They Laughed at Galileo: How the Great Inventors Proved Their Critics Wrong

A humorous account of great inventors and their critics who predicted failure.

They Laughed at Galileo takes a humorous and reflective look at one thousand years of the development of humankind: those who dreamt, those who taught, those who opposed, and those who, ultimately, did.

At some point in modern history, each and every one of our inventions and discoveries was first envisioned and then developed by a single person, or a handful of people, who dreamt of the seemingly impossible. For them, the future was clear and obvious, but for the vast majority, including the acknowledged experts of their days, such belief was sheer folly.

For just about everything that has improved our modern lifestyles in a way that our ancestors could not possibly imagine, there was once a lone dreamer proclaiming, “It can be done.” That dreamer was nearly always opposed by a team of “enlightened” contemporaries publicly declaring, “It cannot be done.” Well, yes it could.

Marconi’s wireless radio transmissions were initially deemed pointless. Edward L. Drake’s eventual success on August 27, 1859, was called the day “the crazy man first struck oil.” Louis Pasteur’s theory of germs was considered a “ridiculous fiction.” Each of these inventions has had a profound effect on the course of human history, and each one was rejected, resisted, and ridiculed in its day. Ultimately, the innovators who brought these into existence provided invaluable contributions to science and the culture of humankind.

Albert Jack is a writer and historian. His first book Red Herrings and White Elephants explored the origins of well-known idioms and phrases and became an international best-seller in 2004. It was serialized in the Sunday Times and remained on their best-seller list for sixteen straight months. He followed this up with a series of other popular titles including Shaggy Dogs and Black Sheep, Pop Goes the Weasel, What Caesar did for my Salad & They Laughed at Galileo.

Fascinated by discovering the truth behind the world's great stories, Albert has become an expert at explaining the unexplained, enriching millions of dinner table conversations and ending bar room quarrels the world over. He is now a veteran of hundreds of live television shows and thousands of radio programs worldwide. Albert lives somewhere between Guildford in England and Bangkok in Thailand.

OTHER BOOKS BY ALBERT JACK

Red Herrings and White Elephants
Shaggy Dogs and Black Sheep
Phantom Hitchhikers
Loch Ness Monsters and Other World Mysteries
Pop Goes the Weasel
The Old Dock and Duck
What Caesar Did for my Salad
Black Sheep and Lame Ducks
It's a Wonderful Word
Money for Old Rope Part 1
Money for Old Rope Part 2
The Jam: Sounds From the Street
Want to be a Writer?
Last Man in London
Rose Versus Thistle
They Laughed at Galileo
The Greatest Generation - Diary of a 1st & 6th Airborne Paratrooper
Debt Freedom Program

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