So What Has Scotland Done For The World?

Whisky and haggis are great, but we're so much more...

1. Penicillin

Wikimedia Commons / Via en.wikipedia.org

Discovered by Scottish scientist and Nobel laureate Alexander Fleming in 1928, Penicillin antibiotics changed the course of medical history and enabled Doctors to treat formerly life-threatening conditions such as meningitis, pneumonia, gonorrhea and syphilis.

2. 23 American Presidents

WikiMedia / Via en.wikipedia.org

23 out of the 43 people to have held the American Presidency have Scottish or Ulster-Scots heritage, including Barack Obama and George Bush...

Via tumblr.com

... we're really sorry about that last one.

3. The Bicycle

Multitudeofgifs/tumblr / Via tumblr.com

Blacksmith Kirkpatrick Macmillan from Dumfriesshire is credited with inventing the first pedal powered bicycle in 1839.

4. Battered Mars Bar

Eileen Braybook / Via Flickr: leeny

All that inventing made us hungry. First created in an Aberdeenshire chip shop in 1995, this heart stopper is second only to haggis on Scotland's list of culinary curios.

The sticky snack is estimated to pack in around 420 calories, not doing much for Scotland's poor public health record.

5. Carnegie Hall

Via sparks.infonetportal.com

Andrew Carnegie began his life as a weavers son in Dunfermline, Scotland. His rise to become a millionaire steel magnate is a classic rags-to-riches story. In 1889 his article "The Gospel of Wealth" called on the rich to use their wealth to improve society and Carnegie's philanthropic legacy lives on today through the work of the Carnegie Foundation.

6. The Best James Bond

Via giphy.com

No introduction required.

7. The first ever cloned mammal

Via roslin.ed.ac.uk

Dolly the sheep was the world's first ever cloned mammal, created in 1996 by scientists in the Roslin Institute near Edinburgh.

8. Other countries' Navies

Via en.wikipedia.org

For reasons unbeknown, Scots have been instrumental in the founding of the navies of numerous other countries, including the Chilean, Russian and American Navies.

9. The BBC

Via en.wikipedia.org

The British Broadcasting Corporation was founded by Scot John Charles Walsham Reith.

10. The Television

No biggie.

11. Literary Heroes

Wikimedia / Via en.wikipedia.org

Wikimedia / Via en.wikipedia.org

Wikimedia / Via en.wikipedia.org

12. Men in kilts.

You're welcome. Just don't call it a skirt...

13. Gin and Tonic

Via en.wikipedia.org

This match made in heaven is first attributed to the Scots Doctor George Cleghorn who in the 18th century discovered than quinine in tonic water was an effective treatment for Malaria. Gin was added to make the bitter tonic more appetizing. Cheers!

14. Steam Engine Improvements

Via en.wikipedia.org

Renfrewshire-born James Watt's improvements to the Newcomen steam engine greatly improved its efficiency and were fundamental to powering the industrial revolution which swept through Britain and the rest of the world in the latter half of the 18th century. Watt developed the concept of horsepower and the power unit the Watt carries his name.

15. Colour Photography

Via en.wikipedia.org

Scottish scientist James Maxwell invented the "three-colour method" of mixing red, green and blue colours of light to produce a colour photograph.

And what was the world's first colour photograph of? A tartan ribbon. Of course.

16. World Class Universities

buzzfeed.com

Scotland has more world-class universities per head of population than any other country in the world. Of the UK's six venerable ancient universities, four of them are located in Scotland.

Scotland produces 12,000 academic research papers per year and receives 1.8% of the world's citations. Not bad for a country with 0.1% of the world's population.

17. The Telephone

Via blogs.nottingham.ac.uk

Edinburgh-born Alexander Graham Bell received the first patent for a telephone in the USA in 1876.

The first message ever transmitted by telephone? “Mr. Watson, come here, I want to see you.”

18. The Flush Toilet

Via catsofaustralia.com

In 1775 Scottish watchmaker Alexander Cummings was the first to patent a design of the flush toilet featuring the S-trap mechanism, which is still in use today.

Scotland is also home to what is believed to be the oldest indoor toilet in the world in the neolithic village of Skara Brae, Orkney. Built sometime between 3200BC and 2200BC, the sewer system was basic, with waste being flushed into a drain with pots of water, but the rough principle continues to this day.

19. 30% of Turner Prize Nominees

Via Flickr: the-consortium

The Glasgow School of Art, Scotland's only independent art school, has produced 30% of the nominees for the Turner Prize.

In 2014, three out of the four nominees for the world-famous art award were graduates of the school.

20. Auld Lang Syne

youtube.com

Sung around the world from Bangkok to Times Square, Auld Land Syne is perhaps the most internationally renown piece by our national bard, Rabbie Burns. Most commonly sung at New Year, the song wistfully recalls good times past and calls on the singers to take their neighbor's hand.

In Scotland, is is traditional to form a circle on the dance floor whilst singing, and to cross your arms and join hands with your neighbors. During the last verse revellers rush into the center of the circle, whilst still holding hands, and back out again. Which after a few whiskies, can get a bit messy...