11. Karaoke, or “Kara Okesutura”
Daisuke Inoue invented the Karaoke machine in 1969, but launched his product in 1971. In the beginning, it wasn’t popular, but then all the bars in Japan wanted to have one. What he didn’t invent was the name, which came from “kara okesutura” – meaning “empty orchestra.” It was then shortened to “karaoke.”