One common misperception of innovation is that it springs forth fully formed (like the apocryphal Venus in the Botticelli painting). In reality, many inventions require constant tinkering and improvement. Sometimes, it requires someone completely separated from the original creators to take an existing idea and transform it into a transcendent idea.
This photo is from the first successful attempt at some version of a typewriter. While it looks somewhat familiar, there are substantial differences compared to what you might commonly associate with the classic models.
But it had big problems. For one, the keys pressed onto the curved paper at an angle, which meant some of the letters were blurry. It also necessitated a hunt-and-peck approach to typing that made it hard to use — you could get used to a writing ball (just as you do to a QWERTY keyboard), but it was difficult to master the angled keyboard. Worse, it was hard to see what you'd typed until your document was finished. Finally, there wasn't a workable way to use a "shift" key.
Yet modern typewriters didn't really take off until 1873, when Remington produced a version of the typewriter that had a QWERTY keyboard and a shift key. Equally important, it printed sharper letters. People realized that typewriters were good not just for those with visual handicaps, but for anybody who wanted to write a clear document. Though writing-ball advocates are still fans of the device's aesthetics, the typewriter won for functionality.
By taking the original "pincushion" design and making it more useful, Remington actually paved the way for commercial success.
Here are some other examples of twists to the original invention that helped changed the future:
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