Things Invented

Things Invented in Canada:

The Paint Roller - The paint roller was invented around 1940 in Toronto by Norman Breakey, but he died before being able to patent his invention and profit from it. The first paint roller patent was held by American Richard Croxton Adams.

Garbage Can - The garbage bag was invented by Harry Wasylyk and Larry Hansen in Winnipeg in 1950. The green polyethylene garbage bag they invented was bought by Union Carbide, who sold the bags under the name Glad. (Around the same time, a third Canadian in Toronto, Frank Plomp, invented a similar product and is often credited as a co-inventor).

The Pager - The pager was invented by Alfred J. Gross, a Toronto-based wireless communications pioneer, in 1949. Gross is also often credited as the inventor of the walkie-talkie, a distinction he sometimes shares with fellow Canadian Donald Hings, who is also credited for having created the two-way radio in 1939.

Peanut Butter - Although popular culture would have some believe otherwise, peanut butter wasn't invented by American botanist George Washington Carver. Rather, it was created in 1884 by Canadian pharmacist Marcellus Gilmore Edson, who likened the consistency of his product to that of butter, lard or ointment.

Road Lines - The first road lines in the world were painted on a stretch of highway between Ontario and Quebec in 1930, having been invented by Ontario department of transport engineer John D. Millar.

IMAX - IMAX was invented by a trio of Canadian filmmakers — Graeme Ferguson, Roman Kroitor and Robert Kerr — in 1967. After being independently asked to produce large-screen films for Expo 67 (In the Labyrinth and Polar Life), the filmmakers realized they needed different equipment.

Basketball - Anyone who's seen a Canadian Heritage Minute knows basketball was invented by Canadian James Naismith. However, despite being born in Ontario and educated at McGill University, he didn't invent it in Canada. Rather, he invented the sport while working as a physical education instructor at a YMCA in Massachusetts in 1891. He came up with the rulebook the following year. He eventually moved to Kansas, where he became the University of Kansas's first basketball coach.

The Electric Wheelchair - The first electric wheelchair was developed by one of Canada's most accomplished inventors, George Klein, in 1953. The Ontario-born inventor worked at the National Research Council from 1929–1969, where he developed the electric wheelchair, aircraft skis, the M29 Weasel army snowmobile/ATV, the microsurgical staple gun, the ZEEP nuclear reactor, a scientific language for snow and other feats of mechanical engineering. He was pulled out of retirement to consult on Canadarm, described by the Canadian Space Agency as "Canada's most famous robotic and technological achievement."

Wireless Radio Transmission - Canadian Reginald Aubrey Fessenden was a prolific inventor in the area of wireless technology — he was the first to broadcast on the AM radio band in 1900 — although he's often regarded as an unsung hero in Canada because his inventions in radio technology were outshined by Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi. Fessenden built two-way radio transmission towers — one near Boston and the other in Scotland — and issued the first transatlantic radio broadcast in 1906.

Ice Hockey - The contemporary sport of ice hockey was developed in Canada, most notably in Montreal, where the first indoor hockey game was played on March 3, 1875. Some characteristics of that game, such as the length of the ice rink and the use of a puck, have been retained to this day. Amateur ice hockey leagues began in the 1880s, and professional ice hockey originated around 1900. The Stanley Cup, emblematic of ice hockey club supremacy, was first awarded in 1893 to recognize the Canadian amateur champion and later became the championship trophy of the NHL. In the early 1900s, the Canadian rules were adopted by the Ligue Internationale de Hockey Sur Glace, the precursor of the IIHF and the sport was played for the first time at the Olympics during the 1920 Summer Olympics. Despite women having played since the beginnings of the game, women's hockey was not professionally organised until much later, the first IIHF Women's World Championship being held in 1990 and the being introduced into the Olympics in 1998.