of all these genres. His most notable work is the Cthulhu Mythos .

Some of his more popular works include The Call of Cthulhu, At the Mountains of Madness, The Shadow over Innsmouth , and The Shadow Out of Time . The central theme of his books is cosmicism, a theory dictating that "there is no recognizable divine presence, such as a god, in the universe, and that humans are particularly insignificant in the larger scheme of intergalactic existence."

8

Frank Herbert

Image: Pierre Bamin

Franklin Patrick Herbert Jr. is best known for writing the best-selling science fiction novel of all time, 1965's Dune , along with its five sequels. He also wrote short stories and worked as a newspaper journalist, photographer, book reviewer, ecological consultant, and lecturer.

His famous saga, set in the distant future and spanning millennia, explores complex themes, such as the long-term survival of the human species, human evolution, planetary science and ecology, and the intersection of religion, politics, economics, sex, and power in a future where humanity has long since developed interstellar travel and colonized thousands of worlds.

9

Ursula K. Le Guin

Image: Karsten Klemme

With a literary career spanning nearly sixty years, Ursula Kroeber Le Guin is another legendary name on this list. She is best known for her works of speculative fiction, including science fiction works set in her Hainish universe and the Earthsea fantasy series.

Frequently described as a science fiction author, Le Guin has also been called a "major voice in American letters," though she once said she would prefer to be known as an "American novelist."

10

Orson Scott Card

Image: Greg Rakozy

The only person to have won a Hugo Award and a Nebula Award in consecutive years, both for his novel Ender’s Game , and its sequel, Speaker for the Dead , Orson Scott Card is a science fiction writer who often features characters with exceptional gifts who make difficult choices with high stakes. Since 1979, he has published over 50 novels and 45 short stories.

During his childhood, Card read children's classics and popular novels, his favorite book being Mark Twain's The Prince and the Pauper . He often refers to works by Robert A. Heinlein and J. R. R. Tolkien as sources of inspiration.

1

Captain Tony's Saloon

Image: Nicolas Hoizey

Key West, Florida, is home to one of America's best-known bars: Captain Tony's Saloon. This mythical bar is not only famous for its drinks; it has a quirk that sets it apart from others. It's said to be haunted.

The building housing the bar today was built in the 19th century as a morgue. In 1865, a hurricane hit the area, taking everything in its path, including what was inside the morgue, if you know what we mean. Legend has it that the spirits, fueled by anger, remained to haunt the place for eternity. Decades later, a chilling discovery was made. During renovations, workers unearthed something macabre beneath the structure: bones.

For centuries and continuing to this day, different types of paranormal activity have been reported on the site, including cold spots, whispers, and even sightings of apparitions.

2

The Mothman

Image: David Clode

No one can deny that the 1960s was a tumultuous decade. But, in addition to the social and political issues that dominated the country and the world, West Virginia also witnessed a paranormal story.

In the mid-60s, a group of people claimed to have spotted a humanoid creature with large wings and red eyes silently watching them from a distance in remote areas of Point Pleasant. This story gave rise to the Mothman myth.

After the initial reports, more sightings followed, each more disturbing than the last. But what really makes your skin crawl is the detail most of these accounts share: the Mothman's creepy stare.

3

The Bell Witch

Image: Freestocks

If we discuss celebrity ghosts, we can't forget the Bell Witch, one of America's most famous specters.

The myth, which dates back to the early 19th century, tells the story of the Bell family, who lived on a farm in Tennessee. Legend has it that they began hearing strange noises in their home, and the spooky phenomena quickly increased. Objects moved on their own, and voices seemed to speak directly to the family. The spirit, later known as the Bell Witch, is said to have haunted the Bells for years, and even after the family members' passing, similar episodes continued to be reported at the site.

4

Dudleytown

Image: Adisa F

There is a valley in northwestern Connecticut that hides several spooky stories. Known as the Dark Entrance Forest, this area of "The Constitution State" is much more than just a scary name.

Located there lies an abandoned settlement: the mythical Dudleytown. The area was already inhabited by some people back in the early 1700s. Sadly, as the land wasn't fertile, the population declined. But it seems that was not the only reason.

It's said that the settlement was cursed: crop failures, diseases, and different types of paranormal events took place here. According to legend, the first inhabitants were descendants of an English nobleman accused of treason who fled to America and brought the curse with them.

5

Huggin' Molly

Image: Steinar Engeland

According to the people of Abbeville, Alabama, a famous specter haunts the streets, terrifying both children and adults —though she seems to have a particular preference.

We're talking about Huggin' Molly, a ghostly figure of a woman around 7 feet tall, dressed in a long black gown. She is known for letting out bloodcurdling screams in the night while she haunts children. The myth goes that if the ghost catches a child, she hugs them so tightly that it feels like suffocation.

The legend has persisted for centuries, and many claim to have seen or heard the figure of Huggin' Molly up close.

6

The Headless Horseman

Image: Dawid Tkocz

Washington Irving's 1820 short story, "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," gave popularity to this ghostly figure. The Headless Horseman is depicted as a specter who rides through the night in search of his lost head. According to Irving's story, he was a soldier who died tragically, and his spirit wanders at night unable to find peace.

Over the years, many people have claimed to have seen the Headless Horseman or heard the sound of his horse's hooves in the Sleepy Hollow area.

7

Qalupalik

Image: Nsey Benajah

Huggin' Molly is not the only scary figure that terrifies children. In Arctic shorelines, more precisely off the coasts of Alaska and northern Canada, a creature that doesn't seem to be from this world is said to be roaming shallow waters.

We're talking about the Qalupalik, marine cryptids that resemble mermaids, those half-fish, half-human creatures from ancient mythologies.

According to lore, Qalupalik have long hair, fishtails, fins on their head, back, and arms, and webbed hands and feet. Legend has it that they emit a humming sound to warn those who stray too close to the water, as they search for human prey with a favorite target: children.

8

Sasquatch

Image: Francois Brill

The Pacific Northwest is the main stage for the legendary Sasquatch, also known as Bigfoot. This iconic ape-like figure, said to inhabit forests and mountainous areas, is characterized by its enormous size, giving rise to its name.

The myth has its roots in Native American folklore. Different native cultures tell similar stories about a large, monstrous, hairy, big-footed creature that appears in the wild at night and emits terrifying sounds. As if all this weren't enough, a detail makes it even scarier: it stands and walks on two legs.

In the 20th century, the myth gained strength after reports of huge, unexplained footprints in the Pacific Northwest.

9

The Jersey Devil

Image: Igam Ogam

If you've been to New Jersey (and even if you haven't), you've probably heard of the creepy Jersey Devil.

This infamous tale originated during the 18th century in the mysterious Pine Barrens. According to myth, a woman cursed her 13th child, who then transformed into a devilish creature with bat wings, hooves, and a goat's head.

Over the centuries, there have been multiple reports of strange winged creatures and chilling shrieks through the Pine Barrens. But it all escalated dramatically in the early 20th century when a wave of consecutive sightings triggered what was dubbed "The Jersey Devil Panic."

10

The Flatwoods Monster

Image: James Kovin

According to the story, in the 1950s, a strange rumbling sound was followed by a bright light in the sky, which reportedly came from an object that eventually landed near Flatwoods, West Virginia. When a group of people approached the scene, they were shocked by what they found. It was a tall, monstrous figure with an elongated head, glowing eyes, and a body that seemed to be encased in metal.

Investigators suggest that the light in the sky could have been a meteor, and the glowing eyes described by witnesses were likely those of a common owl. However, many people claimed to have seen this strange creature of totally unknown origin.