{"id":2171,"date":"2016-09-30T18:02:19","date_gmt":"2016-09-30T16:02:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/travelbucket.co.za\/?page_id=2171"},"modified":"2017-08-08T08:49:08","modified_gmt":"2017-08-08T06:49:08","slug":"some-pretty-cool-inventions","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/travelbucket.co.za\/some-pretty-cool-inventions\/","title":{"rendered":"Pretty Cool Inventions"},"content":{"rendered":"

Despite living at the southern tip of Africa we have some really inspiring inventions:<\/span><\/p>\n

1) The first human heart Transplant<\/strong><\/p>\n

The world\u2019s first heart transplant was performed by Dr Chris Barnard in Cape Town on 3 December 1967. The patient Louis Washkansky was suffering heart failure at the time and Dr Barnard took the chance to operate him. After that, Barnard became an international celebrity. He went on to perform\u00a0more than\u00a010 other heart transplants, with one of the recipients surviving a further 23 years.<\/p>\n

2) The Kreepy Krauly<\/strong><\/p>\n

The famous swimming pool vacuum cleaner was invented by Ferdinand Chauvier from Springs. Chauvier tried to figure out a way to take the hassle out of pool cleaning. The result was the Kreepy Krauly and the first one was created in 1974. Our dads have been happy ever since.<\/p>\n

3)\u00a0Dolosse<\/strong><\/p>\n

Created by Eric Merrifield, a harbour engineer from East Londeon, Dolosse are large, unusually shaped concrete blocks weighing up to 20 tons. \u00a0They were initially called the “Merrifield block.” \u00a0A Dolos resembles the knucklebones of a sheep and was first placed at the breakwater in the East London harbour. \u00a0The structures are designed to break up wave action and protect harbour walls and coastal installations.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Today the dolos is used in over 100 countries around the world. \u00a0The world\u2019s biggest dolosse have been used to create the 2.5 km long breakwater that protects the new deep water harbour at the Port of Ngqura at Coega, 20km east of Port Elizabeth.<\/p>\n

4) \u00a0Q20<\/strong><\/p>\n

Q20 was invented in 1950 in Pinetown,\u00a0KwaZulu-Natal\u00a0by a Mr\u00a0Robertson, as a\u00a0product to displace water from the distributor caps on the old VW Beetle, which was notorious for stalling in wet weather.\u00a0It was an effective water repellent, kept rust at bay, eased squeaky door hinges, and made it easy to release rusted or seized nuts and bolts.\u00a0Initially he did not know what to call it but he told his neighbour that it certainly had 20 answers to 20 questions.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The secret behind Q20 is that it is heavier than water. Since oil floats on water, simply oiling the area will not resolve the problem. But because Q20 has a specific gravity of 1.154, it can displace water which only has a specific gravity of 1.\u00a0Once Q20 is sprayed on water, it sinks to the bottom, where it acts as a water displacer and lubricant on the problem area.<\/p>\n

Q20 is a solution to many of my problems when hubby is not around to assist.<\/p>\n

5)\u00a0Speed Gun<\/strong><\/p>\n

The South African-made speed gun, developed by Somerset West inventor Henri Johnson, was formally launched at The Oval in England during the 1999 Cricket World Cup.<\/p>\n

This invention could only\u00a0come from a cricket loving country. Henri Johnson invented the Speedball in 1992. The device accurately measures the speed and angles of speeding objects such as cricket and tennis balls. \u00a0It was\u00a0formally launched at The Oval in England during the 1999 Cricket World Cup.<\/p>\n

6) \u00a0Oil from Coal (Sasol)<\/strong><\/p>\n

When the South African government realised that South Africa had\u00a0minimal oil reserves, this led to the South African Coal Oil and Gas Corporation (Sasol). Sasol is the world\u2019s first \u2013 and largest \u2013 oil-from-coal refinery and it provides 40% of the country\u2019s fuel. \u00a0It is situated in Sasolburg.<\/p>\n

Sasol has developed world-leading technology for the conversion of low-grade coal into value-added synfuels and chemicals.<\/p>\n

