How Many Times Have You Thought To Yourself,

"I wish I had not done that"

the same is true of inventers, who after the fact wish that had not invented a product, think of a automatic weapon and a AK 47 springs to mind, photograph credit: Staff Sgt. Levi Riendeau / Wikimedia Commons, Mikhail Kalashnikov invented the Kalashnikov in 1947, it was lightweight and sturdy, making it cheap to make and easy to use. It gained popularity in Russia and abroad, and has since become the most widely used assault rifle in the world, Kalashnikov came to regret the invention after seeing the destruction and death it caused, telling The Guardian he would have preferred “to have invented a machine that people could use and that would help farmers with their work.”

and now a couple of inventions that we all take for granted, both of which the inventors wish they had not invented, firstly the aeroplane, photograph credit: Library of Congress / Wikimedia Commons, Orville Wright actually regretted its creation, He and his brother initially felt it could bring about peace, but quickly learned it had a use in warfare, after seeing its use during the First and Second World Wars, Orville became disappointed in the invention, saying he and Wilbur had “dared to hope we [had] invented something that would bring lasting peace to the earth. But we were wrong.”

and the television, that so many of us also take for granted, photograph credit: Universal History Archive / Getty Images, it was at first loathed by Philo Farnsworth who came up with the idea for the television when he was just 14 years old. He later went on to make numerous contributions to the first fully functional and electronic version, following his development of the video camera tube and the image dissector, while he initially believed it would help people learn about each other, he later came to loath the invention. He felt people were wasting their lives watching television programs, and he even banned it from his household, telling his son he didn’t “want it in your intellectual diet.” He did, however, change his mind after watching the moon landing on television. According to his wife, Farnsworth turned to her afterward and said, “Pem, this has made it all worthwhile.” I guess that there are a few other inventers out there that later regretted their invention, like the chap that invented the speed camera, when he got caught by one!