January 12, 2016 – Planetary Resources and 3D Systems print first ever 3D object from asteroid materials. The U.S. Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act, passed in November 2015, give companies the right to mine asteroids and to run a private space startup company.
January 13, 1976 – Raymond Kurzweil revealed his invention to the public- a reading machine that scanned and analyzed printed material, then read it out-loud. This invention would improve accessibility of print, including books and magazines, to the blind.
January 3, 1957 – The Hamilton Watch Company announced their invention, the first battery-powered watch.
January 24, 1950 – The microwave oven was patented by Percy LeBaron Spencer. The development of this invention began, unintentionally, five years prior, when a chocolate bar had melted inside his pocket when he was working with microwave technology.
January 10, 1899 – David Misell received a patent for his invention of the first tubular, battery-powered flash light.
January 16, 1894 – The caulking gun was patented by Canadian Theodore Witte as a tool to better control the application of putty onto window sashes.
January 3, 1888 – Marvin Stone patented the first drinking straw as well as the spiral-winding process used to manufacture them.