Streaming Series Review - Inventions that Changed History

Inventions that Changed History *** (out of 5) Despite the pretentious implications of the title, this six-part documentary streaming on Discovery + is quite the opposite. It’s a light-hearted look at many mundane-to-silly devices that make our lives a bit more enjoyable. Each episode presents the story behind the development of a half-dozen, or so, items that grabbed the public fancy or improved our quality of life within the past century. The products’ histories are related by a series of narrators, interspersed with a slew of quick takes from comedians and other pop-culture figures.

Piff the Magic Dragon, Jeff Ross, Flula Borg and The Simpsons’ Yeardly Smith are some of my own favorites among the celebs lending their reactions to using the products or facts about their development. Subjects range from kitschy toys like Mr. Potato Head, Super Soakers, and Easy Bake Ovens to useful items (George Foreman Grill; boxed wine; flush toilets, exercise devices) to short-lived fads like pop rocks, fidget spinners and pet rocks, to nostalgia gear - lava lamps, mood rings, etc.

Not all segments will be equally interesting to any given viewer, but the presentations are short and perky, so you’ll soon be off to the next one. The episodes are themed. The first set is water-related; the next showcases food and drink. Those are followed by shows on fun stuff, relics from simpler times, convenience items and workout equipment. Based on the two episodes available for review, these shows offer interesting and entertaining reminders of many things we enjoyed as kids, or used as adults. Or both. The tone of these shows is family-friendly, and might stimulate cross-generational chats about everyone’s respective childhood experiences, and some of the items that played a role in shaping them.

Learning is seldom less burdensome, as I recall the process from school days of yore.

(Streaming on Discovery+. Two episodes debut on 3/31; two more on 4/7; the last two on 4/14)