Things That You Probably Didn’t Know Were Invented in India

Did you know that the famous Oscar winning actor Ben Kingsley who acted in movies like the Schindler’s List, Shutter Island, Hugo is actually from an Indian origin? Yes, his birth name is Krishna Pandit Bhanji. India has contributed many such big and small things to the world that we see everywhere. Here are a few things that you probably didn’t know were ‘Made in India’-

 

 

Yes, the history of the buttons on your shirts starts from the Indus Valley Civilization in India between (c. 2800–2600 BC). They were said to be made for ornamental purposes with seashells. The oldest button is known to have been found in Mohenjo-Daro and is about 5000 years old.

 

 

Image Source: theyouth.in

 

Indus Valley was so ahead of its time and packed with creative and innovative minds. Rulers first started being used in Northwestern India and Pakistan even before 1500 BC and were made from ivory.

Image Source: thebetterindia.com

 

Kanada was an ancient Indian scientist and philosopher estimated to be living between 6th century to 2nd century BCE. He is known for developing the theory of atom and philosophy in the Sanskrit text Vaiśeṣika Sūtra.

According to him, ‘Paramanu’ is an indestructible particle of matter and it cannot be sensed through any human organ or seen by the naked eye. He also used the word “dwinuka” to explain that when two Parmanu’s belonging to one class come together, they make a dwinuka or nowadays known as binary molecule.

 

 

Did you know that the English word ‘Sugar’ comes from the Sanksrit word शर्करा? Sugar production first started in India during the Gupta dynasty (350 AD). So, thanks to India for making all the yummy cakes, gulab jamuns, and ice creams possible!

 

The popular USB connector was invented by and Indian- American computer architect named Ajay Bhatt through a project led by Intel in 1995. Pretty cool right?

 

Sushruta was an ancient Indian physician (around 1000 to 800 BC) who is the author of ‘Sushrut Samhita’ and is also known as the ‘Father of Plastic Surgery.’

 

In Sushrut Samhita, he has mentioned a detailed analysis of more than 1,100 diseases and medicinal cures for them along with instructions for performing a list of surgical procedures. These including 3 types of of skin grafts and reconstruction of the nose. According to the book, it instructs to transplat skin from one part of the body to another for skin grafting. This, is what we now know as plastic surgery.

 

 

According to Sushruta, in the Sushrut Samhita, there is also mention of a disorder of the lens. He used a technique called couching to treat cataracts where an instrument is used to move the cloudiness on the lens from its position into the transparent cavity.

 

 

The first public demonstration of radio waves that would later be used for communication was carried out by Sir Jagdish Chandra Bose in 1895, two years prior to Marconi’s similar demonstration in England.

 

 

The earliest existence of the weighing scale was found in the excavations of the Indus Valley civilization. They dated back between 2400 BC-1800 BC and balances were used to measure and compare goods during trade.

 

The English word Shampoo comes from the Hindi word ‘Champo’ which means a head massage and its concept has originated from India during the Mughal Empire. It consisted of natural elements like amla, shikakai, natural oils alkali and was used as a head massaging agent.