South African inventors certainly are second to none. Some of the leading online systems, medical miracle devices, and even glue that has been to the moon have been discovered or designed by South Africans!

Here are some of those inventions:

Dolosse

Dolosse is as South African as mealiepap and braai. Who would have thought that the unique design of these 80-ton concrete blocks by the South African Aubrey Kruger has been protecting ports worldwide from storm water since 1963. Kruger was a draughtsman at the East London harbour and designed the dolos after his boss, the engineer Eric Merrifield, asked him to design something that could protect the harbour from storm water.

CAT scan

Ever been for a CAT scan? Well, that is thanks to the British engineer Godfrey Hounsfield and the South African physicist Allan Cormack who designed the scanner in 1972. Today, more than 30 000 CAT scanners are in use worldwide.

Pratley Putty

This glue was designed by George Pratley, originally with the aim of holding electronic components together. It was even used in 1969 to build the Apollo XI moon craft! George was born in Johannesburg and studied at Wits University. He worked at the Durban Deep Gold Mine for two years before starting his own business in Roodepoort with 349 pounds in 1948.

4. Oil can guitar

South Africans are not only changing the world with top scanners and technology, but also with music! Cape Town engineer and guitarist Graeme Wells designed the oil can guitar that is even used by UB40 these days!

Q20

A Mr Robertson of Pinetown invented Q20 oil in 1950. It is unique in that it is heavier than water. Triton-Leo currently sells more than 15 million cans a year all over South Africa and enjoys 70% of the market share. About 100 000 cans are also sold annually in Europe and Asia. There are rumours that some people even use it for arthritis, and one man in the Free State has indicated that he also uses it as a shaving cream!

Shark Shield

Another invention used around the world is the Shark Shield, the only successful shark deterrent. It was designed by the KwaZulu-Natal Shark Board in the 1990s.

Tellurometer

The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has invented the first successful electronic meter that can measure distance with microwaves. This has especially contributed to the production of maps, as the device can measure up to 50 km.

SASOL (South African Coal, Oil and Gas Corporation)

Sasol is a remarkable success story that dates back to 1950. Sasol’s main plant in Secunda is the only commercial installation in the world that converts coal into liquid. This makes Sasol the largest manufacturer of synthetic fuel. The fuel has been available at filling stations in South Africa since 1955.

Flash-ionisation detector

This scientific instrument measures analytes in gas. The equipment was developed simultaneously in South Africa, and in New Zealand and Australia. In South Africa, the technology was developed by Victor Pretorius and J. Harley at the University of Pretoria. Pretorius was a direct descendant of Andries Pretorius.

CyberTracker

Physicist Louis Liebenberg and computer scientist Lindsay Steventon developed the CyberTracker in 1996. This technology is used to track animals of all sizes and shapes and uses a satellite navigation system similar to that of a GPS. This enables scientists to monitor the movement and migration of animals from the comfort of their laboratories.

Mxit

Mxit was developed in 1997 by Herman Heunis from Stellenbosch as an alternative to expensive SMS messages. It was officially launched in 2006 and was used at its peak by some 7,2 million people in 120 countries.

Ounce denomination Gold Coin

The Krugerrand is the world’s first gold coin with an ounce denomination. It was minted by the SA Mint on 3 July 1967. The name Krugerrand is derived from Paul Kruger’s name.

MBA

The first MBA program outside North America was presented at the University of Pretoria in 1949 – in Afrikaans.

Jukskei

Jukskei is a kind of Afrikaans boeresport developed at the Cape in 1743 already by transport riders. It was the forerunner of the American game horseshoe pitching, which was popular among several American presidents, for example, President Bush (the first) and President Truman. Truman even had a track erected at the White House so that he could play regularly.

Heart transplant

The world’s first human-to-human heart transplant was performed on 3 December 1967 by Dr Chris Barnard. He had a decade of experience as a cardiologist before he and a team of thirty, including his brother Marius Barnard, did the first successful transplant that day. The patient, Louis Washkansky, lived for 18 days after the operation before he died from complications. The first successful penis transplant was also performed in December 2014 by André van der Merwe of Stellenbosch University.

Photo by Susan Jones on Unsplash