What do Pratley putty, rooibos tea, the Kreepy Krauly pool cleaner, and Mrs Ball’s chutney have in common?
They are South African inventions — that are used all over the world — and they feature in Professor Mike Bruton’s fascinating book Great South African Inventions. The book is part of Cambridge University Press’s Indigenous Knowledge Library series and is accessible to young readers.
Upfront, the book sets out the difference between the concepts “invention”, “innovation” and “discovery”.
Readers are given insight into Africa being the “cradle of humankind” as some of the earliest humans evolved here. The role of fire among humans and the use of tools is explained.
Furthermore, Bruton reveals that the earliest mathematical device in the world — the Lunar Stick — was found near the South African-Swaziland border in 1972.
The counting device — a 7,7cm long baboon bone with 29 notches cut into it ÂÂ is over 37 000 years old.
With ease, Bruton sets the scene to show how inventive Africans were, and then takes readers on a journey into inventions in science, biology, art, sport and farming.
His entertaining writing is so clear that one can vividly imagine some of the old discoveries such as the baboon bone he writes about.
In a succinct manner, he summarises how Monty Pratley started the Pratley Manufacturing and Engineering company in a rented garage in Roodepoort. He invented Pratley putty in the 1960s and this was used to stop the cracking in one of the main supports of the Golden Gate Bridge spanning San Francisco Bay in California.
The book is interactive as it poses questions like, “Do you think caffeine and tannins are bad for your health?” and “Do you think genetically modified plants should be grown in Africa?”
It also highlights three South Africans who have won Nobel Prizes in science or medicine and is peppered with useful snippets on tsunamis, patents and the ionosphere.
In a trip down memory lane Bruton highlights some South African food brands, past and present, including Appeltiser, Black Cat peanut butter, Farmer Brown chickens, Grand Pa headache powders, Lion matches, Nik Naks, Marie biscuits and Pronutro.
Unique South African dishes include biltong, boerewors, melkert, koeksusters, “smiley (roasted sheep’s head) and “walkie talkies” (fried chicken feet).
The book contains a useful glossary that, for example, explains that “infrared” is a type of light that feels warm but cannot be seen. The glossary helps demystify scientific/technological concepts to technophobes.
Bruton’s writing makes science and technology fun and after reading this interesting book it’s almost impossible not to feel proud to be South African.