7 Everyday Products That Came Out of WWI
Published: 17 September 2025
By Tony Dunnell
via the History Facts website
Feat-HF-Everyday-Products-from-WWI
World War I lasted four long years, and the unprecedented scale of the conflict demanded rapid innovation and resourcefulness. The brutal war of attrition, characterized by trench warfare, created many problems to be solved, from the desperate need to treat wounded soldiers to the challenge of feeding armies and maintaining communications across vast distances.
Wristwatches
Before the First World War, wristwatches were worn almost exclusively by women as fashion accessories. Most men used pocket watches, which had been around since 1700, but these were impractical for trench warfare. During World War I, wristwatches grew in popularity, initially among the officer classes. New watch designs emerged that were larger, stronger, and often featured luminous dials for ease of reading in low-light conditions — vital for coordinating attacks and artillery barrages.
Rank-and-file soldiers from Britain saw their officers wearing wristwatches, and soon started buying their own. By the time the United States entered the war a year before it ended, troops were being issued wristwatches as part of their gear. These new accessories not only were practical, but also became a symbol of courage and bravery, helping establish wristwatches as a mainstream product after the war.
Pilates
After the outbreak of World War I, Joseph Hubertus Pilates, a German physical trainer and inventor, was interned as an enemy alien on the Isle of Man. During his three-plus years at the internment camp, Pilates developed a regimen of muscle strengthening through slow and precise stretching and physical movements, using minimal equipment.
To allow those who were confined to their beds to exercise, Pilates used springs and straps from the beds as resistance training, greatly aiding their rehabilitation. He later opened a fitness studio in New York City in 1925, offering the exercise system he developed during the war to the general public. He went on to patent 26 exercise apparatuses, and his eponymous Pilates regime gained worldwide popularity.
Trench Coats
Today, trench coats are associated with an array of colorful fictional characters such as Dick Tracy, Columbo, Silent Bob, and Hellboy. But these waterproof, heavy-duty, and typically double-breasted coats were initially developed for British army officers.
Similar coats existed before World War I, but manufacturers — most notably Burberry and Aquascutum (both of which claim to have invented the trench coat) — modernized and modified the design to keep officers warm and dry in the trenches (hence the name). Shoulder straps were included for the attachment of epaulettes or other rank insignia; D-rings were added for attaching map cases, swords, or other equipment to the belt; and the addition of a gun flap buttoned at the chest offered extra protection in combat. And so the modern trench coat was born — a practical piece of attire that remains in fashion today.
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