The greatest inventions tend to go unnoticed. It’s not so much that they are frivolous or dispensable; rather, they are so essential that they merge instantly into the fabric of daily life while their discoverers go unremarked. Sometimes a discovery transforms a landscape, sometimes it’s just a phrase, but the world is never quite the same afterward. Herewith a gallery of inventors we lost in 1994, quirky visionaries whose cry of “Eureka” would change Americans’ lives. MARCEL BICH

The government says nonstick pans pose no health threat, but not everyone is so sure.

New beginnings deserve a great skillet: We test eight that have the nonstick qualities people love about Teflon, but with none of the risks associated with the coating.

The chemical used to make Teflon as well as grease-resistant packaging and stain-resistant textiles has been the subject of a lot of bad news recently.