Invest in Exploration
Corning didn’t wait for permission. For 175 years, they’ve invested in exploration: creating breakthroughs like fiber optics and Gorilla Glass long before there was a market for them. This is a story about conviction, foresight, and what it takes to shape the future before it arrives.
Building Syracuse Together
At the turn of the twentieth century, Syracuse, New York, was alive with innovators — architects, artists, and designers who believed progress came from working together. From Adelaide Robineau’s porcelain magazine to James Pass’s factory at Syracuse China, creativity and collaboration shaped both art and industry. A century later, that same spirit of shared innovation continues to define Syracuse — proof that progress never happens in isolation.
It Starts With You
In chaotic or uncertain times, the most important question isn’t What is happening? It’s What can I do to help? Some of the world’s most powerful innovations began as rapid responses to crisis and became global game-changers. Read about the stories of Life Straw and Budmen Industries’s face shield.
The Pattern That Changed the World
In 1992, Masahiro Hara wasn’t trying to change the world, he was just trying to fix a work problem. Barcodes were clunky, prone to smudging, and slowed down manufacturing. So he invented a better system: a square pattern of black-and-white dots inspired by a lunchtime game of Go. It became the QR code. His company gave it away for free. And decades later, in a moment of global need, it quietly became one of the most important patterns on Earth.
24 Seconds to Innovation
How a curious bowling alley owner in Syracuse used a stopwatch and simple math to invent the 24-second shot clock—reviving the NBA and transforming the game of basketball forever. Discover the surprising story of how innovation saved a sport.
The King of Cool: The Refrigeration Revolution
Before 1935, moving fresh food or medicine in summer heat was a gamble and lives were lost when supplies spoiled in transit. Then came Frederick McKinley Jones, a self-taught mechanic who built the world’s first portable refrigeration unit from junkyard scraps. His invention saved soldiers on the battlefield, reshaped how we eat, and changed global survival forever.
Swimming Through Grain
Discover how the Crover robot uses the groundbreaking Crover Effect to navigate grain silos, prevent deadly grain entrapments, and revolutionize agricultural safety. This is a powerful story of innovation, problem-solving, and life-saving tech.
Human Innovation Series: Flight for All
The Wright Brothers flew first, but Glenn Curtiss opened the skies for all of us.
And while you might not know his name, his legacy is all around us: in every pilot, every simulator, every open sky. Meet the man who democratized flight.
Human Innovation Stories: Teaching The World To Fly
The first commercially available flight simulator was the Link Trainer, invented by Edwin Link in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Known as the "Blue Box" due to its distinctive color, it was instrumental in training pilots during World War II.
Human Innovation Stories: Invisible Armor for Our Devices
Not all innovation makes headlines. Some quietly change everything.
From drones in storms to hospital monitors under pressure, this invisible tech keeps electronics alive when it matters most.
Innovation doesn’t always shout. Sometimes, it’s invisible and that’s what makes it unstoppable. Read more…
Human Innovation Stories: Skies Without A Pilot
This is the Wisk Aero Generation 6, the world’s first fully autonomous, all-electric, four-seat air taxi.
No pilot. No joystick. Just four passengers and a self-flying aircraft rising gently into the sky.
Wisk is reimagining flight from the ground up—making it electric, pilotless, and designed for everyday travel. Their vision? A future where flying is as simple as calling a ride.
It’s not science fiction. It’s happening now.
Human Innovation Series: Flight On Another Planet Is Possible
NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter proves that powered, controlled flight on another planet is possible.
Ingenuity’s flight reminds us why we do what we do at Think Variant. It proves that human innovation can lift us into entirely new frontiers. We believe in spotlighting the stories that remind us how far we've come, and how far we’re capable of going. Some innovations change industries. Others change worlds. This is one of those stories.