1854 - At the first American world’s fair in New York, Elisha Graves Otis orders cutting the cables of a passenger elevator descending from a 100-meter-tall tower. The elevator, carrying Otis himself, falls only a few centimeters and comes to a stop thanks to Otis’ new safety breaking system. “All safe, gentlemen, all safe,” Otis says. Otis’ safety elevators allowed architects to build the first skyscrapers and changed the look of modern cities. (Public Domain)