How did our mastery of artificial cold help give birth to at least four million babies, create the golden age of Hollywood and unlock the secrets of the universe? And what about our battle against dirt? How did that create the flat screen and the iPhone?This book is a celebration of ideas: how they happen and their sometimes unintended results. Johnson shows how simple scientific breakthroughs have driven other discoveries through the network of ideas and innovations that made each finding possible. He traces important inventions through ancient and contemporary history, unlocking tales of unsung heroes and radical revolutions that changed the world and the way we live in it.