20. The Telephone
- Invented By: Alexander Graham Bell
It is hard to imagine that Alexander Graham Bell would have ever envisioned that his idea for the telephone would have advanced to this level. Yet it has, but it first had to be invented, which Bell managed to do in 1876 when he was awarded the U.S. Patent for it.

While Bell made it merely for people to speak back and forth over short distances, he actually wanted to advance this to a worldwide reach. Today, the cell phone exists and can be taken anywhere, all over this planet. It can keep lives organized and even handle video calls. Clearly, we can all agree that the telephone is one of humanity’s most important scientific breakthroughs.