Australian inventors and thinkers have contributed many things to society that we now take for granted.

• The paper notepad. A Tasmanian stationary shop worker glued a stack of paper sheets together to create the first notepad. Really this seems like a blank book, but the idea was very useful.
• Electric drill. An 1889 invention originally used for mining.
• The fridge developed from an ice making machine first sold in 1854.
• WiFi systems. These were impractical because of the signals echoing inside buildings. In 1992 the CSIRO realized that they could adapt some technology used for astronomy, and WiFi became practical.
• Pacemaker- A 1926 invention from a Sydney hospital. It was a generation before they were wearable, let alone implantable, but they started back in the 1920s.
• The first clapper board used for filmmakers.
• The hoisting clothesline. An Adelaide invention from 1926.
• Blackbox flight recorders. A 1958 Melbourne invention.
• The Power-board. This was never patented, so it appears in many places.
• Plastic lens for glasses. A 1960 invention that are extremely scratch proof and safe.
• Baby safety capsule. 1984
• The sampler- That device that records a sound and plays it back as a musical note. Invented by Fairlight (CMI) in Sydney 1971.
• Product Activation system- to prevent the piracy of software packages.
• Google Maps- the platform for this was developed by the Rasmussen brothers in Australia.
• Quantum bit, needed if quantum computing is to become a reality. First built at NSW University in 2012