Top 50 Canadian Inventions

[Atomb]

from here: http://www.cbc.ca/inventions/inventions.htmlRecently, the CBC put together a list of the top 50 Canadian inventions and had the public vote on them.The following is the list...which would you have chosen?50 Greatest Canadian Inventions:- CPR training Mannequin - 1989 A light weight life sized torso to replace the heavy full sized ones being used for CPR training- crash location indicator - 1957 A special system used for locating crashed planes.- the electric oven - 1892- the electric wheelchair - 1952 Used to assist quadriplegic veterans from WWII.- Electron Microscope - 1938 Developed by post-grad students at the University of Toronto- Electronic Music Synthesizer - 1945 The electric keyboard that made 80's music great.- Explosives Vapour Detector - 1985 Used in airports to sniff out hidden bombs.- 5 pin bowling - 1908 Allowing kids to bowl!- Steam Fog Horn - 1853 Now heard in harbours around the world.- Hockey Goalie Mask - 1959 Luckily the design has improved over time.- Green Garbage Bag - 1950- G-Suit - 1941 Used by military pilots to push blood back up to the brain (and prevent passing out) during high speed turns.- Instant Mashed Potatoes - 1962 Making dinners easier!- Instant Replay - 1955 First used during Hockey Night in Canada...of course.- Insulin (treatment for diabetes) - 1921 And voted online as #1 of all these inventions.- JAVA programming language - 1994 Allowing programmers to write software for any thing from cell phones to printers to computers.- Key Frame Animation - 1969 Allowed artists to stop drawing every frame in an animation.- Lacrosse - ?? First played by natives well before the discovery of Canada.- Light Bulb - 1874 Did you know that Thomas Edison bought the patent for the light bulb from 2 Canadians for $5000?- Marine Screw Propeller - 1833 Allowing the eventual removal of sails from ships.- Marquis Wheat - 1908 A cold weather wheat that turned Canada into one of the largest wheat producers in the world.- Pablum - 1930 - Three doctors from the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto developed the perfect cereal for babies.- Pacemaker - 1950 Helping hearts tick for over 50 years!- Paint Roller - 1940 Not important? Imagine painting that large wall with nothing but a brush!- Plexiglass - 1931 Used in safety glasses, and non-glass safety windows.- Poutine - 1957 Fries, cheese curds, covered in gravy. need i say more?- Radio Voice Transmission - 1900 The first radio broadcast had the inventor sing a Christmas carol to ships in the Atlantic.- Retractable Beer Carton Handle - 1957 Making it that much easier to bring home the 12 pack.- Robertson Screw - 1908 Developed as the screw could be placed on the screwdriver and held there without needing a second hand to hold it.- Self-propelled Combine Harvester - 1937 During WWII, this invention did the work of hundreds of people, that were off at war.- Separable Baggage Check - 1882 Making it a little more difficult for them to lose your luggage.- Ski-doo - 1922 - Nothing like speeding on a frozen lake.- Snowblower - 1925 - Saving backs all over.- Standard Time - 1878 - Primarily done to make sure trains stayed on time.- Telephone - Alexander Graham Bell was Scottish born and eventually moved to the USA. But his work on the telephone was all done in Canada.- UV Degradable Plastics - 1971 Plastic that turns to dust when exposed to light for a long time.- Walkie Talkie - 1942 - Eliminating the long wire used by the military prior to then.- Weevac 6 - 1980 - A medical stretcher for newborn babies. Can carry up to 6 babies at once.- Wonderbra - 1964 - "A good invention for everyone".- Zipper - 1913 - Eliminating the need for buttons!- Cobalt 60 "Bomb" Cancer Treatment - 1951 - Destroys cancer cells in a fast, cheap, and powerful way.- Caulking Gun - 1894 - Preventing water from getting into places it shouldn't.- Canadarm - 1975 - Used on the Space Shuttle to perform various operations.- Bloody Caesar - 1969 - For those non-canadians, it's vodka, tomato juice, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, and hand mashed clams (or Clamato)...garnished with a celery stick. mmmm.- Blackberry - 1999 - Building stronger thumb muscles worldwide.- Birch Bark Canoe - ??? - Developed by natives in pre-discovered Canada.- Basketball - 1892 - A Canadian Phys Ed teacher made it up while teaching in New England one year.- Automatic Lubricating Cup - 1872 - Delivering oil with that pleasant sound.- Ardox Spiral Nail - 1954 - Is there any other nail used in construction today?- Alkaline Long Lasting Battery - 1959 - And still going and going ....

[kevera]

Great write up.We have made some great contributions.But I think you forgot "Hockey".I think we invented that too,right.

[Mavrik]

Canada rules eh?

[Psychobroker]

"- Green Garbage Bag - 1950"Are you KIDDING me??

