List of South African inventions and discoveries

18th Century
  • 1743 Jukskei is a folksport originating from the Cape and is thought to be the forerunner of the American game Horseshoes.
  • 1772 Rooibos tea is recorded by naturalist Carl Thunberg, who noted that "the country people made tea" from a plant related to rooibos or redbush which reignited popular interest in the tea. Khoisan people of the Cederberg region had made the tea for hundreds of years prior.[1]

19th Century
  • 1787-1828 The iklwa, a shorter style of spear, was popularized under the rule of Shaka Zulu.

Twentieth century

1900-1930
  • 1925 Pinotage is South Africas signature variety wine grape and was bred from a cross between Pinot noir and Cinsaut grapes.

1930-1960
The prototype CT scanner
Dolosse - Cape Town, South Africa

1960-1980

1980-2000
  • 1980 The Casspir, a mine-resistant military personnel vehicle, is produced.
  • 1981 Mark Gillman and Fred Lichtigfeld uncovered a new biological principal between 1981-83 i.e. that gases can act as neurotransmitters[8][9][10][11][12][13][14]. This discovery was confirmed as a biological principle at Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, USA) almost a decade later.[15] Discoveries of a new neurotransmitter class have previously been rewarded with a Noble Prize e.g. Dale and Loewi (1936) and Furchgott, Ignarro and Murad (1998).[16]
  • 1984 Development began on the Denel Rooivalk, the first military attack helicopter capable of making a 360 degree loop, a feat previously seen as impossible.
  • 1989 The flightscope was invented by Henri Johnson. [17] It is a radar system used by professional golfers for analysing recorde trajectory, their launch angle, speed and direction.
  • 1991 The Action Potential Stimulation (APS) Therapy device was invented by Gervan Lubbe. It consists of adhesive electrodes and is used to treat sports injuries and chronic pain conditions.[18][19]
  • 1992 Speed Gun[2], a device that measures the speed of cricket balls, was invented by Henri Johnson[20] from Somerset West and used in the 1999 Cricket World Cup.[18] Johnson also invented the Speedball (invention)[18] that measures the speed and angle of objects; it is used in various sporting tournaments.[18]
  • 1995 The Shark Shield, a portable electronic device that emits an electromagnetic field, was invented. It is used in scuba diving, spearfishing, ocean kayak fishing, and surfing to repel sharks.
  • 1995 Thawte Consulting was founded by Mark Shuttleworth. It is a certificate authority (CA) for X.509 certificates.
  • 1996 Vodacom became the first network to introduce prepay mobile phones under the 'Vodago' package, using an 'Intelligent Network' platform. This made it possible to debit customers’ accounts in real time,[21] and led to a dramatic increase in use.[22]
  • 1997 CyberTracker was developed by the non-profit CyberTracker Conservation. It allows illiterate animal trackers to record environmental data.
  • 1997 The hippo water roller was invented. It is a device for carrying water more easily and efficiently than traditional methods, particularly in the developing world. It consists of a barrel-shaped container which holds the water and can roll along the ground, and a handle attached to the axis of the barrel.
  • 1998 Charl Fourie designed the Blaster (flamethrower) to provide defense against carjackings.
  • 1999

21st century
  • 2001 Ken Hall designed the Cobb grill, a charcoal briquette stove as a safer alternative to the paraffin stoves that cause many home fires in rural areas of South Africa. The grill was featured in the Time Magazine's best inventions of the year in 2001.[26]
  • 2001 Engineer Graeme Wells created the oil-can guitar.[6]
  • 2004 Ubuntu (operating system) was first released by entrepreneur Mark Shuttleworth.
  • 2005 Prof Mulalo Doyoyo invented the "cementless concrete" Cenocell.
  • 2008 The freeplay fetal heart rate monitor was invented. It is a hand-crank powered diagnostic device.[27][28]
  • 2013 Amoriguard, a paint whose fillers are based on recycled industrial waste is invented by Prof Mulalo Doyoyo.
  • 2013 Dr Sandile Ngcobo invented the world first Digital Laser (Ngcobo, S., Litvin, I., Burger, L. et al. A digital laser for on-demand laser modes. Nat Commun 4, 2289 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms3289).
  • 2019 Prof Mashudu Tshifularo becomes the first to transplant 3D-printed bones for reconstructive middle ear implants on 3 March 2019, at the Steve Biko Academic Hospital.

