The Worlds’ Inventor’s day, celebrated on November 9th, has been brought to life to remind us of the inventors of the past, pay respect to the inventors of the present and motivate us to keep discovering ways to move forward.
Inspired and proud to be born and raised in Bulgaria and to now live in Norway, I must point the lights to my favourite inventions, made by masterminds originating from these two countries. Get ready to be blown away!
1. The Cyrillic Alphabet
Used by over 200 millions of people nowadays across Eastern Europe, Russia and even Mongolia, the Cyrillic script was created in the 9th century by Kliment, a student of the Bulgarian brothers Cyril and Methodius, who were the first missionaries to develop and promote an official script used by the people of the First Bulgarian Kingdom.
The name ‘Cyrillic' does not identify a country of origin (in contrast to the ‘Greek alphabet’, for example) and that often leads to confusion among people, who call it ‘the Russian alphabet’, with Russian being the most popular and influential alphabet based on the script.
For those who are interested, I really recommend reading even more about the period of the First Bulgarian Kingdom, as Vikings, led by the Norwegian prince Harald, roamed the Bulgarian lands in the 10th century (!), sadly to support the Byzantine Empire in causing the downfall of the First Bulgarian Kingdom.
2. The air bag
Norwegians love safety measures and I’m happy to announce that they, as everybody else who is using a car, should be thankful to Bulgaria while driving!
Asen Yordanov was a prominent Bulgarian inventor who’s crucial contribution to the teamwork, involved in the creation of the airbag in the 1950s, has changed our lives forever.
3. (Bulgarian) Yogurt
Bulgarians are hugely proud of their yogurt, thanks to scientist Dr. Stamen Girgorov, who in 1905 discovered the bacteria bacillus bulgaricus that turns milk into yogurt. As Bulgaria and surrounding Balkan countries are its natural habitat, people can prepare yogurt at home just by adding a spoon of Bulgarian yogurt to fresh milk.
Back in the time of its’ discovery, the Bulgarian yogurt was the trendiest type of yogurt on the international stage. Today, people tend to fall for greek yogurt and the Icelandic skyr, but if you visit Bulgaria and taste a real home-made yogurt, your life will never be the same! For us Bulgarians, claiming that something else except the Bulgarian product is a yogurt, sounds insulting.
Fun fact is that for some reason the Bulgarian yogurt is extremely popular in Japan, due to its’ healthy superfood qualities and high content of probiotics!
4. Space food
Bulgaria was the third country after the United States and Russia to start producing space foods. They are made by an original technology of cold preservation and vacuum drying of food, developed by academician Tsvetan Tsvetkov in 1972. The method is considered the most advanced conception method ever invented, as 95 % of all nutrients in the food, as it’s original consistency and shape, are preserved despite the temperature. The freeze-dried meals, created to resist harsh conditions are now produced by modern methods known as cryobiotech.
Today space food is expanding its reach, as it is used in expeditions to Antarctica and the Himalayas.
5. The first digital electronic computer
Co-invented by John Atanasov during the 1930s, the machine had huge impact in the world, and now it’s difficult to imagine modern life without computers. John Atanasov was born in US and spent most of his life there, but his father was a Bulgarian immigrant.
1. iPhone’s digital assistant Siri
Co-creator Dag Kittlaus from Norway helped Siri to become the most impressive voice recognition service built into a mobile device. Steve Jobs contacted the group of creators, shortly after they introduced their invention to the world, and offered them 200 million dollars for it! Soon after that, Kittlaus joined Apple to develop his software for the iPhone.
Siri is a Scandinavian name, which combines the symbolism of the words ‘victory’ and ‘beauty’.
2. The cheese slicer
This funny, but handy tool was invented way back in 1925 by Thor Bjørklund and has become a staple in all Scandinavian kitchens, as well as in the Netherlands. The nordic nations consume mainly soft types of cheese, sold as big blocks, and a cheese slicer helps cutting them into thin slices. A cheese slicer is also a great idea for a souvenir after a Scandinavian trip.
3. The aerosol can
Erik Rotheim invented the cans, which are use around the world for spray paint, hairspray, disinfectants, cleaning agencies and a variety of other things. He filed a patent for it back in 1927. It took a long time to perfect the canister, so they didn’t really become popular until much later, but the first aerosol can was made almost 100 years ago.
Biggest fans of the aerosol cans today must be street artists, who create socially engaged and inspirational art all around the world.
4. The slalom
Slalom is a popular winter sport where people are skiing down a hill while going in a zigzag pattern between poles. It’s a very popular sport in Norway, but it has also acclaimed international fame, and is part of the Winter Olympic Games. There are many fans of the sport in Bulgaria too, where the ski resorts often lay on top of a rocky mountain hills.
Slalom is the best example of natural resources put into use, as Norway is home to thousands of hills and welcomes heavy snow falls all winter long.
5. The salmon sushi
Everyone is familiar with Norwegian salmon, with a lot of people consuming it as part of a sushi meal. Surprisingly, salmon sushi is not an original Japanese idea. In 1974, group of Norwegians visited Japan, following a governmental initiative to promote the Norwegian fishing industry and the rest is history…Salmon sushi is one of the best multicultural gastronomic inventions, which reminds us how good a teamwork can be.
There are many more inventions, that could be named, but I’m sure that a lot of people are uncontrollably crying of proudness right now (my Bulgarian friends are 100% listening to the national anthem too), so for their own safety it is on you to discover the rest!