[Atomb]

yup. why is it so hard to believe?>

[silver_vibe]

Quote, originally posted by Atomb »- JAVA programming language - 1994 Allowing programmers to write software for any thing from cell phones to printers to computers.James Gosling may have been born in Canada, but he worked for Sun Microsystems at the time. I consider that to be an American Invention. If an Italian immigrant to America invents something in America, is it considered an Italian invention?Also, even though he is credited as the inventor of Java by many, he had a team supporting him on the "Green Project"...a team based in America.

[blake31]

although i am a hockey goalie, and i love poutine, i would have voted for the electron microscope.

[Psychobroker]

Quote, originally posted by Atomb »yup. why is it so hard to believe?>Because it's like reinventing the wheel...you can't. A trash bag is a trash bag is a trash bag (in general, yes some are stronger or larger than others). How can the claim to making it GREEN constitute an invention?I see it as padding your stats

[Psychobroker]

Quote »- Zipper - 1913 - Eliminating the need for buttons!This one's a little bend of the truth..Quote »from http://inventors.about.com/lib...7.htm..Mr. Whitcomb Judson (who also invented the 'Pneumatic Street Railway') marketed a 'Clasp Locker' a device similar to the 1851 Howe patent. Being first to market gave Whitcomb the credit of being the 'Inventor of the Zipper', However, his 1893 patent did not use the word zipper. The Chicago inventor's 'Clasp Locker' was a complicated hook-and-eye shoe fastener. Together with businessman Colonel Lewis Walker, Whitcomb launched the Universal Fastener Company to manufacture the new device. The clasp locker had its public debut at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair and met with little commercial success. Whitcomb Judson's Clasp LockerIllustration: Whitcomb Judson's clasp lockerSwedish-born (who later immigrated to Canada), Gideon Sundback, an electrical engineer, was hired to work for the Universal Fastener Company. Good design skills and a marriage to the plant-manager's daughter Elvira Aronson led Sundback to the position of head designer at Universal. He was responsible for improving the far from perfect 'Judson C-curity Fastener.' Unfortunately, Sundback's wife died in 1911. The grieving husband busied himself at the design table and by December of 1913, he had designed the modern zipper.Ok, so a Swedish-born Canadian piggybacked and improved upon his boss' invention...I don't believe that means he invented it.Also read: http://web.mit.edu/invent/iow/judson.html

[Psychobroker]

Quote »- the electric oven - 1892That's funny, according to answers.com, "The first electric oven for commercial sale is introduced at St. Paul, Minnesota, by Carpenter Electric Heating Manufacturing Company." in 1891link: http://www.answers.com/topic/1891#food_and_drinkNice list, but somewhat inaccurate, or in the least, conflicting.

[drunkenmaxx]

these lists you see on the internet for various things always contain innaccurate information.

[Psychobroker]

Quote »- Basketball - 1892 - A Canadian Phys Ed teacher made it up while teaching in New England one year.http://www.kansasheritage.org/people/naismith.htmlDr. James Naismith in invented basketball while at the YMCA Training School in Springfield, Massachusetts, USA in 1891.If Canada claims to have invented basketball, then Sweden should hold claim to the "modern zipper" and Ireland the telephone (Graham Bell *cough* he did all his work in Canada *cough*)

[Psychobroker]

Quote, originally posted by drunkenmaxx »these lists you see on the internet for various things always contain innaccurate information.Sure, but the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC)?

[drunkenmaxx]

that fact i knew too! i did a term paper on the history of basketball in high school!

[Psychobroker]

Doh, I just managed to delete a reply about the light bulb! Ok, I'm going to force my curiousity to stop looking into this intriguing list! My top two Canadian inventions:1) the Wonderbra2) Retractable Beer Carton Handle!

[AKLGT]

Quote, originally posted by drunkenmaxx »that fact i knew too! i did a term paper on the history of basketball in high school!me too! which is why i always laugh at their claim they invented the sport! it was actually first reported to be played by natives.. well before the countries of canada or US or Mexico were ever formed.. Naismith just took that info and made up some basic rules to keep the kiddies out of trouble.

[Mavrik]

I still say GO CANADA!

[Atomb]

wow..quite the surly bunch! i agree on the whole born in/developed in argument though...can't have it both ways.i think they were just trying to point out that Canadians have played a part in quite a few things.

[Psychobroker]

Quote, originally posted by Atomb »wow..quite the surly bunch! i agree on the whole born in/developed in argument though...can't have it both ways.i think they were just trying to point out that Canadians have played a part in quite a few things.Agreed! My father lived much longerthanks to his pacemaker than he would have without, so for that, I thank you

[AKLGT]

(removed). yes, you canucks do your part, that is certain.