Eureka!: The Surprising Stories Behind the Ideas That Shaped the World

by Marlene Wagman-Geller

The fascinating inspirations behind common inventions and creations- from Barbie to Sweet and Low to Mt. Rushmore.

The slinky was born aboard a World War II ship.
The Barbie doll was inspired by a German sex toy.
Weight Watchers began with a Jewish housewife in Queens, New York.

Eureka! explores the fascinating stories behind these famous creations and many others-from blue jeans to the Taj Mahal to Mickey Mouse-detailing the relationships between inspirations and their inventors. Readers will delight in the intriguing-and sometimes surprising-origins behind the ideas that have shaped the world.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

259 pages, Paperback

First published May 26, 2010

About the author

Marlene Wagman-Geller grew up in Toronto and is a lifelong bibliophile. She is a veteran high school English teacher in National City, California, and currently lives in San Diego.

Reviews

[John · Rating 2 out of 5]

I teach basic composition at the community college level. I usually start the first day with an admonishment concerning the trustworthiness of sources; specifically, I have put on the syllabus in bold, ALL CAPS the phrase: WIKIPEDIA IS NOT A RELIABLE SOURCE.

Marlene Wagman-Geller apparently missed this day of a composition class. Eureka explores the subject of people finding that ‘a-ha’ moment in their lives wherein they suddenly see how they can reshape the world in large or small ways. The material is interesting and it carries the reader along with the near-fairytale nature of the stories, but Wagman-Geller’s book suffers for not getting that aforementioned message.

Before rounding out that thought, I at least want to say a few words about the stories themselves. Each a-ha moment that Wagman-Geller has picked presents an interesting study in how certain personalities will perceive the world around them. These perceptive moments do make for interesting, inspiring reading because they show the ways in which our entire lives may be shaped in the torrent of sudden inspiration. From the condensed reading collections that led to the pleasure of Reader’s Digest to the advertising campaign that launched the Tour de France, Wagman-Geller does have an eye for selecting the dramatic moments in ordinary people’s lives during which they become extraordinary to the rest of us. The author’s tone is perfect; she strikes a nice balance between exposition, character-building, wry humor, and the information that she has researched. Her accounts do make for fun reading, and they do give a renewed sense of purpose to any individual looking for inspiration in the mundane. I admit that the material is worthy of the book’s title and that it is entertaining to read.

However, this pleasure erodes when the reader turns to the works cited information at the back of the book. My jaw dropped when I saw the resources that she had put into a book as a high school English teacher: Wikipedia is a major contributor to this book, as it appears in almost every story that she has written. For the Woolworth entry, Wikipedia is the only resource that she used. In other instances, it outweighs the additional resources that she has chosen; for Kwanza, she used Wikipedia twice and then another site called ‘Fact-Archive.com’. Maybe you can call me a nitpicker or a purist, but Wikipedia is well established in the academic world as inappropriate for any final draft of a student paper. Since Wagman-Geller is a high school English teacher, I would expect that she would avoid it for her book for that very reason; no one who has been through an English class would consider this appropriate. As a reader, I felt cheated that the stories that I had enjoyed so much were based on a website that I find inappropriate. In some senses, I felt that I had wasted my time with the book. I also felt like Wagman-Geller could be setting a dangerous precedent for her students.

When I went to assign stars for this material, I felt torn. On the one hand, I did enjoy Wagman-Geller’s stories. Again, she is a solid writer who knows how to grab the reader and carry him or her along with the interesting, ironic placing of details. On the other hand, I cannot get past the notion that Wikipedia formed the basis of this book. With these things in mind, I think that a 2-star evaluation is appropriate.

Buy the book and enjoy it, but be aware of the foundation of the material that you are engaging with.

[Sabrina · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was tedious at best. I found the structure annoying, repetitive, and often confusing. There seemed to be a lot of extraneous information presented that was irrelevant to the proverbial Eureka moment. Interestingly, in the Introduction of the book the definition of a Eureka moment was presented, but few (if any) of the vignettes presented actually seemed to meet this criteria. Finally, one of the largest sources of information was Wikipedia, which is extremely disappointing.

