Just blew in...

shbaz · Tue 10/08/2004 00:46:11

I read a huge book on the invention of television, and the apparatus that the Scotsman came up with was nothing that ever could have been as practical as the CRT. It was huge, created tons of heat, and could not do grayscale. It was merely a projection of shadows. There are tons of individual inventions that came together to create the television, and it can't even be credited to two people alone. There were quite a few people working toward it, none of them were ever credited with its invention and they didn't make any money from it.

That being said, what the hell are you thinking saying America only came up with the nuke? I can think of more than 20 world changing inventions off of the top of my head. Here are some.

Radio (Tesla, Immigrant, Marconi is a fraud)
AC Electricity (Tesla)
Tesla Coil (Tesla)
Brushless AC Induction electric motor (Tesla)
Vacuum Tube (Tesla)
Wireless Electricity (Tesla)
Airplane (Wright brothers, natives)
Assembly line process (Henry Ford, native, made vehicles affordable)
Solar Cell (Charles Fritzl, native)
Light bulb (Edison, native, but questionable)
Radar (concieved by Tesla, perfected at MIT)
The transistor (Invented by an American prisoner, I believe)
The computer as we know it today (IBM and Apple, not the British Enigma decoder)
The rockets that sent the only men ever to walk on the moon
The best jets in the world
The best submarines in the world

You can tell I'm more into electricity than other stuff, and I really like Tesla.

I don't know WTF you're thinking arguing that Scotland is somehow superior either technologically or in innovation.. That just seems like a fight against logic. If you were arguing for Germany, England, or Russia maybe, but Scotland?

Meowster · Tue 10/08/2004 00:51:04

Atlantis beats all of you...

.... $:-\$

P.S. Scotland had lots of awesome inventors.

shbaz · Tue 10/08/2004 00:57:17

Apparently the US Navy was invented by a Scotsman.

http://www.magicdragon.com/Wallace/thingscot.html

I think the problem here is distinguishing between Natives and Immigrants (Example: This page shows Einstein as American).. for me, if you are going to renounce all formal ties to your country and leave, you're no longer of that label. But that's just me I guess.

Mephistophilis · Tue 10/08/2004 01:10:05

Fine America Gave the World some stuff, Scotland Gave the World Some stuff Other Countries Gave the World Some stuff. Ended.

but we still made GTA

MrColossal · Tue 10/08/2004 01:15:58

An entire country made GTA? Jeez, good thing I didn't watch all the credits...

And besides, England gave us AGS so England wins hands down

Grundislav · Tue 10/08/2004 01:29:48

Well technically, it wasn't just England that gave us AGS. Wales had a part in it too...

Pesty · Tue 10/08/2004 01:36:13

Quote from: shbazjinkens on Tue 10/08/2004 00:46:11
Radio (Tesla, Immigrant, Marconi is a fraud)
AC Electricity (Tesla)
Tesla Coil (Tesla)
Brushless AC Induction electric motor (Tesla)
Vacuum Tube (Tesla)
Wireless Electricity (Tesla)
Radar (concieved by Tesla, perfected at MIT)

You can tell I'm more into electricity than other stuff, and I really like Tesla.

You have instantly won my respect. Also, correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Tesla come up with the idea for the transistor as well?

DGMacphee · Tue 10/08/2004 01:40:06

You're all wrong!

HELM WINS!

Pesty · Tue 10/08/2004 01:40:46

Quote from: DGMacphee on Tue 10/08/2004 01:40:06
You're all wrong!

HELM WINS!

STFU NOOB.

Domino · Tue 10/08/2004 01:54:38

Eggie, glad you enjoyed your trip to the USA.

Speaking of Arby's. You can't beat the 5 for 5 roast beef sandwich special. 5 mouth watering roast beef sandwiches for 5 dollars.

Plus, throw in some horsey sauce. (not made with real horses, just a creamy horseradish sauceÃ,Â

)

Aww, i am getting so hungry now.Ã,Â Plus, i also sound like an advertisement which i didn't mean too.

But, still hungry anyways.Ã,Â

DragonRose · Tue 10/08/2004 02:02:57

Mmmmmm... Arby's. Their Market Sandwhiches are fantastic. Honey mustard, red onion, tomato, leaf lettuce and sliced meat on nut bread.

I was also all set to reply to the inventors thing "Alexander Graham Bell was Canadian! He invented the telephone in Brantford, Ontario!" But then I bothered to actually look it up and it turns out I've been wrong all these years.

