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Britain's greatest invention poll

What is Britain's greatest invention?

  • Concrete (if not what the Romans used 2000 years ago)

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • The Fridge

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • The Mobile Phone

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • The Jet Engine

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • The Television

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    12

Infinite Chaos

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BBC2 is going to do a program on Britain's greatest invention - However how can they claim concrete when the pantheon was built in Rome over 2000 years ago?


Take your pick and tell us why -
 
Would be interesting to see how they justify a few of those as being British inventions. Mobile phone, refrigerator, television, antibiotics . . .
 
BBC2 is going to do a program on Britain's greatest invention - However how can they claim concrete when the pantheon was built in Rome over 2000 years ago?


Take your pick and tell us why -

Most of these things you really cant claim one person invented them. Most of these items mentioned were efforts by many people from many countries.
 
BBC2 is going to do a program on Britain's greatest invention - However how can they claim concrete when the pantheon was built in Rome over 2000 years ago?


Take your pick and tell us why -
Yeah, you beat me to it.

I'd proffer that they also have to share the jet engine with Germany even where Whittle and von Ohain worked totally independent of each other (and oblivious to the other's existence). That von Ohain's HE 178 flew nearly two years before Whittle's Gloster E28 takes nothing away from the "sharing", seeing how neither flew very far. By all comparisons that became possible after the war, both were pretty much abreast all the time in design and construction of the engine.

Saw a feature on both of them not so long ago where they were both credited.
 
On the conundrum already sketched in post #3, I'll go with "other" and nominate Tim Berners-Lee for having invented the world wide web (not the internet).

If the fact that he didn't do that in Britain is a hindrance, second (other) choice would be the buggy. Always did like the Spitfire even where the only thing left of it as a reminder in that contraption is the retractable undercarriage.:mrgreen:
 
Yeah, you beat me to it.

I'd proffer that they also have to share the jet engine with Germany even where Whittle and von Ohain worked totally independent of each other (and oblivious to the other's existence). That von Ohain's HE 178 flew nearly two years before Whittle's Gloster E28 takes nothing away from the "sharing", seeing how neither flew very far. By all comparisons that became possible after the war, both were pretty much abreast all the time in design and construction of the engine.

Saw a feature on both of them not so long ago where they were both credited.

Yes, I wondered about a few of the options too - and how they could ignore Sir Tim Berners-Lee for other, more dubious choices.
 
Voted antibiotics but on a second thought should have voted 'other' - football.
 
How they can claim the mobile phone and television is also mindboggling. And no Internet?

It looks a shoddy piece, I looked at the claim for "concrete" and they probably mean "portland cement"

Can't imagine how the mobile phone will turn out to be British?
 
How did they miss Tarmac, or the postage stamp, or the lightbulb?
 
Misleading poll.

The Romans invented concrete, Ancient people were using refrigeration long before with ice boxes, The Greeks had a steam engine in ancient times, the mobile phone was first patented by a Finn and invented by Americans, Greeks and Egyptians were already using antibiotics treating infections, an Italian invented the jet engine, TV was invented by the French.

What did the Brits invent?

Roast beef? Nope. That was invented by cave men.

Perhaps wearing silly hats at royal ceremonies.

gES4Ptk.jpg
 
Britains greatest invention is the USA.

Without Britain the USA wouldn't exist.

:lol:
 
Misleading poll.

The Romans invented concrete, Ancient people were using refrigeration long before with ice boxes, The Greeks had a steam engine in ancient times, the mobile phone was first patented by a Finn and invented by Americans, Greeks and Egyptians were already using antibiotics treating infections, an Italian invented the jet engine, TV was invented by the French.

What did the Brits invent?

Roast beef? Nope. That was invented by cave men.

Perhaps wearing silly hats at royal ceremonies.

gES4Ptk.jpg


The first commercially successful true engine, in that it could generate power and transmit it to a machine, was the atmospheric engine. The ancient Greeks design was very rudimentary, it’s like claiming Da Vinci invented the helicopter based on the fact he drew some pictures. Same with the refrigerator, keeping stuff cool using stone and ice isn’t the same as inventing the refrigerator. An invention which changed the way we eat and drink forever.
Frank Whittle is credited with single-handedly inventing the turbojet engine not the Italians
 
Great Britain s greatest invention led to the modern world. It came about after the Agricultural Revolution, when the landed nobility started throwing peasants off the land and consolidating their holdings for larger farms and industrial purposes. Banks began investing capital, developing factories and large scale farming at a exponential rate. Former serfs got jobs in these factories, and moved to the cities. Increased farming capabilities led to a population boom.

And thus Capitalism was born. Which led to the invention of the second greatest invention known to mankind by men and women seeking new ways to turn a buck. The Research and Development department. Which led to just about everything else.

GB greatest invention is and will always be Capitalism.
 
Misleading poll.

The Romans invented concrete, Ancient people were using refrigeration long before with ice boxes, The Greeks had a steam engine in ancient times, the mobile phone was first patented by a Finn and invented by Americans, Greeks and Egyptians were already using antibiotics treating infections, an Italian invented the jet engine, TV was invented by the French.

What did the Brits invent?

Roast beef? Nope. That was invented by cave men.

Perhaps wearing silly hats at royal ceremonies.

gES4Ptk.jpg

Lord_Buckethead.png
 
Britains greatest invention is the USA.

Without Britain the USA wouldn't exist.

:lol:

I would argue that our Union was influenced more by the Iroquois Nation, than GB. It's why we have things like the Joint Chiefs, and Commander in Chief. Even Congress resembles how the Iroquois met and determined their own laws to live by.

By no means was the Iroquois the only influence, the founding fathers pulled from over a dozen cultures and ideals. But you can't say that GB invented the US, more like pissed us off to the point we invented ourselves.
 
The first commercially successful true engine, in that it could generate power and transmit it to a machine, was the atmospheric engine. The ancient Greeks design was very rudimentary, it’s like claiming Da Vinci invented the helicopter based on the fact he drew some pictures. Same with the refrigerator, keeping stuff cool using stone and ice isn’t the same as inventing the refrigerator. An invention which changed the way we eat and drink forever.
Frank Whittle is credited with single-handedly inventing the turbojet engine not the Italians

The word "invention" means you create something that hasn't been done before. Youre talking more about mass production and working models- so using that description its not an invention at all. The Italian Secondo Campani had already theorized how a jet engine worked and built a jet powered boat in 1932. Whittle didnt get his first engine running until 1937.
 
Threads like this always bring out the 'Green eyed Monster' :lol:
 
The word "invention" means you create something that hasn't been done before. Youre talking more about mass production and working models- so using that description its not an invention at all. The Italian Secondo Campani had already theorized how a jet engine worked and built a jet powered boat in 1932. Whittle didnt get his first engine running until 1937.

Being able to keep things cold doesn’t equate to inventing the fridge. It would be like saying cavemen invented the lightbulb because they were able to fix torches on the walls.
 
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