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Sylvia Rose

Four Early German Inventions We Still Love Today

Updated: 2 days ago

Coffee filters, gummi bears, guide dog school and refrigeration are among the German inventions of the 19th and early 20th centuries, still ubiquitous today. Here's background on all four of these famous creations and how they come into being.



German Castle

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Inventions, discoveries and innovations rise out of the cycles of industrial revolution and return to nature movements throughout Europe. England becomes the foremost power in trains and engineering.


During the late Victorian era, in 1871, Germany moves from a loose group of cities, states and kingdoms into a unified country. By the end of the century the evolving world powers include Great Britain, the German Empire, Italy, France, Russia and Turkey.



1. Coffee Filter - Melitta Bentz



The coffee filter was invented by Melitta Bentz of Germany and the company still bears her name.
Coffee filter

On 20 June 1908, housewife Melitta Bentz registered her coffee filter with the patent office. She used her son's school blotting paper to create a rough prototype and refined her design. A forward thinking entrepreneur, Frau Bentz exhibited her invention at trade shows and events to enthusiastic reception.


Before filters, people brew coffee in boiling water. Grounds are very fine and settle to the bottom of the pot. The coffee is ladled or served from the top.



lots of coffee beans & brew
Beans and Brew

Germany is a nation of coffee drinkers as the Kaffee und Kuchen (coffee and cake) tradition shows. About 3:00 in the afternoon families, neighbors and friends get together for baked treats.


German desserts such as Black Forest Cake or fruit torte are known for their creamy rich taste, set off with a strong cup of coffee. Kaffee und Kuchen is the time for family togetherness or to invite new friends into one's home for a chat.



2. Guide Dogs - Dr. Gerhard Stalling



The first training school for guide dogs for the blind was created in 1916 by Gerhard Stalling in Oldenburg, Saxony, northwestern Germany. The dogs are meant to assist visually impaired and shell-shocked veterans.


Guide dogs have gone on from leading the blind to helping the hearing challenged and people with motor skill impairments, mental health and other needs. These days guide dogs are truly a person's best friend.


Guide Dog


According to trainers, breeds such as Golden Retrievers, Labradors, Standard Poodles, Border Collies, Australian Shepherds, Boxers, Airedales, Collies, Dobermans, and other suitably-sized breeds are all excellent guide dogs.


Archaeological evidence shows guide dogs in practice for thousands of years. One depiction shows a blind man led to safety by his dog during the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD. Schools for dogs come out much later. Police dog training schools begin in Belgium in 1899.



3. Gummi Bears - Hans Riegel



delicious colorful gummy bears or gummi bears invented in Germany
Colorful Gummi Bears - made in Deutschland

In 1922, Hans Riegel, owner of the German sweet shop Haribo in Bonn, Germany, invents Gummibären (gummi bears, gummy bears). It will be sixty long years before they travel across the Atlantic.


Today, juicy, colorful gummi bears appear on snack shelves throughout the world. We love them! Thanks, Hans. Haribo is an acronym of the owner's name: HAns RIegel, BOnn.


At first they're larger, slimmer and known as Dancing Bears or Tanzbären. Gummy bears aren't originally vegan, as the gelatin used to make them bouncy comes from animal products, but today there are alternatives.


Same with Kosher. If one seeks Kosher Gummi Bears they can be found, not always easily. Halal gummy bears are made only in Turkey.



Sternstrasse (Star Street) Bonn, Germany
Sternstrasse (Star Street) Bonn, Germany

In Germany, artificial flavors and corn syrup aren't permitted. German gummy bears are more chewy than those in the New World. Flavors can differ from bear color - for example, green gummy bears in America are strawberry flavored (in Germany they're pink).


Clear gummi bears are pineapple. In 1960 Haribo started calling the product Goldbears, to distinguish from the high number of imitations.


4. Modern Refrigerator - Carl von Linde



Engineer, scientist, businessman and inventor Carl Paul Gottfried von Linde discovered a refrigeration cycle, the Hampson-Linde cycle, and invented the first industrial-scale air separation and gas liquefaction processes used in refrigeration.



Limes, ice, water, cool and refreshing in the summertime
Cool and refreshing in the summertime

Before refrigeration, cooling systems use ice. Ice can be cut from lakes in winter and packed in straw in an ice house or cellar. Artificial refrigeration appears in the mid-1700s and is further developed in the 1800s.


The word "refrigeratory" was known in the 17th century, meaning 'something which cools or refrigerates'.


In 1897, Carl von Linde os knighted for his work. Using his discoveries Dutch scientist Heike Kamerlingh Onnes wins the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1913. Early refrigerators are important to preventing food spoilage, and we no longer have to cut ice from the lake.



ice on the water


Non-Fiction Books:


Fiction Books:

READ: Lora Ley Adventures - Germanic Mythology Fiction Series

READ: Reiker For Hire - Victorian Detective Murder Mysteries




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