But there is an Arby's in Brantford, which I always go to when I drive through there to go visit my grandma. Therefore, this post has some sense of cohesion.

shbaz · Tue 10/08/2004 02:04:30

Quote from: Pesty on Tue 10/08/2004 01:36:13
Quote from: shbazjinkens on Tue 10/08/2004 00:46:11
Radio (Tesla, Immigrant, Marconi is a fraud)
AC Electricity (Tesla)
Tesla Coil (Tesla)
Brushless AC Induction electric motor (Tesla)
Vacuum Tube (Tesla)
Wireless Electricity (Tesla)
Radar (concieved by Tesla, perfected at MIT)

You can tell I'm more into electricity than other stuff, and I really like Tesla.

You have instantly won my respect. Also, correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Tesla come up with the idea for the transistor as well?

No, so far as I know. I read the story about a prisoner accidentally discovering it as a sidenote in a book about a totally different subject, and now I'm unable to find any information pertaining to that at all. It was perfected in Bell labs though, for sure, years after Tesla's passing.

veryweirdguy · Tue 10/08/2004 13:19:16

Quote from: Grundislav on Mon 09/08/2004 20:32:09
Quote from: veryweirdguy on Mon 09/08/2004 18:26:06
Wales on the other hand, now if THAT isn't a nation of sheep hugging, angry people....

For shame, veryweirdguy! We all know that the Welsh are a fine fine people, as represented by AGA.

AGA is actually the only Welsh guy I know, but I still feel the need to make fun of the Welsh at every oppurtunity....

.....Funny, that.

*disclaimer - in my experience, AGA is actually a pretty awesome guy & I will not hear a (serious) bad word against him*

Andail · Tue 10/08/2004 16:04:25

Speaking of nationalities is pretty thin ice to skate on.

Tesla was indeed an outstanding genious, but he didn't move to USA until he was like thirty or something, and all his education and upbringing took place in Croatia.

His genes and schooling owe nothing to America (he spoke a weird amount of languages; hardly a traditional american trait), but America provided the means necessary to invent all those things.

Also, listing "from the top of your head" like that isn't proving anything; most countries can produce a similar list. Look at these Swedish inventions (first consider that Sweden is the size of an average American state):

The Propeller
The first attempts at designing a new device for propelling vessels took place in 1802. But the device commonly used for ships and aircrafts was patented in 1836 by John Ericsson of Sweden. The propeller is only one of many things invented or improved by Ericsson. In U.S.A he is probably most remembered for constructing the battleship Monitor, used with great success in the American Civil War by the North.

Tetra Pak
Tetra Pak, a paper package system for non-carbonated liquids, was invented in 1944 by Erik Wallenberg and Ruben Rausing. It is particularly useful for dairy products and has become a great export success.

The Adjustable Spanner
One of our most common and usable tools, the adjustable spanner, was invented by J. P Johansson in 1892. It is implied from its name that this tool could be adjusted for screw nuts of different sizes. It has since become an export success.

The Separator and the Milking Machine
The inventor Gustaf de Laval has made two important contributions to the dairy industry. His Milking Machine (1896) rationalized a time-consuming everyday chore on the farms and reduced the demand for farm laborers. The further handling of the milk was simplified by the separator, a device used for separating cream from milk. Like many useful inventions, it is of a rather simple construction. It basically consists of a drum, which can be rotated by means of a crank. When fresh milk is poured into the rotating drum, the cream fraction, which is of lower density than the milk, tends to stay in the middle, while the heavier milk fraction is pressed towards the edges.

The Ball Bearing
The modern ball bearing was constructed by the Swede Sven Wingquist in 1907. Similar constructions had been used in mechanical devices since the Middle Ages but Wingquist's construction represented a true improvement, which has been of great use to the car and shipbuilding industries, among others. The company that started producing the new ball bearing, SKF, still holds a strong international position.

The Zipper
It should be admitted that the first person obtaining a patent for a zipper was an American. The first construction that could be used for practical purposes, however, was made by the Swedes Peter A. Aronsson and Gideon SundbÃ¤ck. In 1913, SundbÃ¤ck took out a patent for the new construction, and this model has been used ever since (the only change being that zippers today are sometimes made of plastics).

