For those of you out of the loop i.e. most Americans and everyone else around the world, today is Canada Day. Many people are asking how old Canada is in 2009? The answer is 142! 142 years of being a constitutional monarchy and even more importantly, 142 years of inventing and creating things that nobody in their right mind figured was Canadian.
So on that note, I thought it would be appropriate for me to educate you guys on a few things that are 100% Canadian. Here is my list of 22 Canadian Creations You Might Not Know About:
- Superman – Conceptualized and created by Joe Shuster and Jerome Siegel (1938)
- The Telephone – Invented by Alexander Graham Bell (1874)
- Basketball – Created by James Naismith (1892)
- Anti gravity suit – Wilbur R. Franks (1940)
- Electric wheelchair – Invented by George J. Klein
- Five pin bowling – Thomas E. Ryan (1909)
- Frozen fish – Dr. Archibald G. Huntsman (1926)
- Zipper – Conceptualized by Gideon Sundback (1913)
- Pictionary – Created by Rob Angel (1986)
- Insulin (as diabetes treatment) – Dr. Frederick Banting, Dr. Charles Best and Dr. Collip (1921)
- Walkie-Talkie – Invented by Donald L. Hings (1942)
- Electric cooking range – Invented by Thomas Ahearn (1882)
- Trivial Pursuit – Created by Chris Haney, John Haney and Scott Abbott (1982)
- Cobalt bomb – University of Saskatchewan and Eldorado Mining and Refining (1951)
- Air-conditioned railway coach – Invented by Henry Ruttan (1858)
- IMAX – Created by Grahame Ferguson, Roman Kroitor, Robert Kerr (1968)
- Lightbulb (first patented) – Henry Woodward (1874)
- Nursing Mother Breast Pads – Marsha Skrypuch (1986)
- Retractable beer carton handle (Tuck-away-handle Beer Carton) – Steve Pasjac (1957)
- Electron microscope – Prof. E. F. Burton and Cecil Hall, James Hillier and Albert Prebus (late 1930s)
- Wonderbra – Invented by Louise Poirier (1964)
- Heart Pacemaker – Invented by Dr. John Hopps (1949)
References: Canadian Inventions
***And to some of our less-informed cousins south of the border: no, it doesn’t snow all year round, and no, not all of our police men and women ride horses. Oh yeah – and we don’t live in igloos.
Happy Canada Day!
Cheers,
Elijah