NORFOLK, Va. (WVEC) -- After a long night's sleep, there's nothing better than a good breakfast to get the morning started.
But wait! You wouldn't be able to eat fresh eggs and bacon without Thomas Elikins patenting the new and improved version of the refrigerator in 1879.
And what about that freezing room you'd like to make warmer? That wouldn't be possible without David Crosthwait. He invented the heating system first used at Radio City Music Hall and Rockefeller Center in New York.
Now that you haven't been able to handle those two basic needs, let's try getting dressed.
Hope you don't mind a wrinkly shirt. Getting out the wrinkles would be a lot more difficult without Sarah Boone's 1892 invention of the ironing board.
Here's a look at some other creations by black inventors. In 1881 Lewis Howard Latimer improved the life of the light bulb from just minutes to hours.
And in 1976, Jerry Lawson helped invent the first cartridge-based video game system, leading the way for modern home video games.
For more famous inventions, visit blackinventor.com.