What are some of America's Greatest Contributions to the World?

[stoned]

Grand Canyon is cool,

 

[Dr.Brain]

But this thread is not about what India gave to the world. Seriously, you don't have to rain on our parade. You can start your own thread about how much better India is than the US. Not to be mean; It just seems like you're trying to pick a fight.

Even I am surprised to know that I am not trying to pick up a fight.Carry on with the thread friends.Any thread in praise of any part of Earth is encouraged.

BJ

 

[honestrosewater]

Even I am surprised to know that I am not trying to pick up a fight.Carry on with the thread friends.Any thread in praise of any part of Earth is encouraged.

BJ

Heh, don't I feel like a royal jack***. :shy: Sorry. I don't suppose the peace sign started in the US?

 

[fourier jr]

-- the zucker brothers
-- the coen brothers
-- black holes (courtesy of john wheeler)
-- the moore method
-- 1970 ford boss 429 mustangs

 

[pattylou]

What I value most about having grown up in the US, is that I generally felt that I had opportunities to get as much education as I wanted, and make whatever choices I wanted for myself and my future. I am sure this is the case in many countries, but I know that also in many countries it *isn't* the case, particularly for women.

And I think that I, and the community, both benefit from this opportunity.

 

[wolram]

The US gave us, US people, ok they may be a bit cranky at times, but they
are worthy of serious study.

 

[matthyaouw]

-Soundgarden
-Pearl Jam

Woo, thanks guys.

 

[Smurf]

India gave birth to Mathematics way before US was even discovered dear.

http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/HistTopics/Indian_mathematics.html

Wow, really? That's funny, because I always thought the US was created, not discovered.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

For that matter India has a list of people which can possibly change your thinking about US.US is not all that great , The base of human knowledge was devised by Indians and West built upon it by contributions from thousands of men.

Well, we could reduce this all to the first hominid to draw a symbol in the dirt. So the credit for everything really goes to one hairy ape-guy with a stick.

 

[Smurf]

Well, we could reduce this all to the first hominid to draw a symbol in the dirt. So the credit for everything really goes to one hairy ape-guy with a stick.

Yes but where was he FROM!? That's what really matters

 

[Townsend]

Yes but where was he FROM!? That's what really matters

I think she was from Africa...

But I could be wrong.

 

[wolram]

Gondwana land and it was the first multi national.

 

[eNathan]

wow it was hard for me to come up with something...

1. The Internet
2. Linux
3. Borland Delphi

Ok 'nuf computer stuff, let's see...

4. I don't know...

 

[quantumdude]

wow it was hard for me to come up with something...

Ever drive a car?
Ever fly on an airplane?
Ever talk on the phone?
Ever listen to a record?
Ever use a light bulb?

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Ever had a shot of penicillin or been vaccinated against small pox?

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Not to mention many popular forms of Chinese food...

 

[Evo]

Here is just a sampling of American inventions that affect our everyday life that haven't already been mentioned.

Adhesive tape

electric light bulb

phonograph

microphone

telephone

lasers (Bell Labs)

cellular phones (Bell Labs)

lightning rod

bifocal glasses

frozen tv dinners

white out (correction fluid)

electrophotography(Xerox) (Duplicator that copies graphic matter by the action of light on an electrically charged photoconductive insulating surface in which the latent image is developed with a resinous powder), the process of instant copying.

typewriter - Christopher Sholes invented the typewriter in the year 1868. Along with Samuel W. Soule and Carlos Glidden, Sholes was granted a patent for the typewriter on June 23, 1868

Kevlar

coca cola

root beer

LED - light emitting diode

zippers

 

[Pengwuino]

Oh thank god pepsi isn't a US invention...

 

[Evo]

Oh thank god pepsi isn't a US invention...

Pepsi is also American.

Teflon is also.

sticky (post it) notes

 

[Smurf]

Ever had a shot of penicillin or been vaccinated against small pox?

Scottish and English, actually.

 

[Smurf]

Ever drive a car?
Ever fly on an airplane?
Ever talk on the phone?
Ever listen to a record?
Ever use a light bulb?

We've already had all of those, except car, that's a german invention.
http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blbenz.htm

 

[stoned]

Ever drive a car?
Ever fly on an airplane?
Ever talk on the phone?
Ever listen to a record?
Ever use a light bulb?

First automobile was invented in Germany by Daimler-Benz in 1885, not by Ford.

 

[loseyourname]

The motion picture was a pretty good one. Even Hollywood films, for a long time, were paragons of artistic achievement. You can even argue they were the first cultural artifact to reach a global audience, allowing peoples who would otherwise know nothing about each other a skewed and stereotyped view of one another.

The skyscraper is one that is very underrated, too. Steel-framed high-rises have allowed cities to expand upward rather than outward, checking the sprawl that threatens to destroy the ecosystems surrounding major metropolitan areas.

 

[fourier jr]

Well, we could reduce this all to the first hominid to draw a symbol in the dirt. So the credit for everything really goes to one hairy ape-guy with a stick.

well there's a cave somewhere with a 50,000 year old rectangle etched into the rock; that's the first known instance of math in world history. can't remember where that is though. i would give that person(?) all the credit there. how many rectangles are there in nature?

 

[Smurf]

The motion picture was a pretty good one. Even Hollywood films, for a long time, were paragons of artistic achievement. You can even argue they were the first cultural artifact to reach a global audience, allowing peoples who would otherwise know nothing about each other a skewed and stereotyped view of one another.

