Image via Adobe Stock
12 Incredible inventions to make you feel Proudly South African
We’ve not done all that bad in terms of making waves globally. Check out our list of the most innovative South African inventions.
Image via Adobe Stock
Did you know that it was the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research in South Africa made lithium batteries a reality? How about the CAT scan? Yes, that it is a South African invention too.
It’s a little-known fact but according to the Sable Network, South Africa “is a world leader in everything from cell culturing to microsatellites and the technologies of flight.”
Let’s look at a list of other breakthroughs in science and medicine that South Africans can be proud of. How many were you aware of?
Groundbreaking inventions from South Africa
CAT Scan
One of the most famous inventions to come of out of South Africa has to be the CAT scan or Computed Axial Tomography Scan. It was created by physicists Allan Cormack and Godfrey Hounsfield in 1972.
An X-ray source and electronic detectors rotate around the patient’s body and collect all the data needed to produce a cross-section of the body.
Oil from Coal (Sasol)
Sasol – previously know as the South African Gas Distribution Company – was founded in 1950 when the government realised that our country had oil reserves.
To this day, Sasol remains the world’s first and largest oil-from-coal refinery and produces approximately 40% of all fuel used in South Africa.
Heart Transplant
Dr Chris Barnard famously performed the world’s first heart transplant in 1967 on Louis Washkansky, who volunteered for the groundbreaking surgery.
The success of the first heart transplant turned Dr Barnard into somewhat of a celebrity on the international scene, and he performed ten more transplants throughout his career.
Transplant of 3D-printed bones
On 3 March 2019, Professor Mashudu Tshifularo became the first person to transplant 3D-printed bones for “reconstructive middle ear implants”, at the Steve Biko Academic Hospital.
Prof Tshifularo, who is the head of the Department of Ear, Nose, and Throat and Head and Neck Surgery at the Otorhinolaryngology Department of the University of Pretoria, developed the echnology during his PhD studies.
The patients who received the reconstructive middle ear implants was a 40-year-old with “accidental trauma damage,” and a 62-year-old with “a middle ear issue and a history of failed interventions”.
Biomedical stem cell technology
The CSIR’s Gene Expression and Biophysics group designed the first induced pluripotent stem cells in Africa, which opened the door for researchers to investigate various diseases and cures.
Stem cells could be used to restore sight or repair cells affected by heart disease, amongst other things. The possibilities are endless and are still being explored.
Kreepy Krauly
South Africa’s most well-known invention is most probably the Kreepy Krauly. It was developed by Ferdinand Chauvier from Springs in the mid-seventies.
Basically a vacuum cleaner for a swimming pool, it collects debris and takes the hassle out of pool cleaning, leaving pool-owners with more time to relax next to the pool instead of cleaning it.
Pratley’s Putty
George Pratley initially wanted to create a type of glue to hold electrical components and inadvertently created something much stronger.
It was developed in the late sixties, and even help sent man to the moon! Pratley’s Putty was famously used by Apollo XI during the Moon Landing to hold bits of the landing craft together. Yep, a South African invention made sure those astronauts returned home safe and sound.
Q20
In 1950, a Mr Robertson from Pinetown, KwaZulu Natal, invented the lubrication we know today as Q20. He was discussing the merits of the spray with his neighbour soon after inventing it, saying that the spray “has 20 answers to 20 questions”.
He did not know how else describe the effective water repellent which not only keeps rust at bay, but also eases squeaky door hinges, and also eases rusted and seized nuts and bolts.
Today, it’s one of South Africa’s most-loved products.
Ubuntu Linux operating system
Back in the early 2000’s Mark Shuttleworth created Ubuntu, and open-source Linux-based operating system. The first version of Ubuntu was released in October 2004, and Shuttle announced the creation of the Ubunut Foundation in July the following yea.
The purpose of the foundation is to “ensure the support and development for all future versions of Ubuntu”. Shuttleworth said the foundation’s goal was to ensure the continuity of the Ubuntu project. Indeed, today I’m writing this article on Ubuntu. Thank you, Mark.
Digital laser
The world’s first digital laser was invented by doctoral candidate, and CSIR researcher, Dr Sandile Nqcobo, and the former minister of Science and Technology cited it as a “testimony to the calibre of scientists that South Africa has.”
The laser is used in the health sector, and its numerous applications could also be used to improve the communication sector.
Retinal Cryoprobe
A new method used in cataract surgery was created at the Baragwanath hospital in Soweto in the mid-seventies by a specialist in retinal diseases, Selig Percy Amoils.
Amoils received the Queen’s Award for Technological Innovation, and his cryoprobe was later displayed at the prestigious Kensington Museum.
Full-body x-ray scanner
The scanner was created by Lodox Systems, a South African company that created the full-body scanner from technology that was initially designed for the security sector – for the detection of stolen diamonds.
The use of the full-body scanner was written into the storyline of Grey’s Anatomy during the show’s ninth season when the Grace Mercy West Hospital installed the scanner in their new ER department.
Smartlock Safety Syringe
The three-piece single-use syringe was specially designed in 1999 by several doctors at the Vaal University of Technology to provide increased protection against needle-stick injury.
In the era of Ebola, Hepatitis and HIV, the safety syringe has saved countless lives..
21st centrury South African inventions:
Bonus round! We already mentioned Professor Mashudu Tshifularo and the first transplant of 3D-printed bones, Mark Shuttleworth’s Ubuntu and Dr Sandile Ngcobo’s Digital Laser further up.
However, are a few more proudly South African inventions from the 21st century.
- Ken Hall designed the Cobb grill in 2001
- Graeme Wells created the oil-can guitar in 2001
- Professor Mulalo Doyoyo invented Cenocell in 2005, a ‘cementless concrete’
- The freeplay fetal heart rate monitor was invented in 2008
- Amoriguard, a pointed created from recycled industrial waste, was invented by Prof Doyoyo in 2013
