Some People Don't Know Northern California Was The First To Do These 12 Things
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Joanne Kraft
Author
When you think about Northern California, you might think of Mediterranean weather, healthy eating, gorgeous sandy beaches, or sky-high Redwood forests – and you’d be right. But we’re not just a bunch of pretty faces. We’re dang smart, too. There were a whole bunch of things invented in San Francisco and the rest of the region.
We hate to brag, but we’re going to.
By the time you’re done looking over our list below, you’re going to discover you probably own or have eaten some of the very items created and invented here in Northern California.
Eleven-year-old Frank Epperson invented popsicles in 1905. He left fruit juice out overnight on a very cold night with a stirrer in it at home in San Francisco. Epperson later got a patent on his frozen treats, which were originally called Epsicle. He was quite the frozen-over achiever and went on to invent the twin popsicle, Fudgsicle, Creamsicle and Dreamsicle.
Watch this fun video explaining the history of the popsicle from The History of Stuff:
Watch this fun video explaining the history of the popsicle from The History of Stuff:
Tech giant Apple Inc. was founded by the late Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne in April 1976 in Cupertino. The company is the largest publicly traded corporation in the world.
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Since we're already talking about Apple, lets share a few facts about another Apple product-: the iPhone. Released June 29, 2007, this phone has over 101 million users in the U.S. alone and over 700 million users worldwide. And, it all began in Northern California!
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Levi Strauss and Company was founded in 1853 and began making blue jeans in San Francisco. Strauss designed the first pair of jeans by stitching canvas together to help withstand the wear and tear Gold Rush prospectors put their clothes through.
If you use one of these on your car or house windows, or even in your shower, you have Ettore Steccone from Oakland to thank. The window cleaning aid was invented in 1936 by Italian immigrant and professional window cleaner. His original family-owned factory, Ettore Products Co., is still in operation near the Oakland International Airport.
John Dolbeer (March 12, 1827 – August 17, 1902) was a partner in the Dolbeer & Carson Lumber Co., one of the early major Humboldt County, California lumber operations based in Eureka. While in that business, he invented the logging engine, more commonly known as the steam donkey or donkey engine. This invaluable equipment, especially with regard to difficult terrain and very large trees, revolutionized 19th century logging so significantly that variations of the engine were still used well into the 20th Century.
Learn more about the Steam Donkey Engine and fun facts about California in this video from CR Museum:
Learn more about the Steam Donkey Engine and fun facts about California in this video from CR Museum:
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Hugh Bradner, a physicist at the University of California Berkeley, created the first wetsuit in 1952. His invention took awhile to catch on and others created their own brands, but in the 1990s, research confirmed Brander was the inventor of the wetsuit. Whew...
Oakland Coliseum in 1981 was the birthplace of the very first full-stadium wave. It was during a sold out game between the Oakland A's and the New York Yankees. You know you're impressed.
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The famous ice cream brand was founded in 1928 in Oakland by William Dreyer and Joseph Edy. Mr. Dreyer was the ice cream maker and Mr. Edy was a candy maker and it was a match made in heaven. Together, in 1929 they invented Rocky Road ice cream.
An Oakland Tribune sports editor, 2 Oakland Raiders employees and a sports reporter returned from a 3-week East Coast road trip with the Raiders in 1962. Following the trip, they started the weekly Greater Oakland Professional Pigskin Prognosticators League -- leading the way for Fantasy Football -- at King's X bar, which is now the Kona Club.
Charles Ginsburg, who had a background in radio engineering, is credited with inventing the first videotape recorder. Born in San Francisco in 1920, he received his bachelor's degree from San Jose State University. He worked as an engineer at AM-radio station KQW (now KCBS). He then joined Ampex in 1951, where he led the group that invented the videotape recorder. This photo here is from an early 80s model and was used at a local TV station. We've come a long way, baby!
Learn more about the team that invented the video tape recorder in this video from Richard Arsenault:
Learn more about the team that invented the video tape recorder in this video from Richard Arsenault:
Perhaps one of the classiest Northern California inventions and one of the most famous drinks in the world. Legend has it that the Martini was originally called the Martinez, after the city of Martinez in the Bay Area. It was the popular drink in the early 1860s at the Occidental Hotel in San Francisco before taking a ferry over to Martinez.
Admit it. You’re impressed.
We could go on and on and on about all the things to come from this golden part of our state. But, hey, we have a lot of class. So, we’re going to let you share below all the things YOU know got their start here. Have you heard about interesting things invented in San Francisco?
Stay classy, Northern California!
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More to Explore
More inventions from California
What are some things invented in California?
California has always been an innovative state bringing technology to a new level each and every day. Some of our favorite everyday items were invented in California. Here are a few things that were invented in California:
- Hula Hoop: Of all of the technological advancements coming out of California the humble Hole Hoop has obviously made the biggest impact. The original hula hoop-style toy dates back thousands of years to Native American culture, but the one we know and love was invented by Richard Knerr and Arthur "Spud" Melin who started the company, WHAM-O.
- Barbie: Sticking with the toy theme, the international sensation known as Barbie came from Los Angeles. Ruth Handler came up with the concept in 1959, her husband just so happened to own a little company called Mattel. The rest is history.
- WD-40: If you have ever had a squeaky wheel or a door that sounds like it should be in a haunted house, you've probably used this common item. Norm Larsen, founded Rocket Chemical Company of San Diego, he was working on a project for the aerospace industry when he perfected the formula for WD-40.
- French Dip Sandwich: Contrary to the international-sounding name the concept of the French dip sandwich comes from California. There is some dispute on which restaurant actually came up with the idea. It could be Cole’s Pacific Electric Buffet in 1908 or Philippe The Original in 1918.
- Skateboarding: In the 1940s and 1950s California surfers started experimenting with ways to surf when the waves weren't cooperating. Of course, we may never know who the first person was to add roller skate wheels to a wooden board, the modern skateboard is often attributed to Larry Stevenson or Bill Richard, both Californians working on the concept separately.