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About 320 million people believe Ford invented the automobile. They are wrong but I don't blame them because it's what their history books say. The Germans(Benz) invented the automobile indeed.
The WWW is what made the internet what it is today, Tim Berners-Lee deserves credit for that. He is a Brit working in Switzerland at the time.
Quote:
Originally Posted by LINative
Umm, you know this HOW??? You must have had a lot of time on your hands talking to that many people.
And its not what is written in American history books.
Henry Ford did not invent the automobile, he is known for looking for ways to bring the costs down so that middle class people could afford to buy a automobile. And he believed that his workers should be paid enough to buy the cars they make.
Quote:
Originally Posted by drro
So, you're telling me American history books are completely honest and correctly state the Germans invented the automobile and did most other significant scientific and engineering discoveries together with the British? Then where does the notion of 'American exceptionalism' and the 'America is the best' propaganda originate from if everything significant has been discovered abroad?
That's not what I am asking. How do you what 320 million people are thinking? And what they learned in school?
I am one of those people and you certainly do not speak for me.
Don't know if any textbooks are online, probably, but a quick Google shows all the sites clearly saying Ford invented the first MOVING assembly line, not the car.
Whether the delve into who actually invented the car is a good question. Sometime omitting something, is as bad as claiming something.
I've heard educated Americans make claims like that too. In their defense, those were people from the Southern states.
According to wikipedia, admittedly not a very good source, the assembly line has been invented in Britain: 'Probably the earliest industrial example of a linear and continuous assembly process is the Portsmouth Block Mills'. The general consensus is that Benz, a German, invented the automobile.
Air balloons. I always thought it was a western thing.. but air balloons were invented in China, and was traditionally a way for people to communicate with one another from long-distance attached with a letter.
I was pretty sure that Milka chocolate was from Austria. Probably because of the heavy advertising in winter sports. No really an invention, but yeah...
Thought that Fanta is an American soft drink, but apparently it's from Germany.
Other than that, most of our inventions are kinda disputed because of the collapse of the empire. Let's take Nikola Tesla as an example: Son of Serbian Orthodox parents, born in the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia/Croatian Military Frontier, which used to be part of Austria-Hungary, or more specifically, the Hungarian Kingdom. Also, he emigrated and became a US citizen. Same thing with Gregor Mendel, Ignaz Semmelweis, Ferdinand Porsche, Josef Ressel, ...
I've heard educated Americans make claims like that too. In their defense, those were people from the Southern states.
According to wikipedia, admittedly not a very good source, the assembly line has been invented in Britain: 'Probably the earliest industrial example of a linear and continuous assembly process is the Portsmouth Block Mills'. The general consensus is that Benz, a German, invented the automobile.
There is educated, then there is educated. Holding a degree and having a profession, doesn't always mean the person is educated about the world.
By educated, I didn't mean formally educated, but a person who is intelligent enough to question things that are told them.
I have many American friends and none of them are like the ones you are describing. I have met some like the ones you describe, but for some reason, they never become friends
As for the assembly line, a distinction was made between a moving assembly line and a static one. The link you fave says about Ford "perfected the assembly line by installing driven conveyor belts that could produce a Model T in ninety-three minutes.[9]"
So Ford using conveyor belts, seems to have created a certain model of a moving assembly line, that is still I believe, used today. A debatable point I suppose.
There is educated, then there is educated. Holding a degree and having a profession, doesn't always mean the person is educated about the world.
That's what I meant when I said 'In their defense, those were people from the Southern states'.
Now we now about all the things Americans didn't invent but thought they invented, I wonder if there are any significant things they actually did invent. (Other than doubtful things like the microwave, which just made eating unhealthy food easier).
That's what I meant when I said 'In their defense, those were people from the Southern states'.
Now we now about all the things Americans didn't invent but thought they invented, I wonder if there are any significant things they actually did invent. (Other than doubtful things like the microwave, which just made eating unhealthy food easier).
I know you mostly talk about the United States but i thought it would be cool to talk about British inventions.
That's what I meant when I said 'In their defense, those were people from the Southern states'.
Now we now about all the things Americans didn't invent but thought they invented, I wonder if there are any significant things they actually did invent. (Other than doubtful things like the microwave, which just made eating unhealthy food easier).
Would you consider the transistor significant?
Also, I wonder who invented passive-aggressive culture bashing. Based on your expertise, I would suggest the Dutch. But as we know from your commentary, those who master something are not necessarily the inventors.
It used to common when I was a kid, to hear that the first airplane flight, was in New Zealand by Richard Pearse, a few months before the Wright Brothers.
It seems that he did achieve some degree of powered flight, but not the important distinction of controlled powered flight.
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