Something to be proud about
AS WE approach uncertain times politically – and there’s much to be pessimistic about regarding the future of our country – here’s a book that gives a pat on the back to scores of innovative South Africans.
From the earliest times through the centuries up to the new millennium, our fellow countrymen both residing here or living abroad have dreamed up and carried out the most amazing inventions.
As the author writes, an invention is a product, technique or service (or concept) that has come to the market through innovation and Mike Burton focuses on those that have a unique, or interesting, or whimsical story to tell.
There are hundreds of proudly South African products or concepts listed in this well-illustrated and imaginatively laid-out book.
Did you know that the first bed, dating back about 77 000 years ago, was discovered by Professor Lyn Wadley while excavating a site on the banks of the uThongani River 40km from Durban? She discovered a “mattress” in 2010 made from bundles of sedge laid on the ground about 50cm thick, made by Middle Stone Age humans and originally covered with a layer of aromatic leaves from wild river quince.
Our ancestors are also responsible for the first lunar stick, or earliest mathematical device. At least 37 000 years old, it’s a 7.7cm-long baboon bone
What a Great Idea!
with 29 notches cut into it and was almost certainly a counting device. It was found in 1972 at a border cave in the Lebombo Mountains in Maputaland. Fast-forward to more contemporary times, and it gives me great pleasure to know that we have a considerable list of “food firsts” – from to to samp and beans. What would life be without Mrs Ball’s Chutney, one of our most ubiquitous brands, concocted by a Mrs Adkins, an immigrant who lived on a farm near King William’s Town. Her daughter Amelia, born in 1865, was entrusted with the secret recipe and, when she married HS Ball and moved to Cape Town, she started to produce the chutney in earnest… and a culinary legend was born. Technologically there are hundreds of firsts, from our own Jetmaster and the CT (Cat) scanner – an X-Ray source and detector devised by nuclear physicist Allan McLeod Cormack – to the Rooivalk helicopter and the plastic trolley you take for granted at your supermarket. Think of events and concepts and you’ll discover that so many are proudly South African.
The past week’s is a tradition that has its roots in a notso-proud moment, dating back to the mid-19th century when January 2 was the only day of rest granted to slaves and labourers who created a colourful carnival and strutted their stuff through the streets of central Cape Town in colonial times.
The abhorrent Group Areas Act of 1966 led to communities being displaced and prevented from entering the city centre until 1988; but, since 1989, the carnival has resumed its original route and has become a firm favourite to the start of the new year for communities and tourists as they watch the colourful parades of minstrels and the equally vivid music.
Computers have changed the world and we often have the edge when it comes to competitive software development options. But, back in the old days, one of the first and most innovative concepts was Computicket, which revolutionised our way of going to the theatre or cinema. Percy Tucker launched a manual ticket service called Show Service in downtown Johannesburg which eventually evolved into a computerised ticketing system “taking the box office to the customer”. Launched in 1971, today it’s the first-stop address for anything and everything from bus tickets to rugby games, festivals and more, operating around the country.
These few examples are just the tip of the iceberg and this book provides worthwhile and fascinating reading. You can dip into it anywhere, or read it from cover to cover, but it’s one of those must-reads that will become a handy reference book.