References
  1. "History of Rooibos Tea - RooibosTea.com". www.rooibostea.com.
  2. "10 pretty cool inventions you may not have known come from South Africa". 12 July 2013.
  3. "TRITON-LEO GROUP (PTY) LTD, TRITON LEO HOUSE, 15 BRONSSINGEL, GAUTENG INDUSTRIAL PARK, CLAYVILLE EXT 33, OLIFANTSFONTEIN, 1666, P.O. BOX 459, ISANDO 1600, REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA.Telephone: +27 11 452-7048 Fax: +27 11 452-8457". www.tritonleo.co.za.
  4. Coxon D. "Pantograph Testing in South Africa in 1980". Testing Trains. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
  5. "Company Overview of Computicket (Pty) Ltd". Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
  6. Mikva K (9 February 2017). "17 Things You Didn't Know Were Invented By South Africans". Moguldom. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
  7. "About Us". Kreepykrauly.co.za. Retrieved 2018-08-10.
  8. Gillman, MA; Lichtigfeld, F.J. (1981). "A comparison of the effect of morphine sulphate and nitrous oxide analgesia on chronic pain states in man". J Neurol Sci. 45 (1): 41–45. doi:10.1016/0022-510X(81)90186-6. PMID 7205318.
  9. Gillman, MA; Lichtigfeld, FJ. (1981). "The similarity of the action of nitrous oxide and morphine". Pain. 10 (1): 110. doi:10.1016/0304-3959(81)90054-3. PMID 7232008.
  10. Daras, C; Cantrill, R; Gillman, MA (1983). "(3H)Naloxone displacement: evidence for nitrous oxide as opioid receptor agonist". Eur J Pharmacol. 89 (1–2): 177–178. doi:10.1016/0014-2999(83)90626-X. PMID 6305684.
  11. Ori, C.; Ford-Rice, F; London, E.D. (1989). "Effects of nitrous oxide and halothane on mu and kappa opioid receptors in guinea-pig brain". Anesthesiology. 70 (3): 541–544. doi:10.1097/00000542-198903000-00027. PMID 2564264.
  12. Gillman, MA. (1992). "Nitrous oxide as neurotransmitter". Lancet. 339 (8788): 307. doi:10.1016/0140-6736(92)91379-M. PMID 1346310.
  13. Gillman MA. (1992). "Nitrous oxide, Nitric oxide and neurotransmission". Brit Med J. 305 (6865): 1368. doi:10.1136/bmj.305.6865.1368-d. PMC 1883890.
  14. Gillman MA; Lichtigfeld, FJ (1994). "NO comments". Nature. 367 (6458): 28. Bibcode:1994Natur.367...28G. doi:10.1038/367028a0. PMID 8107770.
  15. Bredt, DS; Hwang, PM; Snyder, SH. (1990). "Localization of nitric oxide synthase indicating a neuronal role for nitric oxide". Nature. 347 (6295): 768–770. Bibcode:1990Natur.347..768B. doi:10.1038/347768a0. PMID 1700301.
  16. Anoymous. "All Nobel Laureates in Physiology or Medicine". Retrieved 17 February 2017.
  17. FlightScope. "About Us – FlightScope, 3D Ball Tracking Monitor Manufacturers".
  18. "Classic Inventions - Inspirations - SABLE Accelerator Network". www.sablenetwork.com.
  19. Mikva K (9 February 2017). "17 Things You Didn't Know Were Invented By South Africans". Moguldom. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
  20. "Eish!". www.southafrica.net.
  21. MyBroadband (2014) 'Great South African inventions'
  22. Computer Business Review (2001) 'Mobile stats snapshot'
  23. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-07-01. Retrieved 2016-04-22.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  24. Cabral, Alvin R. (November 1, 2015). "Why you should be open to change". Khaleej Times. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
  25. "The Link-It orbiter system". Security SA.
  26. "Eish!". www.southafrica.net.
  27. "Great South African Inventions - Popular Mechanics". 3 October 2011.
  28. "FREEPLAY FETAL HEART RATE MONITOR - INDEX: Design to Improve Life®". 27 August 2009.
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