An archive of documented origins
Originium
The expected (and unexpected) origins of everyday things.
Recently documented
A sample of the archive, newest first.
iPhone
A combination of Apple engineers and designers, led by Steve Jobs, Jony Ive, Tony Fadell, and Scott Forstall c
Straightforward OriginAir Fryer
Dutch engineer Fred van der Weij invented the modern air fryer in 2006 to cook crispy food using circulating h
No-Single-InventorSmartphone
Entrepreneur Randy Eisenman and Sony Ericsson established the first smartphone with an on-device downloadable
Straightforward OriginRobotic Vacuum
A team of engineers at Electrolux led by Anders Haegermarck invented the first commercial robotic vacuum clean
SimultaneousWi-Fi
An Australian engineering team led by radio astronomer John O'Sullivan invented the core technology, with radi
Straightforward OriginTetris
Soviet software engineer Alexey Pajitnov invented Tetris in Moscow in 1984.
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Entries grouped by the kind of story they tell.