WATCH LIVE: TIME talks best inventions in Washington, D.C. today.

What makes an invention great? Sometimes it solves a problem you didn’t think could be solved. Skyscrapers can’t turn invisible. Pens can’t write in midair. Paraplegics can’t walk. Except now they can. And sometimes an invention solves a problem you didn’t know you had. Maybe you didn’t realize you needed to eat a doughnut and a croissant at the same time, or resurrect an extinct frog, or turn your entire body into a living password. Now you do. Want a list of the best things that were invented in 2013? Now you have one. Just keep reading.

For ease of consumption, the inventions have been placed in order—using rigorous, objective and scientific criteria—beginning with the most fun and ending with the most useful.

Next The Driverless (Toy) Car