[Autumn Doughton · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was interesting but not exactly great. According to the jacket, each chapter is supposed to spin the tale of a different "eureka" moment--a sliver in time when a lightning bolt of genius flashed and the world was startled into change. Throughout the introduction Wagman-Gellar writes in detail on what creates a true "eureka moment" which makes it all the more ironic that several of the chapters of the book--though interesting--don't truly qualify.

[Brooke · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book! I learned a lot about how different agencies came to be. I especially liked to read about how the 12-step program was created for Alcoholics Anonymous-my grandma (who died this week) was an alcoholic, so that made this book really special. I also enjoyed reading how the song "Amazing Grace" came into existence. A fun, fast read.

[Tracy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read this book quickly and couldn't decide the entire time if I was enjoying the little stories in it or if I was being annoyed by them...kind of like when you are eating something you're not sure you like but you keep on eating it anyway. It left me feeling a little depressed and discouraged that so many interesting and influential ideas had such stories of betrayal, greed, and heartbreak behind them. Now that I am writing this review I realize that I really didn't like the book and I wish I had never read it because I will be forever reminded of the negative stuff associated with the slinky, Winnie-the-Pooh, Sweet'N Low and other products whenever I see or hear about them. Fortunately the story behind Curious George ended with a happily married and faithful couple (one of the few in this book) so I can still read it to my kids without feeling jaded...

[A · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good and interesting read. I personally found it more enjoyable to read ahead to the index to learn the specific discovery each chapter dealt with before starting a chapter. That might spoil the fun for some, but I found that I enjoyed the book just as much when I already knew the results of the Eureka moments.

[Brittney · Rating 3 out of 5]

The stories were really interesting, especially towards the beginning of the book, but the stories were formulaic and I started skipping the first paragraph of each because they were so painful. The number of Midas references was inexcusable. But I learned a lot of really fun things! A quick and fun, though poorly written and edited, read.

[Jarvis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Many of the stories in this book are interesting. It's amazing to see how many people started with a simple idea and had a profound impact on the world. That being said, the pattern of each story got old after the first few chapters. Most of these stories you could look up on Wikipedia or more credible website.

[Toreisii · Rating 2 out of 5]

An outline of some of history's ah-ha moments. The author's didactic tone and use of bullet points made this seem more like a study sheet instead of a book and unfortunately was not very engaging. I found my attention wandering numerous times but it was inoffensive and serviceable as browsing material.

[Sheila]

Short book, quick read, interesting to find out how many ideas/books/fortunes made from an eureka moment when someone got an idea that turned into barbie/Dr. Seuss books/disney/amazon/netflicks etc...

[Martine · Rating 3 out of 5]

some stories I already knew, like the inspiration for Susan G. Komen charity, however, some I did not and they were interesting, for eg. how Jeff Bezos got started with Amazon. It's a quick read.

[Matt · Rating 2 out of 5]

All I really learned from this book is that if you invent something or have a million-dollar idea, you will probably end up divorced.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting. A quick read filled with interesting tid-bits about the creation of numerous high profile companies and organizations such as Amazon, PETA, and Susan G Komen for the Cure.

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable. Each chapter is a story. Quick read.

[שָׂרָה · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this book was pretty cool with all the untold stories of inventions that changed America and the world in general.

[David Wichert]

Interesting facts about how some of our most popular products got their start. This was a fun, quick read that was not only enjoyable but imformative.

[Noël · Rating 3 out of 5]

fun look at eureka moments. There's the obvious - Wright Bros - and the no so obvious - Weight Watchers, Amazon, and Netflix.

[Marty · Rating 1 out of 5]

Maybe this is unfair. The book is slight, I don't think it is amusing enough to be this slight but perhaps I am just become curmudgeonly enough that I should quit reading this kind of thing.

[Leta · Rating 2 out of 5]

While the author doesn't really stick to her own definition of a "eureka moment," the stories behind 40 things, many that are embedded in our daily life, are short and fun to read.

[Michael Kearney · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book needed a lot more work.

[Danielle · Rating 1 out of 5]

Couldn't finish it. It was boring!

[Michelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Banal, poorly written, twaddley, and at times incorrect.