Coolest Inventions Of 2008

(CBS)  Many things we take for granted today -- the light bulb, or the telephone, for instance -- began as dreams and ended up changing the world.

The latest issue of Popular Mechanics lists the top technological inventions of 2008.

And the magazine's senior technology editor, Glenn Derene, brought several to The Early Show Wednesday.

He says these could "change the world."

One was a small packet of powder that turns disgusting, dirty water into drinking water in 30 minutes. Also: a silicon chip that detects cancer cells before they metastasize, a pen that records audio while you write and then cues up the sound when you touch the pen to your notes, a hand-operated electronic charger, and a working prototype of a $30,000 electric vehicle coming out next year. Its hybrid counterpart will get up to 300 miles per gallon.

For Popular Mechanics' complete list of the selections, and plenty of details on each, and more, click here.

The Early Show segment:

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um, turn the TV off...