The Safety Match
The match as such is not a Swedish invention, but since the obsolete type could set fire to their owners just as often as to candles and cigars, they needed improvement. In 1844, Gustaf Erik Pasch removed the flammable phosphorus component from the match-head and added it to the striking surface of the match-box. The result was a safer product, which was further improved by the LundstrÃ¶m brothers, owners of a match factory in JÃ¶nkping. In 1855, one of them, obtained a patent for the phosphorus-free match and that marked the beginning of a very successful era for the Swedish match industry. At times it accounted for 75 percent of the world production.

Dynamite
During one of his experiments with the explosive nitroglycerin, the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel made an important discovery. As he accidentally broke a bottle containing this chemical, the substance happened to mix with the material protecting the bottles. The result was a product with the same blast effect as pure nitroglycerin but much less dangerous to handle. Nobel called it dynamite, and the money he made through it enabled him to create the Nobel Foundation with its familiar Nobel Prize.

The Turbo Engine for Cars
In 1976, Bengt Gadefelt at the SAAB car company constructed a new type of turbo-powered engine for cars. It had the advantage over other constructions that it would start working automatically when extra power was required, for example at high speed. A few years later, SAAB presented the world's first commercially available turbo-powered car to the market.

Innovations in Telecommunications
The modern telephone was constructed by a Swede with the name Lars Magnus Ericsson. At that time, telephones had the mouthpiece built in, while the speaker was connected to the telephone by a flex. Ericsson's new idea was to combine the two into a single receiver. In 1876 he founded the Ericsson company in Stockholm.

The automatic exchange was invented in the 1940's by a man called Axel Hultman, together with a team of engineers from the Ericsson company. Since then, over one million exchanges of the 500 type have been manufactured and sold.

The computerized AXE exchange is also a Swedish invention. It was introduced in the mid 70's as the result of a cooperation between Ericsson and Telia, the major Swedish telecom operator. The AXE technology offers several new services, such as three-part communication and automatic wake-up calls. It is now installed in most parts of Sweden and has also been introduced on foreign markets.

(source: http://www.sverigeturism.se/smorgasbord/smorgasbord/industry/inventions/ )

edmundito · Tue 10/08/2004 16:11:50

Quote from: Dark-of-Night on Tue 10/08/2004 01:54:38
Eggie, glad you enjoyed your trip to the USA.

Speaking of Arby's. You can't beat the 5 for 5 roast beef sandwich special. 5 mouth watering roast beef sandwiches for 5 dollars.

Plus, throw in some horsey sauce. (not made with real horses, just a creamy horseradish sauceÃ,Â )

Aww, i am getting so hungry now.Ã,Â Plus, i also sound like an advertisement which i didn't mean too.

But, still hungry anyways.Ã,Â

I remember in high school some buddies and I used to go to Taco Bell and get 10 tacos for $5.00! Good times.

Esseb · Tue 10/08/2004 16:15:09

If you read the URL you can see a major invention the Swedes gave the world which he forgot to mention.

Pumaman · Tue 10/08/2004 18:23:31

So what are we saying, that a country is defined by the number of inventions that its citizens have come up with?

Well, I'd like to continue this "my country is better than yours" discussion by saying this:

England sucks.

Not as much as Wales, of course, but it still sucks really hard. Lousy weather, nanny state interference, expensive goods, high taxes, Tony Blair... the list goes on.

One day I shall move to Australia!!

Or Canada.

Or America.

Or Germany.

Or Sweden.

Bah screw it, anywhere.

AGA · Tue 10/08/2004 18:35:33

Quote from: Pumaman on Tue 10/08/2004 18:23:31
Or America.

Hah. Read Stupid White Men by Michael Moore if you think you'd be better off living in the US... Britain may be boring, but the average working-class Brit is far better off than the average American.

Mephistophilis · Tue 10/08/2004 18:35:59

Well my country sucks more than yours.... Any reason to argue.

Ali · Tue 10/08/2004 18:46:58

Quote from: Pumaman on Tue 10/08/2004 18:23:31
England sucks.
...
Lousy weather, nanny state interference, expensive goods, high taxes, Tony Blair... the list goes on.

I don't know... I hate England as much as the next man, but as a non-drinker, non-smoker, non-luxury-item-enjoying second-hand-clothes-purchasing student the taxes don't bother me that much.

Plus the weather's great.

Glad you enjoyed your trip Eggie, but it always baffles me when people talk up American politeness. What's wrong with being generally unfriendly towards people you don't know?

Ah, England's the country for me.