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Can-traptions
By Kelly Thoreson
CICK TO ENLARGE
KAVYA JOSEPH
With the ability of the United States to transform Canadian people, ideas, and innovations into American ones, the distinction of what is truly Canadian can often be blurred. For instance, the Wonderbra was actually developed in Canada, but was quickly bought out by an American company. Would you ever have assumed that it was a Canadian invention? Let’s reclaim our nation’s contributions and remind ourselves who is really responsible for some of the world’s greatest inventions.
Bloody Caesar
When: 1969
Who: Walter Chell
The Story: The cocktail was introduced with the opening of a new restaurant in Calgary, and, since Clamato wasn’t a widespread commodity yet, it was made with tomato juice and mashed clams.
Why you might not believe that it’s Canadian: The Bloody Mary is almost exactly the same as the Caesar — except that the Bloody Mary is made with tomato juice instead of Clamato juice (whose main ingredient is still tomato).
Why you might not believe that it’s Canadian: Caesars are relatively unknown outside of Canada. (Try ordering one across the border. You’ll receive nothing more than confused stares.) Once the world discovers this drink, they will wonder why they’ve been drinking Bloody Marys this whole time.
Telephone
When: 1876
Who: Alexander Graham Bell
The Story: As telegraph communication was becoming more popular, it became expensive to keep up with its demand. Instead of investing in more telegraph lines, companies like Western Union enlisted inventors such as Thomas Edison and Elisha Gray to develop a method of transmitting multiple messages. From this grew the race to develop the telephone.
Why you might not believe that it’s Canadian: First of all, Bell was born in Scotland and had his lab in the United States. The patent for the telephone is even an American document. Also, various developments of the telephone had already been underway for some time. In fact, inventor Elisha Gray handed in the paperwork for a patent of the telephone on the exact same day as Alexander Graham Bell — which, needless to say, caused several legal controversies.
Why you might not believe that it’s Canadian: Bell’s home was in Canada, and he would often experiment there as well as in his lab in the States. Plus, if it’s Canadian, we get some serious bragging rights. And as far as the controversy with Elisha Gray is concerned: the courts decided that Bell was legally entitled to his patent. Sorry, Gray.
Ginger ale
When: 1904
Who: John McLaughlin
The Story: McLaughlin, a chemist and pharmacist, owned a soda water bottling plant and began experimenting with different flavours. Through this experimentation came the brand Canada Dry Ginger Ale.
Why you might not believe that it’s Canadian: There’s a difference between dry and golden ginger ale, and Canada is only credited with the dry variety — and the Irish apparently even have some disputes with us over that.
Why you might not believe that it’s Canadian: Canada Dry Ginger Ale. Think about it.
Chocolate bar
When: 1910
Who: Arthur Ganong and George Ensor
The Story: Located in a fishing town in New Brunswick, Ganong Brothers Ltd. wished to develop a tasty and affordable snack for their fishermen friends.
Why you might not believe that it’s Canadian: Chocolate has been around for a long time (like, really long). Also, the British company Joseph Fry & Son technically invented the modern chocolate bar in 1847.
Why you might not believe that it’s Canadian: Ganong Brothers Ltd. created the first nickel chocolate bar. Willy Wonka’s got nothing on us.
Processed cheese
When: 1916
Who: J.L. Kraft
The Story: Growing up on a dairy farm in Ontario, Kraft was always concerned with the wastefulness of cheese. Shopkeepers would consistently be required to shave off and dispose of the dried portions of the wheels of cheese in order to provide the customer with the freshest cheese possible. In an effort to increase profits and minimize waste, Kraft set about inventing a cheese with a longer shelf life.
Why you might not believe that it’s Canadian: Kraft, although Canadian, actually developed processed cheese while living in Chicago.
Why you might not believe that it’s Canadian: Only a true penny-pinching Canadian would be worried enough about wasting cheese in order to develop a cheese that could never expire.
Five-pin bowling When: 1908
Who: Thomas F. Ryan
The Story: Customers complained at his bowling club in Toronto that 10-pin bowling was simply too difficult, so Thomas F. Ryan cut down the size of the pins and gave his whining bowlers smaller balls made of hard rubber to play with.
Why you might not believe that it’s Canadian: 10-pin bowling came first. Really, what’s the difference?
Why you might not believe that it’s Canadian: It is literally played only in Canada. Apparently 10-pin was just too tough for us.
Zipper
When: 1913
Who: Gideon Sundback
The Story: The development of the zipper began with an “automatic, continuous clothing closure,” and next came the “clasp locker” — both relatively shoddy in design. Finally, Sundback invented the “Hookless Fastener No. 2,” which we now refer to as the zipper.
Why you might not believe that it’s Canadian: Sundback was born in Sweden and was an American citizen.
Why you might not believe that it’s Canadian: Despite never being a resident or citizen of Canada, we still claim that the zipper is a Canadian invention because one of Sundback’s early factories that manufactured the zipper was located in Canada. It seems like we really conned ourselves into this claim.
Perhaps it isn’t always as obvious as poutine being invented in Quebec, but these Canadian inventions are all something to beam about — even five-pin bowling. (Grandma can join the fun too!) Other, less controversial, Canadian innovations include standard time and insulin treatment, as well as the Canadarm, electric wheelchairs, goalie masks, and instant mashed potatoes. ●