10 More Inventors Who Hated Their Own Creations

"Now I am become death. Destroyer of worlds."

Those were the words that went through J. Robert Oppenheimer's mind when he witnessed the first successful test of the device that made him famous: the atomic bomb.

Oppenheimer was the director of the Manhattan Project, which saw the development, testing, and eventual deployment of what came to be the deadliest single weapon ever used in warfare. While he worked hard on the project and ensured it was completed properly, he felt regret at the suffering his work caused.

Oppenheimer rarely spoke about his time on the project, but the following words perhaps best encapsulate his feelings about his creation and what he helped unleash upon the world:

“It is our hope, that in years to come we may look at this scroll, and all that it signifies, with pride. Today that pride must be tempered with a profound concern. If atomic bombs are to be added as new weapons to the arsenals of a warring world, or to the arsenals of nations preparing for war, then the time will come when mankind will curse the names of Los Alamos and of Hiroshima."

The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki resulted in an estimated 225,000 killed and wounded, many of whom died from radiation long after the bombs were dropped.