American Inventions That Changed Britain Forever

In this video, I explore the fascinating story of 7 groundbreaking American inventions that reshaped life in Britain as we know it. From life-altering technologies to everyday conveniences, these transatlantic creations crossed the pond and forever changed British culture, industry, and society.

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[jdellis]

My former British wife could not be convinced that Heinz was not a British company. As a former Pittsburgher, I had an idea what I was speaking of.

[pmbair]

Don't forget Les Paul! When discussing electric guitar, he was a pioneer and inventor that made a huge impact.

[tgmittler]

The Baseball Cap. I recall 20 years ago as an American in Britain standing out like a sore thumb wearing my beloved Chicago Cubs cap. Now seems like the ball cap is everywhere in the UK.

[Lines]

American blues artists who couldn't get booked in the US went on tours of Europe and that's how the UK took their place in rock history. Eric Clapton talks about sitting on the edge of the stage listening to blues artists from the US.

[TheodoreWeiser]

Escalator story: We were leaving an NBA game that required riding an escalator down from the cheap seats. We about a 3rd of the way down when it broke. Nobody moved. After a moment, I shouted: "What do you call a broken escalator? STAIRS"

After some laughter, people started walking down

[robertosborn]

The household refrigerator, is easily the most overlooked but world changing invention.

Refrigeration in general is kind of a huge invention but it is kind of hard to specifically state at what point it became a practical invention because there were so many steps along the way. But your everyday ubiquitous household refrigerator was invented in the US in 1919. It is really impossible to overstate the impact the household refrigerator made on modern society.

[marscaleb]

I appreciate the picture of Al Gore you posted on the screen when talking about the invention of the internet.

[MurderMostFowl]

I think the offering of brandy every time you ride an escalator is something that should continue. We all deserve calm nerves.

[rdaltry]

Stand right, walk left is very much part of the DC culture. Metro (tube, subway, etc) most commonly, but also on the moving sidewalks at the airports.

[TheBTG]

Here’s another one - The Jeep, the inspiration for Land Rover and the grandfather of SUVs everywhere.

[wilelowman]

Hey Laurence, The Cell phone was revealed to the public at Soldier field. Motorola had a press conference letting reporters call anyone in the world. The reporters called parents, editors and old friends until the batteries ran out in about 2 hours.

[empressmarowynn]

If you're ever in Pittsburgh I highly recommend the Heinz History Museum. It's about the history of the whole area but there's a section on Heinz himself and his company that's genuinely fascinating.

[jcortese]

The concept of a retro styled microwave is pretty amazing.

[tiladx]

"If you enjoyed this video, there must be something wrong with you."

Laurence, you know me so well! 😂😂😂😂😂

I eagerly await part 2, as well as the reciprocal British Inventions that Changed American Life.

[marlenepearson]

Great video Laurence. I await part 2 👍

[PaperbackWizard]

Okay, I don't often have "I'm so old" moments, but when you said "By the late 1900s", I had to pause the video for a while.

[cshubs]

In 1994, I worked for Macmillan, editing books about software and the internet. I was in charge of the first World Wide Web Yellow Pages, an actual 800page book listing web sites, if you can believe it. The foreward was written by Tim Berners-Lee. I edited it. 🙂

[DMacB]

“The late 1900s” oh god, we are getting dangerously close to commonly referring to 1970-1999 that way, aren’t we?

[jaytoser]

My grandmother's cookbook (1948) included two pages devoted to Radar (or high frequency) cooking. It mentions only the Amana Radarange, the first home appliance microwave oven.

[childishpropaganda]

1891: Carpenter Electric Company in Chicago introduces the first electric kettle
1891: R.E.B. Crompton in the UK develops the heat radiator concept
1893: Crompton’s concept is incorporated into Carpenter’s design