Inventions have profoundly impacted our daily lives, transforming the way we live, work, and interact with the world around us. Here are some key areas where Scottish inventions have made a significant difference as given in a talk by Catherine Johnstone on 15th January 2025
Scottish Inventors Have Always Made a Mark
Even before the Industrial Revolution Scots were at the forefront of innovation and discovery across a wide range of spheres. The Scottish Enlightenment occurred between the 18th and 19th centuries with many scientific accomplishments in various fields mainly due to Scotland’s five universities and numerous parish schools. It may be haggis, bagpipes and the kilt that people associate with Scotland’s contribution to daily life but Scots’ inventiveness has been responsible for some rather more essential and functional items too.
No, the Scots did not invent the dishwasher, the deep freeze or the breakfast cereal. They did however; invent the process for water softening, the principle of refrigeration and oatmeal porridge. Indeed, one of the most civilising features of households worldwide bears the trademark of an innovative Scottish sanitary engineer. Though the ancient Neolithic site Skara Brae on the Orkney Islands shows evidence of an early type of a flushing toilet it wasn’t until 1755 Scottish mechanic Alexander Cumming patented the S-bend. This became the missing ingredient to create the more fragrant flushing toilet we know now.
How would the busy cook thicken their sauce without cornflour, first produced in Paisley in 1854 by John Polson? How would the British family swallow their toast without marmalade developed by James Keiller, a Dundee merchant? Or the American sightseers manage stagecoach travel without their macintosh?
The early American visitor may have arrived on a cruise, and affixed a stamp to send their postcards back home. The cruise, the stamp and the postcard were all available courtesy of Messrs. Anderson, Chalmers and MacDonald. Shetlander Arthur Anderson was instrumental in founding the Peninsula and Oriental Steam Navigation Company now P&O. The first adhesive postage stamp was printed by James Chalmers at his works in Dundee in 1834 and Anderson provided the images for the early postcards.
The weary traveller may sit down for a glass of what they think of as their national soft drink Coca Cola, but what turns out to be half Scottish in inspiration. Remember Scotch Kola, today still based on the recipe from the nuts and leaves of the African cola tree as it was when first recorded in 1879 by an American trader. Or they may fancy something stronger, a whisky lengthened with some Canada Dry, or a vodka and lime. Both mixers also came from Scotland. In the 1860s Lachlan Rose from a Leith family business in ship repair and chandlery supplies took the rum out of the sailors’ anti scurvy ration of lime and developed a range of fruit juices and cordials such as Lime cordial and Ginger Brandy merging with Schweppes in 1957.
As they leave their finger prints on the glass; another Scot has ensured that their identity is left too. In a letter to “Nature” published on the 28th Oct 1880. Beith born Henry Faulds wrote “When bloody finger marks or impressions on clay, glass, etc. exist they may lead to the scientific investigation of criminals.
Scotland has given rise to many important inventions:
Electric Clock, Television, Refrigeration, Antiseptic, Chloroform, General Anaesthetic, Hypodermic, Ultrasound, MRI Scanner, Glasgow Coma Scale, Betablockers and of course Dolly the Sheep to name a few which you may be familiar with.
Looking to the future researchers from Heriot-Watt University unveiled a pioneering 3D printing technique for stem cell clusters, potentially accelerating the creation of artificial organs. This offers hope for future transplant ready organs but also provides more accurate tissue models for drug testing and reduces the need for animal trials. In 2024 University of Dundee have further advanced Parkinsons research by uncovering the inner working of a molecular switch that protects the brain against the disease’s development. Thus, showing the potential of Scottish researchers and inventors to continue to make important breakthroughs and contributions to new designs.