The writing prompts invite postcrossers to write about a different topic on their postcards’ messages every month. These are just suggestions though — if you already know what you want to write about, or the recipient gives you some pointers, that’s great too!
Every country has inventors, talented people who brought something new to the world. Maybe it’s a novel product or an ingenious process, a breakthrough in some field of science… or maybe a cultural invention, like a new musical instrument or a different way to look at things! This month, we’re exploring these inventions and sharing some of our country’s creative heritage with the world.
So, I’ll go first. It’s a hard job to pick one of the Portuguese inventions… but I think one of the earliest ones we’re taught in school is the sea astrolabe.
.png "Sea astrolab")
This is an instrument that was used by sailors to determine their location at sea, based on the altitude of the sun at noon or of a known star at its peak, during the night. By measuring the angle of the star with the horizon, they could calculate the latitude of their ship in the globe, thus getting the information they needed to guide the ships to the right destinations. The oldest Portuguese astrolabe was discovered a few years ago in the wreck site of the ship Esmeralda, which sank in 1503 off the coast of Oman.
What about your country? Which inventions did your fellow citizens bring to the world, and which are you most proud of? Do share these in the postcards you write this month… and also in the comments below, if you can — we’re always curious to learn new things! 😊
46 comments so far
There are 'caipririnha' as well, the famous drink.
And 'havaianas', the flipflop.
All in all, Brazilians enjoy good life and travelings! <3
Cheers!
Hi from Illinois!
I grew up just south of the Illinois/Wisconsin border, and have lots of family all over Wisconsin, so I will always be partial to the state. Even if my husband still teases me about my "Wisconsin Accent" after 28 years of marriage. However, having a sense of humor is part of a good relationship, so I can not complain!
Самый первый в мире мобильный телефон был изобретен советским инженером Куприяновичем в 1957 году.
Первый сверхзвуковой самолёт ТУ-144.
What's probably invented by the Dutch is complaining about the weather. Hot and Sunny?Wish it rained! Rainy? Where is the Sun? Windy? Just when I'm on a bike!? But coming back it's a blessing lots of wind pushes you forwards!
Learned a lot though by this topic. Keep the inventions comming.
I live nearby the Pasteur institute in Lille where professors Calmette and Guérin have work on it.
The appearance of topographic anatomy was a response to the requests of practical surgeons. Unlike descriptive anatomy, which has a long history, topographical anatomy studies nerves and vessels in the way they are presented to the surgeon performing the operation.
The genius of the scientist's idea was to develop a technique for cutting in various planes of a frozen corpse, so that the organs, vessels and nerves kept their natural, undisturbed position. Soon this method became the main one in the study of the topography of the human body. And currently, the training of a doctor is simply unthinkable without studying the topographic anatomy formed due to the efforts of N. I. Pirogov.
The great Russian physiologist and pathologist Ilya Mechnikov is considered the founder of the phagocytic theory of immunity. He proved the existence of special cells in the body that can absorb pathogens. I. I. Mechnikov formulated the main provisions of the new theory in his work "Immunity in infectious diseases"published in 1901.
A little earlier Than I. I. Mechnikov, in 1904, another great Russian scientist, Ivan Pavlov, was awarded the Nobel prize in medicine and physiology. And, although the official wording stated that the award was awarded "for work on the physiology of digestion", the work done allowed I. P. Pavlov to formulate for the first time the principles of higher nervous activity — a set of unconditioned and conditioned reflexes, as well as higher mental functions that provide adequate behavioral responses of animals and humans.
To a modern person, organ transplantation is largely a routine operation. However, we should not forget that the genius of the Russian experimental scientist Vladimir Demikhov was at the origin of Transplantology.
In 1937, while still a third-year student, he designed and implanted an artificial heart in a dog. After the operation, the animal was able to live for two hours. In 1946, he successfully transplanted a second heart to the dog, and later the heart-lung complex, which became a worldwide sensation.
A few years later, for the first time, he replaced the dog's own heart with a donor heart and proved the fundamental possibility of performing a similar operation in humans. And the sensation took place! In 1967, South African surgeon Christian Barnard was the first person in the world to perform a heart transplant. He considered himself a student of V. p. Demikhov and before deciding on surgery, twice came to the teacher for consultations.
Svyatoslav Fedorov, a Russian ophthalmologist, is also known worldwide. In 1962, in collaboration with Valery Zakharov, he created one of the best rigid artificial lenses in the world — the Fedorov-Zakharov lens.
In 1973, S. N. Fedorov first developed and performed an operation to treat glaucoma in the early stages. Soon his method was used all over the world, and in 1994 at the International Congress of ophthalmologists in Canada, he was officially recognized as "the outstanding ophthalmologist of the XX century".
I apologize for writing so much, I really wanted to share it.
Our nickname for that 10ct piece was a dubbeltje.
Enjoy the day! Demaris
cousins Veverka - invention of the revolving pusher, Josef Ressel - invention of the propeller, Alois Senefelder - invention of lithography, Jaroslav Heyrovský - discoverer and founder of polarography, Semtex - the most famous explosive from the Czech Republic, Robot - the most famous Czech word in the world, Jan Janský - classified blood groups , the most important discovery of Czech medicine, the invention of sugar cubes in Dačice, contact lenses - inventor Otto Wichterle, Chlumsky - the most famous disinfectant solution, Prokop Diviš - the invention of lightning rods, Prague Clementinum - the oldest meteorological records in Europe, Johann Gregor Mendel - the most important geneticist
Association football and the concentration camp. Sorry.
↑ Back to top ↑