Just a few accomplishments and discoveries made by Canadians in the 150 years since this land became a chartered country. In no particular order!
- The telephone – invented by Scottish-born Alexander Graham Bell, in Brantford, Ontario. Patented in the U.S. (so, we’ve gotta share this one I guess)
- Insulin – Frederick Banting, Charles Best and James Collip, c. 1922
- The light bulb – Henry Woodward and Matthew Evans, 1874 (patent later sold to Thomas Edison)
- Canola – Keith Downey and Baldur R. Stafansson (from natural rapeseed), early 1970’s
- Basketball – James Naismith, 1891
- Hockey –Windsor, Nova Scotia c1800
- The goalie mask – Jacques Plante, 1959
- Jockstrap hard cup – 1927
- Sunglasses for snow blindness – Inuit in Canada’s Arctic
- The egg carton – Joseph Leopold Coyle, 1917
- Superman – Joe Shuster (artist), 1932
- Instant Replay – CBC, Hockey Night in Canada, 1955
- IMAX –Roman Kroitor (co-inventor), 1968
- AM radio – Reginald Fessenden, 1906
- The Walkie-talkie – Donald L. Hings and Alfred J. Gross, 1942
- The paint roller – Norman James Breakey, c1940
- The snowblower – Arthur Sicard, 1925
- The snowmobile – Joseph-Armand (Bombardier), 1937
- The Prosthetic Hand – Helmut Lucas, 1971
- The Electron Microscope – J. Hillier, A. Prebus and E.F. Burton (University of Toronto), 1938
- The electric wheelchair – George Johann Klein, c1949
- The steam-powered foghorn – Robert Foulis, 1854
- Sonar – Reginald Fessenden
- The Cardiac Pacemaker – John Hopps, 1951
- Peanut butter – Marcellus Gilmore Edson (patented), 1884
- Pablum – Frederick Tisdall, Theodore Drake and Allan Brown, 1930
- Easy-Off oven cleaner – Herbert McCool, 1932
- Canadarm – SPAR Aerospace (used for NASA’s Space Shuttle Program), 1981
- Cirque du Soleil – Guy Laiiberte and Gilles Ste-Croix, 1984
- 5-pin bowling – Thomas F. Ryan, 1909
- Trivial Pursuit – Chris Haney and Scott Abbott, 1979
- The Wonderbra push-up – Louise Poirier, 1964
- The Robertson screw – P. L. Robertson, 1909
- Poutine – Le Lutin qui rit, Warwick PQ, 1957
- Canada Dry Ginger Ale – John J. McLaughlin, 1904
- Canadian-only chocolate bars: Coffee Crisp – Rowntree’s, 1938; Crispy Crunch – Cadbury, 1912
- The birch bark canoe, the toboggan and snowshoes – Indigenous Peoples
- The Alkaline Battery – Lewis Urry, 1954
- The caulking gun – Theordore Witte, 1894
- The plastic garbage bag – Harry Waslykin, 1950
- The Bloody Caesar – invented in Calgary, Alberta, 1969
- Plexiglass – William Chalmers (McGill University), 1931
- Explosives Vapour Detector – Lorne Elias, 1985
- Computerized Braille – Roland Galarneau, 1972
- Java programming language – James Gosling, 1991
- The Blackberry – Mike Lazaridis, 1984
- Standard time zones – Sir Sandford Fleming, 1883
- Collerette ladder for fire fighting – Rodrigue Colleret, 1896
- Electric oven – Thomas Ahearn, 1882
- Yukon Gold potato – Gary R. Johnston, 1966
This is not a scientifically-verified, written in stone list and some of these “claims to fame” are in dispute. I just went with the generally accepted record of these inventions and contributions, with brief research to fact check. I could be wrong on some of them (it’s been known to happen!). So, please take this list with a grain of salt and in the light-hearted manner it was intended. After all, we Canadians do have a pretty good sense of humour! Just ask Jim Carrey, Mike Myers, Howie Mandel, Russell Peters, Martin Short, Dan Aykroyd, Rick Moranis, Eugene Levy….
And on the theme of Canadian comedy, we thought we’d share this video on How to Be a Canadian.