Sometimes, inventors come up with things the world wants. The Rubik's Cube. iPhones. Snuggies. Then there are the things the world needs. The wheel. Penicillin. Anything with caffeine in it.
The Foldscope might just fit into both of those categories.
The Foldscope is a folding paper microscope that costs less than a buck to manufacture but is durable and amazingly useful, according to inventor Manu Prakash of Stanford University, as well as one researcher who's used it in the field.