The Unlikely Origins of the Rearview Mirror

(via Great Big Story) The rearview mirror: a trusty soldier in the pursuit of security, a means of scanning for approaching traffic or monitoring backseat mischief. Surely its inventor had safety on the mind! Well, not quite. In 1911, a racer vying to win the inaugural Indianapolis 500 thought adding a rear-facing mirror would give him a speedy edge. Not where you thought this was going, huh?