Inventions

Inventions

Every single day you use things that were invented in Scotland. Others you may use less often, but they are still an important part of the modern world. For such a small country, Scotland has produced a huge number of important inventions.

Alexander Cumming was a Scottish watchmaker, organ builder and mechanic. In 1775 he patented the world’s first flushing toilet, maybe not such a glamorous invention, but a very useful one.

James Chalmers invented something much smaller, but what he invented travels all over the world. First it travelled by horse, then by train and lorries and now by plane. What was it? The postage stamp.

Have you heard the saying “Necessity is the mother of invention”? Necessity means having to do something. Perhaps that was the case in Scotland. For a long period in history it was quite a poor country. On the other hand, some people joke that the Scots are good inventors because of the weather. It rains a lot in Scotland, so people have to do something when they are indoors so as not to get bored!

Becoming a successful inventor is not easy. Making money from your inventions is actually quite difficult, but a lucky few become multimillionaires! Perhaps you could invent something. The first step is to have a good idea. Now how do you do that?