Top 10 German Inventions

Created by Johannes Gutenberg in 1440 during the Renaissance Era, this invention is one of the most groundbreaking of all time. Thanks to it, books and other copies were printed much faster than by hand, broadening the horizons of education. It is responsible for the creation of the Gutenberg Bible, the world's first printed book.

This invention played a crucial role during the Renaissance. Without it, it would have been harder to enlighten people and expand education throughout Europe, fueling the Renaissance.

Physicist Ernst Ruska, alongside German electrical engineer Max Knoll, demonstrated the first prototype of the Electron Microscope (Transmission) in 1931. It wasn't until two years later that Ruska invented the first electron microscope. Ruska was later awarded the Nobel Prize in 1986 for his invention of the Transmission Electron Microscope and his work on electron microscopy.

The Electron Microscope has powerful magnification and surpasses the magnification of a normal microscope. It transmits electrons through the specimen to create an image of the internal structure. The purpose of the TEM is to observe the internal structures of very small organisms at a submicron level. It's hard to imagine how biologists can live without this essential invention.

Created by engine and automobile designer Karl Benz in 1885 and patented a year later, it is indeed the world's first automobile with an internal combustion engine. Benz's patent is under his own company, Benz & Cie. The automobile has three wheels, and its combustion engine runs on a four-cycle. The innovations in the automobile amaze me through the centuries as generations are passed down.

Created by chemist Felix Hoffman in 1897, Hoffman was motivated by his father's rheumatoid arthritis, which led him to synthesize acetylsalicylic acid, also known as Aspirin. He is responsible for synthesizing the drug used to combat pain, swelling, arthritis, and fever, as well as resynthesizing diamorphine, also known as Heroin.

Created by chemist Robert Bunsen in 1854, alongside German instrument maker Peter Desaga who designed the Bunsen burner, it wasn't introduced until a year later. It's used in heating, sterilization, and combustion. This is a very essential invention for college and high school students in biology or any science class conducting laboratory experiments.

Created by ophthalmologist Adolf Gaston Eugen Fick in 1888, he was responsible for creating the first successful model of contact lenses, which were made out of glass. He first tested the model on rabbits before trying it on himself. It is estimated that over 150 million people worldwide use contact lenses. Fascinatingly, Leonardo Da Vinci predicted and sketched an idea very similar to contact lenses!

Created by housewife Melitta Benz in 1908 when she was 35 years old, she came up with this invention to remove the bitter taste caused by boiling loose coffee grounds. She patented her invention and formed her own company, Melitta, with her husband and two sons to assist her in selling coffee filters.

Created by inventor and mechanical engineer Rudolf Diesel in 1893, this invention was based on the Carnot cycle. The Diesel Engine, also known as the compression ignition engine, is an internal combustion engine that runs on compression ignition. Air is first compressed, building up heat and increasing the temperature to over a thousand degrees. The compressed air is then inserted into a combustion chamber, where the fuel-air mixture is ignited to produce fuel.

Created by engineer Nikolaus Otto in 1876, he was the first to create an internal combustion engine with the four-stroke cycle, called the Otto Cycle. The engine was an immediate success due to its reliability, efficiency, and relative quietness. Thirty thousand engines were created in the next ten years.

Created by inventor Emile Berliner in 1887, he was responsible for innovating the gramophone by using records or flat disks, replacing the cylinders. The records were first made out of glass, later made out of zinc and plastic. He then founded The Gramophone Company, where gramophones playing records were mass-produced. Technically, he is a pioneer of vinyl records!