I Guess We Have All Heard Of,

the 'Black Box', 

a flight recorder, that is always a bright color to make it easy to find, and in fact has never been black, but what it does have is the ability to be fireproof, ocean-proof, encased in steel and survive a crash, nowadays they are compulsory on every commercial flight, but it was not always so, when the idea was first put forward the Australian pilots' union responded with fury, branding the recorder a snooping device, and insisted "no plane would take off in Australia with Big Brother listening", and that was one of its better reviews, and guess what? the inventor never got a single penny in royalties! for read of how this fascinating piece of kit was thought of and made have a look here, photograph AFP/GETTYIMAGES.