7) \u00a0CAT\/CT\u00a0Scan<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Computed Axial Tomography Scan or CAT was developed by Cape Town physicist Allan Cormack and his associate Godfrey Hounsfield. He provided the mathematical technique for the CAT scan, in which an X-ray source and electronic detectors are rotated about the body and the resulting data is analysed by a computer to produce a sharp map of the tissues within a cross-section of the body. This resulted in a Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine.<\/p>\n

8) APS Therapy<\/strong><\/p>\n

Grvan Lubbe was the first to develop the technology to electronically stimulate the body\u2019s natural nerve impulses to relieve pain with quick pulses. He created Tech Pulse in 1993, and the devices are sold all over the world. They are used by hundreds of thousands of people to relieve pain every day.<\/p>\n

9) \u00a0Cybertracker <\/strong><\/p>\n

Biologists everywhere rejoiced when physicist Louis Liebenberg and computer scientist Lindsay Steventon created the Cybertracker in 1996. Used to track animals of all shapes and sizes, it uses a satellite navigational system similar to GPS that allows scientists in the comfort of their labs\u00a0to keep tabs on tagged animals.<\/p>\n

10) \u00a0Retinal Cryoprobe <\/strong><\/p>\n

At the Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto, Dr. Selig Percy Amolis introduced his masterwork, the retinal cryoprobe. Used to reattach retinas and for advanced cataract surgery, the model soon became widely used, and Amolis received the 1975 Queen\u2019s Award for Technological Innovation. Margaret Thatcher\u2019s cataracts were treated with the cryoprobe, as were Nelson Mandela\u2019s eyes the day after he became president.<\/p>\n

11) \u00a0Hippo Water Roller <\/strong><\/p>\n

Especially in the developing world, many water-fetchers \u2014 often women and children \u2014 are forced to struggle lugging giant buckets over their heads or by hand. The Hippo Water Roller was invented by Pettie Petzer and Johan Jonker, and they won the 1997 South Africa Design for Development Award for their work. The Hippo Water Roller reduces physical effort and increases the amount of transportable water. The 90-liter drum can carry 90 kilograms (198.4 pounds) of water. It has a steel handle that controls the rolling when the drum is pushed or pulled across rough terrain.<\/p>\n

Photo credit: RotoWorld Magazine<\/p><\/div>\n

12) \u00a0Computerized Ticketing <\/strong><\/p>\n

A high five to Percy Tucker of Benoni. His Computicket is the world\u2019s first complex computerized reservation system for ticket holders. He wanted to find a way to make theater-going easier for fellow South Africans but had never seen a computer in his life. Minor problem. Tucker\u2019s vision went national in 1971, then soon after international.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

This is pretty cool stuff for a country at the Southern tip of Africa!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Despite living at the southern tip of Africa we have some really inspiring inventions: 1) The first human heart Transplant The world\u2019s first heart transplant was performed by Dr Chris Barnard in Cape Town on 3 December 1967. The patient Louis Washkansky was suffering heart failure at the time and Dr Barnard took the chance to operate him. After that, Barnard became an international celebrity. He went on to perform\u00a0more than\u00a010 other heart transplants, with one of the recipients surviving a further 23 years. 2) The Kreepy Krauly The famous swimming pool vacuum cleaner was invented by Ferdinand Chauvier from Springs. Chauvier tried to figure out a way to take the hassle out of pool cleaning. The result was the Kreepy Krauly and the first one was created in 1974. Our dads have been happy ever since. 3)\u00a0Dolosse Created by Eric Merrifield, a harbour engineer from East Londeon, Dolosse are… Read more ><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2179,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":"","_disable_autopaging":false},"yoast_head":"\nPretty Cool Inventions - TRAVELBUCKET<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/travelbucket.co.za\/some-pretty-cool-inventions\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Pretty Cool Inventions - TRAVELBUCKET\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Despite living at the southern tip of Africa we have some really inspiring inventions: 1) The first human heart Transplant The world\u2019s first heart transplant was performed by Dr Chris Barnard in Cape Town on 3 December 1967. 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