How do the burrs stay on? - George de Mestral, Swiss Inventor

While walking in the woods one day he noticed that his wool socks and jacket were covered with burrs. He wanted to know: How do the burrs stay on? He viewed them under a microscope and noticed that the barbed, hook-like seedpods meshed with the looped fibers of his clothing. The result is a special hook and loop fastener known as Velcro.

Why do I need to sit in the back of the bus? - Rosa Parks, African-American Civil Rights Activist

Rosa Parks isn't necessarily known for the ideas she had, but rather for the ideas she fought for--freedom, equality, justice and prosperity for all people. When "the mother of the civil rights movement" refused to give up her bus seat to a white man, she lost her job but she eventually won the fight as the Supreme Court ruled that segregation on transportation was unconstitutional.

How big is small? - Albert Einstein, German-born Scientist

Einstein's ideas contributed more to the modern vision of physical reality than any other person who ever lived. His theory of relativity formed the foundation for space travel and is the basis for much of what we know about our universe.

What do you do with all those peanuts? - George Washington Carver, African- American Agricultural Chemist

When Carver learned that growing cotton depleted the nutrients in the soil, he developed a method of crop rotation where farmers would plant cotton one year and nitrate-producing legumes the next. The question: What do you do with all those peanuts? He discovered 325 different uses. The most famous: peanut butter.

Why do the pants of miners wear out and rip so easily? - Levi Strauss, Inventor

During the 1850s golf rush, he stitched heavy-duty canvas into overalls, which became very popular. He switched to softer and soil-minimizing denim in the 1860s. Answering complaints that the miners' pockets continued to rip from the weight of their tools, he added copper rivets at the pocket seams to reinforce -- birth of the traditional blue jean.

How can metal cans be opened easily and safely? - William Lyman, American inventor

In 1870, invented a cutting wheel opener to roll around a cans rim. The can opener underwent one major improvement in 1925 -- Star Can Opener Co. added a serrated rotation wheel --named a feed wheel, since the can being opened rotated for the first time against the wheel.

How can fewer pieces of my good china be broken by careless household help? - Josephine Cochrane, Wealthy Illinois housewife

Invented the dishwasher in 1886.

How can I be less injurious to those I shave? - Jean Jacques Perret, French barber

In 1762, he placed a metal guard along one edge of the shaving blade to prevent the blade from slicing into facial skin -- the first safety razor.