Every year, we celebrate America’s declaration of independence on the 4th of July. And since that momentous day in 1776, the country has accomplished so many amazing things. So we wanted to shine a light on those achievements America has made in her 248 years.
Americans have been at the heart of some of the world’s most progressive and life-changing inventions. And even some things we didn’t invent, we took and made it our own.
Celebrating All Things “American” On The 4th Of July
Before we get into the things that were truly invented in America, let’s clarify what wasn’t. Some of the things that are seen as classic “American”, were technically invented elsewhere. We just embraced them so much that they became closely associated with the American culture.
Two such things are something most of us will see on our tables on 4th of July: hamburgers and hot dogs. These two epitomes of the all-American cuisine actually came from our friends across the pond. Let me throw a disclaimer out there when it comes to hamburgers. There’s no consensus as to when it was officially invented. Many, like history.com, say the origins from Hamburg, Germany were the catalyst to the creation. But many places and dates in the U.S. are also cited as origins for hamburgers as we know them.
The hot dog, on the other hand, has a much clearer origin story. Many sources, including TheCultureTrip.com, agree that it came from Germany. Then called “dachshund sausages”, the story is that a German immigrant named Charles Feltman first sold hot dogs out of a food cart in New York in the 1860’s.
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However, what America can take credit for is that dipped and fried spin-off of the hot dog. The corn dog, another American staple, was definitely invented in America. Though many people lay claim to the idea so there’s no consensus on who actually did it first. The most popular story is that a man named George Boyington invented the corn dog when he ran a hot dog stand in Oregon, opb.org reports.
America can take pride in other culinary creations too. That actually are American, unlike apple pie. Which, according to SmithsonianMagazine.com, isn’t all that American at all. One food that did come from the U.S. is the cupcake. According to AZDeliciousCupcakes.com, the cupcake was first mentioned by Amelia Simmons in 1796 when she put a recipe called “a light cake to bake in small cups” in her American cookbook. And we can also thank Eliza Leslie for coining the term “cupcake” with a similar recipe in her cookbook in 1828.
Speaking of desserts, America sure does love cookies. Anyone who has stood outside of a Girl Scouts cookie sale with cash in hand knows this all too well. And the most iconic cookie in America is, in fact, an all-American creation. The chocolate chip cookie, according to many sources, including sugar.com, was first introduced by Ruth Wakefield in 1938. Wakefield ran the Toll House restaurant in Whitman, Massachusetts that year and printed the first recipe in her 1938 Tried and True cookbook.
Other tasty creations that started in America include bubble gum, Coca Cola, breakfast cereal, and cotton candy.
American Inventions Worth Celebrating On The 4th Of July
And when it comes to life-changing inventions, those ones that changed the course of history for humans on a worldwide scale, America is behind so many of those too.
