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From the boomerang to the black box: Australian products that changed the world

Australian ingenuity at its finest
Up to 50,000 years ago: Boomerang
Up to 40,000 years ago: Didgeridoo
1843: Mechanised grain stripper
1851: Refrigerator
1856: Ballot box
1868: Granny Smith apple
1877: Sheep-shearing machine
1889: Electric drill
1894: Powered flying machine
1902: Notepad
1906: Kiwi Boot Polish
1912: Tank
1920s: Clapperboard
1926: Electronic pacemaker
1939: Commercial penicillin
1940: Zinc cream
1944/45: Distance measuring equipment
1949: Disposable hypodermic syringe
1953: Solar water heater
1953: Black box flight recorder
1957: Shrink- and crease-free wool
1960: Plastic spectacle lenses
1964: Disposable latex gloves
1965: Box/cask wine
1965: Inflatable escape slide and raft
1989: Zanamivir/Relenza
1988: Polymer bank note
1992: Wi-Fi
1991: Extended wear contact lenses
1999: Spray-on skin
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Courtesy EAM Worldwide

Australian ingenuity at its finest

From the boomerang to the precursor to the modern refrigerator, black box flight recorder and even Wi-Fi, heaps of game-changing innovations have come from a land Down Under. Looking all the way back to the southern hemisphere nation's prehistory, read on to find out 30 of the most awesome Australian inventions ever.

 

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Daniel Coughlin

23 August 2024

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