World wars can be ugly to no end, but the positive byproduct is often a great deal of innovation.
As a result, there are a range of everyday products — from watches to sunglasses to medicine — that might never have taken off if not for the wars that raged in the background.
Antibiotics
Medicine we normally take for granted today (namely, penicillin and sulfonamide) got its start right before World War II.
Before the war, the drugs looked promising but had yet to be tested on a wide scale. Once the war began, however, soldiers desperately needed ways to disinfect wounds and stave off diseases caused by bacteria.
Canned food
Canning began as early as the 1880s, but it wasn't until World War I that it exploded in popularity.
Without access to refrigeration, soldiers needed ways to keep high-calorie foods available at all times.
Today, most American military personnel use MREs (meals ready to eat), but the usefulness of canned goods in civilian life still remains over 100 years later.
Wristwatches
Keeping a pocket watch doesn't serve you well when you're on the battlefield and need to know the time.
In an effort to let soldiers stop fumbling through their pockets and keep both hands free, watch manufacturers during World War I began fastening straps to their watch faces in much larger quantities than they had in years prior.
Though the idea had been around before the war, the overwhelming need helped make it a mainstay.
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