Did you know that there are at least one million inventions patented by Canadians? Yes, from Ice Hockey in sports, the Cardiac Pacemaker in medicine and science, to the garbage bag for household use. How many Canadian inventions do you know? Let’s look at 5 of them below:
1. Basketball: James Naismith, 1891
James Naismith was a graduate and a college instructor at Springfield College (then known as the International YMCA Training School). During the winter of 1891 to 1892, Naismith engaged the students in indoor activities at the gymnasium to keep them energized when the football season was over.
Naismith took advice from Luther Halsey Gulick, the former superintendent of physical education, to develop an indoor game that is interesting and easy to learn and play during the winter. It was a much-needed activity for students who lacked motivation and energy in the required work.
The graduate student came up with 13 rules, appointed a referee, and used two peach baskets as goals—the initial game comprised two, 15-minutes sessions separated by a 5-minute resting period. The first team to play had three guards on each side, three forwards, and three centers.
2. Java Programming Language: James Goosling, 1994
James Goosling was an Alberta-born computer scientist working at the Oracle owned Sun Microsystems. He developed the OAK Programming Language alongside his colleagues Patrick Naughton and Mike Sheridan. It is a general-purpose, object-oriented programming language that allows users to model real-world problems to find solutions.
Sun Microsystems renamed OAK to JAVA and released the pioneer Java 1.0 in 1995, making Goosling the Java father. It used Java with a home-entertainment controller to penetrate the digital cable television industry. In 1996, Java became an internet programming leader, providing a simplistic, object-oriented, robust, secure, independent, and portable solution for the masses. The language compiles and interprets source codes into by-codes and can handle multi-tasks simultaneously. Today, Java is still one of the top programming languages globally. Its latest version, Java 14, was released in March 2020.
3. IMAX: Graeme Ferguson, Robert Kerr, & Roman Kroitor, 1967
Graeme Ferguson, Robert Kerr, and Roman Kroitor were Canadian filmmakers working on large-screen production films for the Expo ‘67. The trio saw a need for superior equipment that would capture and project images using higher resolutions. Hence, they recruited an engineer, William Shaw, and partnered with Fuji to create Image MAXimum or IMAX. IMAX was first used during the Expo ’70 in screening the movie, Tiger Child.
4. Peanut Butter: Marcellus Gilmore Edson, 1884
We all cherish a peanut butter spread for breakfast, yet not many know that this popular culture and breakfast ingredient originated from Canada. Unlike popular belief, peanut butter is a creation of Marcellus Gilmore Edson, a former Canadian pharmacist in 1884. Edson was proud of the consistency of the butter, likening it to ointment or lard. Yes, now you know that George Washington Carver, the American botanist, only discovered more than 300 uses of the product.
Conclusion
Which Canadian inventions are you using at the moment? The next time you reach out to your pager, paint roller, insulin, or your convenient electric oven, it is all courtesy of Canadian inventors.
