9 Inventions you didn’t know were invented by Saffas
26th September 2017
Kreepy Krauly
The swimming pool vacuum cleaner was an invention by Ferdinand Chauvier from Springs. Chauvier tried to figure out a way to take the hassle out of pool cleaning. The result was the Kreepy Krauly and the first one was created in 1974. Our dads have been happy ever since.
Heart Transplant
The world’s first heart transplant was performed by Dr Chris Barnard in Cape Town on 3 December 1967. The patient Louis Washkansky was suffering heart failure at the time and Dr Barnard took the chance to operate him. After that, Barnard became an international celebrity. He went on to perform more than 10 other heart transplants, with one of the recipients surviving a further 23 years.
South Africa’s signature variety wine grape, Pinotage, officially came into existence in 1925. Originally a cross between Pinot noir and Cinsaut grapes.
CT/CAT Scans
CT and CAT scans are incredibly important medical imaging processes that use X-rays to take detailed pictures of the body, aiding doctors enormously in diagnosing and treating patients. This technological invention by Godfrey Hounsfield and Allan McLeod Cormack, came around in the late 1970s.
Computerized Ticketing
1970’s Computerized ticketing; Percy Tucker of Benoni founded Computicket the world’s first computerized ticketing system which went national in 1971. His Computicket is the world’s first complex computerized reservation system for ticket holders. He wanted to find a way to make theater-going easier for fellow South Africans
PayPal
We can thank Pretorian Elon Musk for being the co-founder of PayPal for inventing this genius way of shopping online.
Shark Shield
Shark Shield was invented in 1995, it’s a portable electronic device that emits an electromagnetic field and is used by scuba divers, spearfishing, ocean kayak fishing and surfers to repel sharks.
Flamethrower
Originally, called a ‘Blaster’, Charl Fourie designed the flamethrower to provide a defense against carjackings!
Cobb grill
In 2001, Ken Hall based his design on the paraffin stove in many rural areas of South Africa, the grill was featured in the TIME magazines best inventions of the year for 2001.
Liked this? Check out our other post 7 celebrities you didn’t realize are South Africans!