YOU WOULDN'T EXPECT INVENTIONS FROM THESE COUNTRIES

AEROSOL SPRAY (NORWAY)

While the idea allegedly goes pretty far back, the first modern

aerosol can was created in 1926 by Erik Rotheim, a Norwegian

chemical engineer.

MOLOTOV COCKTAILS (FINLAND)

Who would’ve thought that the peace loving Fins would have come

up with the poor man’s grenade? Well, the Soviet Union learned

this lesson the hard way when they tried to invade in 1939.

DYNAMITE (SWEDEN, GERMANY)

It seems as though the Nordic countries are a bit more

violent than is commonly thought. Alfred Nobel, the

famous Swedish engineer actually invented dynamite

in Germany in 1867.

COLOUR TELEVISION (SCOTLAND)

Scottish inventor John Baird made the world’s first colour

transmission on July 3, 1928.

FIRE FIGHTING FOAM (RUSSIA)

It took a while but we finally found something that Russia is not

stereotypically known for like shooting, bombing, tanks,

fighter planes, or destructive machinery in general. Fire-fighting

foam was invented by Russian engineer and chemist

Aleksandr Loran in 1902.

SPEED ENFORCEMENT CAMERA (NETHERLANDS)

Next time you get a speeding ticket you can thank Dutch company

Gatsometer BV for supplying your friendly neighbourhood

police department with the most frustrating piece of gadgetry

ever created.

HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP (JAPAN)

You thought it was the United States right? Well similar to Russia,

it took us a while to find something that wasn’t stereotypically

Japanese (i.e. not instant noodles or fast trains) but it’s true,

Japan is responsible for one of the most ubiquitous

sweeteners in the world.

USB FLASH DRIVES (ISRAEL)

Amir Ban, Dov Moran and Oron Ogdan of the Israeli company

M-Systems developed USB flash drives in 1999.