Important inventions of the Dutch

The Netherlands is a small country but plays an important role in the history of great inventions .

1. Submarine

The concept of a submarine was first conceived by William Bourne (English), but a navigable and operable submarine was first built by Dutch inventor Cornelis Drebbel in the 1620s.

Photo: expatrepublic.com

Drebbel worked for the Royal Navy and the submarine was tested in the River Thames. Its outer shell consisted of greased leather stretched over a wooden frame, with oars used for propulsion. Drebbel designed the final model to have six oars and be able to carry 16 passengers, submerged for three hours at a depth of 4.6 m.

2. Telescope

The telescope was invented in the Netherlands, a year before Galileo Galilei used that device to observe the stars. A patent filed by Hans Lippershey and Jacob Metius in 1608 was the first documentation of a telescope. It operates through simple tubes, with one biconvex lens and one biconcave lens.

3. Microscope

The microscope was invented in the Netherlands in the 16th or 17th century, but exactly by whom is a matter of debate. Most often mentioned is Antoni van Leeuwenhoek, although a simpler version existed from 1595, created by Zacharias and Hans Janssen.

Van Leeuwenhoek's microscope consisted of a magnifying glass with only one lens. This device has a magnification of up to 237 times life size, while previous devices could only magnify 30 times.

The microscope was invented in the Netherlands in the 16th or 17th century. (Illustration).

4. Eye test

The Dutch have made many inventions related to vision. The eye test, in which one must read lines of letters from large to small, was invented by Herman Snellen in 1862, and is called the Snellen chart.

5. Fire hydrant

The modern coiled fire hose was invented by Jan van der Heyden in 1673. He also developed an advanced pumping system. Thanks to that, firefighters can improve efficiency in extinguishing large fires.

6. Olympic flame

In 1928, architect Jan Wils, working at the Olympic Stadium in Amsterdam, designed a tall tower that emitted smoke. Wils aimed for the effect of smoke rather than fire, as it would be more visible during the day. Later, fire became a part of the Olympics, and it was not until 1936 that fire was used at the Berlin Olympics.

7. Speed ​​cameras

This is an invention of Dutch racing driver Maus Gatsonides. The device is activated by two rubber tubes that trigger the stopwatch as soon as the car's wheels hit them. In 1958, people began producing these devices for public use.

8. CDs and many other media devices

The CD was developed by Sony (with help from Philips) in Eindhoven. The world's first CD was produced in 1979, and the first song released on CD was ABBA's The Visitor in 1982. Products invented by Philips in collaboration with other companies were cassette tapes ( 1963), DVD, laserdisc and Blu-Ray.

9. Bluetooth

Bluetooth was invented by Dr. Jaap Haartsen in the 1990s while he worked for the Swedish company Ericsson. Haartsen called it bluetooth in reference to the Viking king Harald Blue Tooth. He received only 1,000 euros for his invention… Bluetooth provides short-range wireless connectivity for mobile phones, computers and other electronic devices. Today, there are billions of products that integrate bluetooth to connect with other wireless devices.

10. The beginning of WiFi

One of the biggest technological breakthroughs of the past few decades has been wireless data sharing, and Wi-Fi (named after the combination of HiFi (High Fidelity) and wireless) is at the heart of this step. That great leap.

Wi-Fi was created by a Dutch project in 1997; Vic Hayes and Cees Links are also known as the fathers of WiFi. While the Dutch played a key role in creating WiFi, the technology we know today was actually developed by Australian company CSIRO.

11. Artificial heart

In 1957, Willem Johan Kolff oversaw the implantation of an artificial heart in a dog, helping it live 90 minutes. Kolff founded the Department of Artificial Organs at the University of Utah and in December 1982, his team implanted patient Barney Clark with an artificial heart, helping him live for 112 days.

 Photo: expatrepublic.com

12. Stock market

The sale of bonds by cities and states has been going on since the 13th century, but the origins of modern stock exchanges date back to 1602. Corporate stock markets emerged with the founding of the Corporation. Dutch East India Company (VOC).

In 1609 VOC shareholder Isaac Le Maire became the world's first recorded short seller. A few decades later, the Dutch also experienced the first stock market crash in history, with the infamous Tulip Bubble of 1637.

13. Central bank

If you Google 'first central bank in the world' , Sweden's Riksbank will appear. Even so, a growing number of scholars say that honor should go to the Bank of Amsterdam, founded in 1609, six decades before the Riksbank.

Wholly owned by the city of Amsterdam, it is the first public bank to offer accounts that cannot be converted into cash. As the world's first true central bank, it paved the way for many important milestones, including the first European banknote in 1661.

14. Laser disc technology

In 1891, in Eindhoven, Philips was founded and participated in a number of important communications developments through Dutch inventions. Philips cooperated with American media group MCA to produce laserdisk in 1969.

Laserdisc was the forerunner of CD and DVD technology, which Philips launched in partnership with Sony in 1979 and 1995, respectively. This, in turn, paved the way for the creation of BluRay technology.

15. Speed ​​skating

The Dutch invented this sport in the 13th century. The harsh Dutch winters and many interconnected waterways provide an ideal testing ground for speed skating. Most famously, the speed skating competition takes place in Friesland, passing through 11 historic cities of the province.

16. Electric razor

In 1939, Philips' first Philishave electric shaver was introduced. Since then, more than 400 million shavers have been sold.

17. Four-wheeled vehicle

In 1903, the 4-wheel drive system was first applied to Dutch brand Spyker cars. These days four-wheeled vehicles can be found everywhere. As seen, the inventions of the Dutch have played a huge role in shaping the modern world.