You probably know many of the greatest inventors of all time. Alexander Graham-Bell, Tomas Eddison and Benjamin Franklin. I'm sure all of those ring a bell.
You probably use items such as a toaster and a toilet every single day, but did you know they were created by Edinburgh residents?
Does anyone recognise the name Sir Alexander Grant? What about Alan MacMasters?
Well, these gentlemen, and many more, are responsibly for items that we use in our homes every day, or items that we pick up off the supermarket shelves every week.
Even included in the list, is original digestive biscuits. Yes, they were created by an Edinburgh-born man. The city certainly has dozens of secrets that very few know, so you should feel proud to be amongst such influential figures.
Read below to reveal some Edinburgh inventions that probably slipped your notice. Do you know who any of these people are?
The S-bend flushing toilet, invented by Alexander Cummings
Born in 1731, in Edinburgh, Alexander Cumming would have experienced the horrors of gardyloo - the act of throwing toilet waste out your window in the 18th-century.
Maybe this is the reason why this Scottish watchmaker and instrument inventor patented the design for a flushing toilet in 1775.
While the flush toilet had been pioneered by Sir John Harrington, it was Cummings that finally solved the problem of foul smells with his S-shaped pipe.
Every time you flush the toilet, you know who to thank.
Rose's Lime Juice, invented by Lachlan Rose
Lachlan Rose (1829-1885) was a lad from Leith and the son of a shipbuilder.
He set up his business provisioning ships with lime juice that was used for medicinal purposes aboard ships.
However, Lachlan recognised a money-making scheme and sweetened the brew, turning it into a tasty beverage.
In 1955 the company was bought by Schweppes which merged with Cadbury Ltd. So, next time you pick up a bottle of lime juice reminisce of its humble beginnings in Leith.
X-rays, invented by Marion A S Ross
Marion A S Ross was born in 1903 in Edinburgh and graduated from Edinburgh University's with honours in Mathematics and Natural Philosophy.
In the 1930s, she conducted pioneering work into crystallography - the structure of crystals. Her works continues to attract interest to this day.
She later pursued a career into x-ray physics and became the first Director of Edinburgh University's Fluid Dynamics Unit.
She also became one of the earliest female Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, her name is commemorated by a physics prize.
A bonnie born and bred Edinburgh pioneer indeed.
McVities Digestives, invented by Sir Alexander Grant
Sir Alexander Grant was a shrewd Scottish businessman, a philanthropist and...the creator of the beloved Digestive.
Sir Alexander Grant was the managing director of McVities and devised the recipe in 1892. The same recipes is still used today and remains top secret.
Yes, we absolutely consider the creator of the first original Digestive biscuit to be one of Edinburgh's greatest inventors.
He also gave a £200,000 pound endowment to establish the National Library of Scotland. It seems we have a lot to be grateful for.
Logarithms, invented by John Napier
John Napier was born in 1550 in Edinburgh and became a famous mathematician.
Napier is best known for his invention of logarithms - used to in math calculations - and the decimal point. Logarithms continue to be an integral part of science, engineering and computing today.
His legacy has been honoured by Edinburgh Napier University, which is named after the inventor. His statue stands in the tower house of Merchiston Castle, which is also one of the university's campuses.
The toaster, invented by Alan MacMasters
Today, a toaster may seem like any other mundane kitchen utility but can you imagine breakfast without toast?
Alan MacMasters, born in 1865, is the Edinburgh scientist that is credited with creating the first electric bread toaster.
The toaster used iron wires that had electrical currents passed through them heating them and toasting the bread - it is a prehistoric toaster.
Edinburgh: home of the toaster!
This article was originally posted on September 4, 2018.
