There have been many inventions throughout the years that have changed the course of human life. From the light bulb lighting up our streets, to the car, to assembly lines generating more products, and even to the stars with rocket ships, we have managed as a species to accelerate our progression in the sciences as well as social capabilities. However, have you ever wondered what life would be like if we had some of these inventions that never saw the light of day?

1. Chronovision

We start off our list with a little something a member of the Catholic Church created. Father Ernetti was regarded as one of the best exorcists the Church had to offer, and in 1960, he claimed to have created what we would call a time machine. No, not a Delorean or a big blue police call box, but rather, as he claimed it, a pair of glasses that could allow you to see into the past. Some claim that Wernher von Braun and Nobel Leareate Enrico Fermi were in a group with him to construct such a machine. Ernetti claimed to have seen the death of Christ and other historic scenes. With his death in 1994, the only Chronovision was destroyed at the Vatican.

2. Ogle Carburetor

Ever get tired of your car constantly running out of gas? Well, in the 1970s, Tom Ogle created a new carburetor that pressurized gasoline into a vapor and injected it into the firing champers. After extensive research and design, the cost of changing car production standards were minimal. After installing the new carburetor in his Ford Galaxie, the car was measured to get 113 miles per gallon! He tried convincing the car companies to implement the new designs in their vehicles, but there were too many licensing dilemmas. Ogle died in 1981, never revealing the secret to the miracle carburetor that could save us $3.25 a gallon.

3. Global Wireless Energy

Nicola Tesla is regarded as one of many great inventors. One such invention that never saw the light of day was the concept of long-range wireless energy. Sure, there is wireless energy in some cases with Apple’s charge pad, but Tesla had grander plans. He wanted to provide energy on a global scale! He started construction on the Wardenclyffe Tower in Shoreham, Long Island to function as a wireless telecommunications facility as well as fulfill the task of broadcasting electrical power to the world. This plan seemed great at first, but proved to be to expensive as JP Morgan, who financed the operation, backed out of it. Tesla was left high and dry, and the facility was eventually abandoned due to lack of funding.

4. Baghdad Battery

Imagine a world where we discovered electricity hundreds of years earlier than now. Around Baghdad, an artifact known as the Baghdad Battery was discovered in which a terracotta pot housed a cylinder rolled copper sheet with a single iron rod inside that sheet. Filling the container with either wine, lemon juice, grape juice or vinegar could supply a small amount of electricity, up to four volts. Though that may seem a minute amount, it still brings up the interest of what if the idea of using such a method to provide power could have been implemented into society earlier. Who knows what kind of world we would be living in now!

5. Flexible Glass

Have you ever been carrying a glass cup or bowl when suddenly you trip and drop it? Well, at one point in time, there was such a thing as flexible glass. According to reports, during the reign of Emperor Tiberius, a glassmaker came to him and presented a cup. When the emperor was done with it, he threw it onto the ground, not resulting in a heart-shattering crash, but instead only a dent in the cup. The glassmaker quickly removed the dent by hitting it with a hammer. Tiberius asked the man if anyone was aware of this new invention, to which the man said no. Tiberius promptly had the man executed in fear that the new items would devalue gold and silver. To make matters worse, Tiberius also had the man’s workshop burned to the ground so that the secret of flexible glass could never be replicated.