Writing the piece a few weeks ago about Leó Szilárd’s conception of the nuclear chain reaction while waiting at some London traffic lights got me thinking. What other unlikely breakthroughs and innovations have sprung up from the laboratories, factories, pavements and bedrooms of our city? Naturally, M@ instinct is to make a map:

View Invented In London in a larger map

I was particularly interested to see that both modern football and cycling were ‘invented’ just yards from each other on Long Acre – some kind of Ackroydian historical consonance? Making the map also brought home just how many chemical elements were discovered in London. Fifteen? Sixteen? I lost count.

Got any additions, corrections or other suggestions? I’ve cross-posted on Londonist, but I suspect the scientifically tuned audience here might have some good stories to share.