Germans have given much to the world, especially when it comes to inventions. No less can be expected from a country that has produced some of the finest people in the world such as Albert Einstein, Ludwig van Beethoven, Anne Frank and Heidi Klum; the finest vehicles on the road and delicious dishes such as sausages, Black Forest Cake and sparkling beers.
Great German minds have come up with some of the most useful and popular items that are commonly used today. Here are some erfindung or inventions from Germany.
Decorating a pine tree during the holiday season is a tradition that hails from Germany as far back as the 15th century. Evergreen trees were brought into the home and lit with candles.
A German housewife is credited with creating the first paper coffee filter back in 1908. Melitta Bentz cleverly devised the filter and patented the invention to remove the bitter coffee particles when brewing the beverage.
The musical instrument accordion comes from the German word Akkordion or Akkord, which translates to musical chord, or a concord of sounds. The instrument’s basic form was designed by Christian Friedrich Ludwig Buschmann in 1822 in Berlin.
This go-to painkiller was developed by Felix Hoffman, based on the earlier research of French Chemist Charles Frederic Gerhardt and sold under Bayer AG. It is one of the best selling drugs in the world, with applications in providing pain relief from headaches and cramps, the treatment of hypertension, heart attack and stroke prevention.
It’s not surprising that many German automakers invented a number of automobile safety features. The airbag was first used in 1981 by the Mercedes Benz S-Class, and is now considered a standard safety vehicle for vehicles of all makes and models. Germans are also responsible for developing the diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel and the modern automobile or kraftwagen, by Karl Benz and Gottlieb Daimler.
The modern day contact lens is credited to F.E. Muller, a German glassblower, who in 1887 was able to produce the first eye covering that could be used without irritation. In the same year, a German ophthalmologist, Adolf Eugen Fick, made and then fitted the first successful contact lens and initially tested them on animals. Early versions could only be used for a few hours.
Gummibarchen (which means little rubber bear or Gummibar (which translates to rubber bear) or Gummy candy is a gelatin based candy that comes in a variety of shapes, sizes and flavors. It was created by Hans Riegel Sr. in 1920, a candy maker based in the city of Bonn.
A team of people developed the technology that would change the way we listen to music, but the invention of the MP3 is credited to Karlheinz Brandenburg, from Erlangen, Germany. The digital compression format was first introduced to the world in 1995, and has since taken the world by storm.