16 things you thought were invented in the US — but weren't

Zoë MillerApr 19, 2020, 21:24 IST

Denim was invented in France.Easton Oliver/Unsplash

Food items and technological innovations that you thought were invented in the US might actually have roots overseas.
Some inventions, such as the television and light bulb, were perfected in the US, but first developed elsewhere.
Other things, like hot dogs and blue jeans, were popularized in the US by European immigrants.
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The US is known as the land of opportunity, but some innovations that you thought were quintessentially American were first developed elsewhere, and often introduced to American consumers by immigrants.

From apple pie to the first automobile, here are 16 things that may not be as American as you thought.

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When you order a decaf cup of coffee at a diner or café, you have a German coffee merchant to thank.

It may be an icon of American journalism, but the notepad is an Aussie innovation.

The aerosol can was invented in Norway.

On a related note, an Englishman — not Edison — was the first person to create a light bulb.

Although Thomas Edison used X-ray technology in some of his inventions, X-ray photography was invented in Germany.

The electric battery was invented in 19th-century Italy.

Margaret Sanger founded the birth control movement in New York City, but the pill itself was invented in a lab in Mexico.

Some of the earliest experiments that led to the creation of television took place in Russia and the UK.

The first automobile was invented in Germany.

Peanut butter has its origins in South America.

Denim was invented in 18th-century France.

Alexander Graham Bell came up with the idea for the telephone in Canada.

Hot dogs were invented in Germany and Austria.

The Wright brothers didn't invent the plane.

America's national anthem is sung to the tune of a British drinking song.

Contrary to the idiom, apple pie isn't American.

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