Traffic light
The first traffic light was installed in London in 1868, was gas-lit, and was worked by a policeman.
Sandwich
The sandwich is named after the 4th Earl of Sandwich, who was named after a town that has no sandwich.
Ketchup
In the 1830s tomato ketchup was sold as a medicine, in pill form, for indigestion.
Eraser
Before rubber erasers, people rubbed out pencil with breadcrumbs, and ‘rubber’ got its name from rubbing out.
Chocolate
Cacao beans were once used as money in Mesoamerica, so chocolate literally grew on trees.
Bubble wrap
Bubble wrap was invented in 1957 as a textured wallpaper, which nobody wanted.
Invention of paper
Early Chinese paper was made partly from old fishing nets, making it the first paper to have caught a fish.
Great Fire of London
The Monument is 202 feet tall and stands 202 feet from where the fire began, so it would reach if it fell.
Great Pyramid of Giza
Cleopatra lived closer in time to the Moon landing than to the building of the Great Pyramid.
Match
The lighter was invented in 1823, three years before the friction match it was presumably meant to replace.