After our discovery of the Thermette (way cool), I decided to search for other Kiwi inventions, icons or 'firsts'. Here's what I found:
Bungy jumping: well maybe he didn't invent it, but A J Hackett opened the world's first commercial bungy jumping site in 1988 after achieving notoriety for illegally bungy jumping from the Eiffel Tower in 1997.
Jet boats: in 1953 William Hamilton, a NZ farmer, developed the world's first properllerless jet boat, now known as the Hamilton jet boat. What's more, he also invented the hay lift, a device to smooth ice on skating ponds, and the water sprinkler.
Atom splitter: in 1919 Baron Ernest Rutherford, a NZ scientist, was the first person in the world to split the atom
Stop the game: in 1884 William Atack was the first person to use a whistle to stop a sports game
Eggbeaters: Ernest Godward invented eggbeaters, spiral hair pins, and burglar proof windows
Jogging: Arthur Lydiard invented jogging and used it to help two Kiwis win gold medals in the 1960 olympics
Stamp vending machine: R. J. Dickie - about 1900
First flight: We all though that the Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk were the first to fly [a heavier-than-air craft], but it is not true. The first flight was by a 25 year old New Zealander, Richard Pearse on March 31, 1902. How about that!
Ghost: the software used to copy computer installations and manage them from a central site
Fly-by-wire: I don't think this is the aviation control system, but I'm not sure. There's a Fly-by-wire ride in Queenstown that rivals Bungy jumping for thrills that is more likely to be a Kiwi invention.
Mountain Buggy: 1992 - an all-terrain pushchair for parents with a fitness-oriented lifestyle. John & Sara have one - it's neat
Pavlova: This is a bone of contention between NZ and Australia, with both claiming it as their own. However, being a Kiwi, I'm opting for their version: "This dessert was invented as a tribute to the Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova, who toured New Zealand and Australia in 1926. Pavlova is made of meringue and cream and is usually topped with kiwifruit."
Buzzy Bee: designed and produced in 1948 by Hec and John Ramsey, it has become an iconic NZ symbol
Other things named in passing:
Frozen meat
Tranquilizer gun
Seismic 'base' isolators (rubber and lead blocks which minimize earthquake damage)
Electric fences
Freezer vacuum pumps
Wide-toothed shearing combs
Electronic petrol pumps
Oh, wow! I just found a site that has heaps of things. I've copied some of it here.
If you want to see the source, it is at www.thinkb16.com/KiwiInventionsAndDiscoveries.aspx
Here they are:
1884 Air Tight Tin Lid - John Eustace
An air tight tin lid with a lip. Although others copied the idea, he was making 100 tonnes of tin cans a year in the 1920s.
1982 Baeyertz Tape - Dr John Baeyertz
Use for accurately estimating birth dates, still used world-wide today.
1988 Bungy - AJ Hackett
The world's first commercial bungy site was opened in 1988. In June 1987 AJ bungy jumped illegally from the Eiffel Tower.
1956 Disposable Hypodermic Syringe - Colin Murdoch
A disposable, pre-filled syringe.
1900 Eggbeater - Ernest Godward
An egg-beater that could prepare eggs for a sponge cake in three and a half minutes, previously it took 15
1944 Jogging - Arthur Lydiard
A training technique that saw his two protégés Peter Snell and Murray Halberg win gold medals on the same day at the 1960 Rome Olympics.
1953 Propellerless Jet Boat - William Hamilton
The world's first propellerless jet boat
1901 Spiral Hair Pin - Ernest Godward
This was a predecessor of the hair clip.
1919 Split the Atom - Sir Ernest Rutherford
The first in the world to in 1919. He was awarded a Nobel Prize for his efforts in radioactivity.
1970s Spreadable Butter - New Zealand Dairy Research Institute
After years of development, the New Zealand Dairy Research Institute released the worlds first spreadable butter in 1991, which was then made by New Zealand dairy co-operatives and now by Fonterra.
1950s Tranquilliser Gun - Colin Murdoch
A tranquilliser gun, also called a capture gun or dart gun, is a non-lethal gun which shoots tranquilliser darts filled with tranquilliser that, when injected, make the target animal sleep.
1972 Tullen Snips - John Hough
Scissors which could cut items as tough as one cent coins and by the 1980s more than 20 million had been made.
1884 Whistle in Sport - William Atack
The world's first referee to use a whistle to stop a game of sport.
1994 Zorb - Dwayne van der Sluis and Andrew Akers
Created the world's first Zorb, a unique adventure activity involving a giant plastic ball, a slope and speeds of up to 50 kilometres per hour.
Other Kiwi icons include:
Edmonds Cookbook: More copies of this book, published by the makers of Edmonds ‘Sure to Rise’ Baking Powder, have been sold than any other book in New Zealand. Few New Zealand children would leave home without buying or borrowing their mother’s copy of this kiwi culinary bible.
No 8 Wire: Kiwis are famous for their ingenuity and self-sufficiency. It is said that Kiwis can create amazing things — all they need is ‘a piece of Number 8 wire’. No 8 wire is a certain gauge of wire that was incredibly popular for use as fencing wire around New Zealand’s many farms. Because No. 8 wire was widely available, it was used for a variety of tasks, and it has become a symbol of kiwi adaptability.
L & P: L & P stands for Lemon and Paeroa, New Zealand’s most famous soft drink. It was invented in 1904 after its maker tasted some mineral water near the town of Paeroa, and mixed it with lemon to make a particularly refreshing drink. L & P was originally called Paeroa and Lemon, though the name was later reversed, and then shorted to L & P. This drink is still popular throughout New Zealand today. I love their ads: "World famous in New Zealand"
Whew! I'm starting to feel like the Russians alway used to say: "We had it first!"
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Kiwiana
We discovered a bit of Kiwiana with our introduction to the Thermette. This is a wood-burning portable kettle that was invented in 1929 in New Zealand by John Hart. It was adopted by the NZ Army and issued to its soldiers during world war II. Many of them were stationed in North Africa where it was nicknamed the Benghazi Boiler. Since then, Kiwi families have taken it on road trips and picnics because it is so easy to "boil a brew" for tea, coffee, hot chocolate, or even just for hot water to clean up with.
Our colleague, Dale, couldn't believe we'd never hear of it, so she brought hers to work to show us.
Of course, nothing doing but what we had to try it out. Dale explained how it works while Hamish, another colleague, fired it up with just a few twigs we found lying around.
One of the reasons it works so well is that it is hollow! It is actually a water jacket around a chimney. You can feed the fuel down the chimney and the windier it is the better.
In just a few minutes we had flames shooting out the chimney, and a couple minutes later, we had hot water spewing out the spout.
We had our coffee cups ready with instant coffee and Dale proudly poured out the water If you look closely, you can see the ground behind her through the middle of the Thermette. How cool is that?
Our colleague, Dale, couldn't believe we'd never hear of it, so she brought hers to work to show us.
Of course, nothing doing but what we had to try it out. Dale explained how it works while Hamish, another colleague, fired it up with just a few twigs we found lying around.
One of the reasons it works so well is that it is hollow! It is actually a water jacket around a chimney. You can feed the fuel down the chimney and the windier it is the better.
In just a few minutes we had flames shooting out the chimney, and a couple minutes later, we had hot water spewing out the spout.
We had our coffee cups ready with instant coffee and Dale proudly poured out the water If you look closely, you can see the ground behind her through the middle of the Thermette. How cool is that?
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