Velcro
Swiss electrical engineer George de Mestral invented his first touch fastener when, in 1941, he went for a walk in the woods and wondered why Burdock seeds clung to his coat and dog. He discovered it could be turned into something useful. He patented it in 1955 and subsequently refined and developed its practical manufacture until its commercial introduction in the late 1950s.
Holcroft valve gear
The Holcroft valve gear was a type of conjugated valve gear designed by Harold Holcroft and used on three-cylinder steam locomotives of the South Eastern and Chatham Railway (SECR). It bore many similarities to the Gresley conjugated valve gear used on the original LNER A1 design. It varied from the Gresley method of operation by using the combination lever assembly instead of the valve spindles to drive the middle cylinder of a three-cylinder design. This had operational advantages over Gresley's design.