I thought the motion picture camera was credited to Louis Lumiere, a frenchman.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Lumiere

The skyscraper is one that is very underrated, too. Steel-framed high-rises have allowed cities to expand upward rather than outward, checking the sprawl that threatens to destroy the ecosystems surrounding major metropolitan areas.

That's interesting, but how do you credit skyscraper's to someone? Buildings have been getting higher since someone first put branches and leaves over a pair of bamboo sticks.

 

[Smurf]

Well no one's mentioned it yet. So... Google bombing

(I just thought of a really good way to do this)

 

[Mk]

AOL, Viagra, Green Day, iPods, Windows OS, Mac OS X, Repeating rifles, Alternating Current, Kevlar, The plastic bottles that pepsi and coke comes in, Mylar, Panama Canal, Atomic bomb, Television, Baking Powder, Grits, Tacos, Tortillas, Chocolate chip cookies, Pudding for the lactose intolerent, Several kinds of nuclear reactors...

I'm thinking the list goes on and on. Of course the British did invent every other kind of pudding...

 

[Mattius_]

A chance...

Thanks America!

 

[Townsend]

A chance...

Thanks America!

A Husker fan I presume...

 

[Mattius_]

I am majoring in philosophy at University of Nebraska at Lincoln, and I am at almost every home football game.

 

[Townsend]

and I am at almost every home football game.

I would have never guessed...

 

[lwymarie]

Putting humans on the moon.

But the photo is said to be fake...

 

[Townsend]

But the photo is said to be fake...

that's good, oh...stop it...no seriously...stop it...

you are kidding...right?

 

[lwymarie]

that's good, oh...stop it...no seriously...stop it...

you are kidding...right?

There are tons of essays in the Net saying that the photo is fake. See the photo clearly and you will find many things impossible.

 

[Townsend]

There are tons of essays in the Net saying that the photo is fake. See the photo clearly and you will find many things impossible.

And the video...is that fake too then?

 

[quantumdude]

We've already had all of those, except car, that's a german invention.
http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blbenz.htm

OK, I was wrong about that. So let me replace it with a truly American invention.

PHYSICS FORUMS

All you lot have the US to thank for that.

 

[DeathKnight]

There are tons of essays in the Net saying that the photo is fake. See the photo clearly and you will find many things impossible.

Yeah, I've seen the photos. I've even watched a television documentary on it. I just hate the people who say humans didn’t land on moon. They say there are a lot of lighting anomalies which prove that the photos are fake. My brother was with me and I showed him that everything was possible. As for the waving flag: If NASA did fake the landing, couldn’t they remove that waving flag thing by shooting the whole “SCENE” again?
As for the radiation issues, they say that since moon has no atmosphere the astronauts would have been extremely vulnerable to the radiation. When astronauts work on the international space station, I don’t see them getting fried by the intense radiation.
That’s absurd.
I’m sorry for this completely off-topic post and also for my extremely bad English I know I suck at it.

 

[matthyaouw]

Guys, take a trip over to Skepticism and Debunking. The issue has already been discussed to death.

 

[Evo]

Bubblegum was invented in America.

The microwave oven was invented in America.

So were -

potato chips

cotton candy

peanut butter

popsicles

ice cream cones

popcorn

hot dogs

sliced bread

petroleum jelly (vaseline)

cotton swabs (q-tips)

underarm deodorant

 

[arildno]

Inventions from Norway:
Trolls&fjords

 

[brewnog]

Inventions from Scotland:

- Irn Bru
- Tunnocks Caramel Wafers

 

[arildno]

Inventions from Scotland:

- Irn Bru
- Tunnocks Caramel Wafers

And the kilt! Don't forget about the kilt!

 

[zanazzi78]

And the kilt! Don't forget about the kilt!

Think Scotland ... think Bagpipes

 

[Evo]

Inventions from Scotland:

- Irn Bru
- Tunnocks Caramel Wafers

I thought that said "camel wafers". Of course they eat haggis...

 

[wolram]

If chili dogs are a us invention, thank you uncle sam.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Many from the central US will tell you that little hamburgers called "Sliders" are the greatest contribution of all.

 

[arildno]

Think Scotland ... think Bagpipes

Several pipes attached to the same sac??
That's freakish, IMO.

 

[loseyourname]

I thought the motion picture camera was credited to Louis Lumiere, a frenchman.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Lumiere

I wasn't talking about the camera, but rather the feature-length film. Even if you just want to talk about the technology itself, though, Edison invented the kinetoscope, which was the type of camera/projector actually used by the motion picture industry, and he was the first to synch film with sound, creating the talking motion picture.

That's interesting, but how do you credit skyscraper's to someone? Buildings have been getting higher since someone first put branches and leaves over a pair of bamboo sticks.

The true skyscraper was not possible until steel-framed buildings were introduced. The first ever was in Chicago, and the subsequent race between Chicago and New York to see who could build the most skyscrapers essentially created the modern vertical city.

 

[wolram]

Many from the central US will tell you that little hamburgers called "Sliders" are the greatest contribution of all.

What is in a," slider", that makes it so good?

 

[Townsend]

What is in a," slider", that makes it so good?

Onions...meat with five little holes and a bun. Basic...I don't know about good. I guess if you want a hamburger they are ok. I would take IN N OUT over While Castle any day.