Key American Inventions- what's missing from the list?

Ketchup. Invented in 1812 and then perfected and made world famous by the Heinz Co in 1876.

It's purpose was to help to cover up the taste of rancid meat in the days before widespread refrigeration.
 
GON said:
Recentley came across a "list" of key American inventions. List looked slim in the past few decades. I suspect key inventions are missing.

Any BITOGers know of some key inventions missing from the list?

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Much of Bell's work was done in Canada, as he spent considerable time in Brantford, which is where the Bell's bought a house when they moved from the UK. Of course he also spent considerable time in Boston. So I wouldn't consider his work on and patenting of the acoustic telephone "American" but rather a Canadian/American or American/Canadian one.
 
As a practical matter the first commercially viable LED..Texas Instruments 1962. Saves 5% of energy in the U.S , not to mention lasts 20 times longer than incandescent bulb.
 
Al said:
As a practical matter the first commercially viable LED..Texas Instruments 1962. Saves 5% of energy in the U.S , not to mention lasts 20 times longer than incandescent bulb.
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I found the Dodge Superlight an interesting case. IIRC, Sylvania produced the projector beam - but the feds would not allow them to move into headlights … BMW made PB’s popular years later - so, gives rise to the question: were the first PB’s approved actually imported?
 
buster said:
"In North America, the U.S. ranks highest. The country has long been known as a global leader in innovation, with a strong track record of introducing new ideas and technologies that have transformed the way we live and work. The U.S. ranks #1 in a number of indicators, including university-industry R&D collaboration and intangible asset intensity."

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This has nothing to do with inventions
Switzerland doesn't come close to the USA and Japan regarding inventions. This is only the last 25 years in the chart below.
USA has over 6 million more patients than Switzerland in those 25 years.

https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/inventions-by-country

"The U.S. is the hub of all innovative inventions. Most new technology was invented in America -- from personal computers, lasers, mobile phones, video games, photocopiers, and even the internet."
 
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captainbeandip said:
Ketchup. Invented in 1812 and then perfected and made world famous by the Heinz Co in 1876.

It's purpose was to help to cover up the taste of rancid meat in the days before widespread refrigeration.
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Too bad modern ketchup is a tomato flavored high fructose flavored syrup. It's right up there in the dessert category for me. Maybe it's time to DIY ketchup. 🤔

Regarding inventions, I was going to say the internet (Arpanet) but maybe one can extrapolate that into the first wired communications which officially go back to the telegraph in England around the 1830s.

Looks like one of the first wired communications was to actually send an image of a alphanumeric letter similar to a dot-matrix display in 1809.

"Samuel Thomas von Sömmerring was a German physician, anatomist and inventor. Although he is most famous for his works on anatomy, Sömmerring also conducted early experiments relating to telegraphy. He attempted to use gas bubbles in water as a signalling device. There was a wire for each letter of the alphabet, and the letters were indicated by the emergence of a stream of gas bubbles. It also had an alarm mechanism for getting the attention of the operator, which trapped the bubbles of gas emitted by the telegraph under a spoon-ended arm, which tilted and released a small stone 'marble', causing it to fall into a glass funnel and hit a lever which started a clockwork bell."

https://collection.sciencemuseumgro...ica-of-soemmerrings-telegraph-of-1809-12-1964
 
Sorry, basketball and baseball were invented by Canadians. You could even stretch it and say that Canada helped start your football . McGill University of Montreal brought "rugby football " to Harvard in 1874. Sure the rules were not the same but the seed was planted. The Grey Cup has been awarded in Canada since 1909.
 
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cb450sc said:
Sorry, basketball and baseball were invented by Canadians
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Right. And poutine was invented in Gainesville Florida.

Basketball was invented by a Canadian (Dr. James Naismith), but he was living and working at Springfield College in Massachusetts where he developed it under the direction of the college's PE director as a winter sport to be played indoors.

Baseball, as we know it, was influenced by several English childrens' games and formalized in New York by the Knickerbocker's club.
 
The first recorded baseball game in history was on June 4,1838 in Beachville (near London) Ontario. This was a full year before Abner Doubleday. The Beachville game was the first to adapt similar rules to what we use today with three bases and home plate and was the first to be significantly different than the English rounders game. Who knows how many years they were playing under these rules before a newspaper actually reported on the competition. I totally agree that an American refined the rules that we have today. You can claim ownership for poutine though! Lol


game
 
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