The printing press was invented by Gutenberg around 1440 — but China had movable type 400 years earlier

The fax machine was invented in 1843 — 33 years before the telephone

Alexander Bain patented the electric fax machine in 1843, predating Bell's telephone by 33 years

Beer was first brewed around 5,000 BC in Mesopotamia — some of the oldest recipes survive

Beer originated circa 5,000 BC in ancient Mesopotamia

QWERTY keyboard layout was designed to prevent typewriter jamming, not for speed

QWERTY was created to reduce mechanical jamming, not for typing efficiency

Bubble wrap was originally invented as wallpaper — it failed and found success as packaging

Bubble wrap: Failed wallpaper, successful packaging

Champagne was accidentally invented — monks originally considered the bubbles a flaw

Monks deemed Champagne's bubbles a flaw, but it led to the accidental invention of the sparkling wine

Sharks are older than trees — sharks appeared about 400 million years ago, trees about 350 million

Sharks existed approximately 400 million years ago, predating trees by 50 million years