Coffee filters, gummi bears, guide dog school and refrigeration are among the German inventions of the 19th and early 20th centuries which are ubiquitous today. Here's background on some of these famous creations and how they came into being.
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Inventions, discoveries and innovations rose out of the cycles of industrial revolution and return to nature movements throughout Europe. England became the foremost power in trains and engineering. During the late Victorian era Germany moved from a loose group of cities, states and kingdoms into a unified country. By the end of the century the evolving world powers included Great Britain, the German Empire, Italy, France, Russia and Turkey.
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1. Coffee Filter - Melitta Bentz
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 brewed coffee in boiling water. Grounds were very fine and settled to the bottom of the pot. The coffee would be ladled or served from the top.
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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 were meant to assist visually impaired and shell-shocked veterans.
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. Schools for dogs came out much later. Police dog training schools began in Belgium in 1899.
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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.
3. Gummi Bears - Hans Riegel
In 1922, Hans Riegel, owner of the German sweet shop Haribo in Bonn, Germany, invented Gummibären (gummi bears, gummy bears). It would be sixty long years before they traveled 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.
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At first they were 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. Halal gummy bears are made only in Turkey.
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.
Before refrigeration, cooling systems used ice. Ice could be cut from lakes in winter and packed in straw in an ice house. 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'.
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In 1897, Carl von Linde was knighted for his work. Using his discoveries Dutch scientist Heike Kamerlingh Onnes won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1913. Early refrigerators were instrumental in preventing food spoilage, leading to healthier living. And today, we no longer have to cut ice from the lake.
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