Foreigners can tell us everything: that we are noisy, poorly organized, that we gesticulate worse than an orchestra conductor, that we are spoiled in the kitchen and more. But no one dares to say that we do not make the brain work when it is needed. In fact, over the centuries we have distinguished ourselves in many discoveries ed inventions that have changed the way we live. Unfortunately sometimes the bureaucracy and the craftiness some individuals have not given us the right merits. So here is a list of some of the Italian inventions attributed to others.
The telephone: it's all about the money
Let's start immediately with one of the inventions that changed the world: the telephone. Marketed towards the end of the nineteenth century, it was patented by Alexander Graham Bell in 1876. This at least was thought until a few decades ago, because in 2001 the Congress of the United States of America officially attributed the invention to Antonio Meucci. Our compatriot is in fact the true author of this invention. In 1854 he made the first telephone (telephone) which allowed him to communicate, inside his home, with his wife locked in bed by an illness. The good Meucci also thought of patenting the telephone, but gave up due to bureaucratic costs. He then tried with a provisional patent which he managed to keep, with various renewals, until 1873. Three years later Bell presented the project to the commission (identical to that of Meucci), taking all the credit. And many greetings to fame and glory for our Antonio.
The revolver: Sardinian inventions you don't expect
Imagine the scene: you are in the old Far West and the hot sun beats down hard on your head. A hat covers you from the sun's rays, while you stare into the eyes of a man not far from you. His hand touches the belt several times and the looks become more and more intense. The half-time strikes, the bell tower tolls. On the twelfth sdong time stops and suddenly you take out your Broccu… er, I mean Colt. Yes, because the inventor of the most famous pistol in the world doesn't seem to be samuel colt, but a Sardinian craftsman. His name is Francesco Antonio Boccu and in 1833 in Gadoni (Sardinia) he made a drum pistol with the same operation as the Colt. And he did it three years before the American version. Unfortunately, for mysterious reasons, the Sardinian did not register the patent. Too bad, because it would have been nice to see Clint Eastwood wield a Broccu in his films.
Pedaling with effort: the dynamo
Before modern LED lights on bicycles, dynamos were mounted. Through this little contraption, the energy needed to make the light bulb work was generated. Obviously this is an invention applied in many fields and sectors, certainly not only in the cycling one. And the official author of this marvel, dated 1869, turns out to be Zenobe-Théophile Gramme. This at least according to the French patent office and Wikipedia. In fact, nine years earlier, Antonio Pacinotti he had made one in Italy. For the story, however, that model was only a prototype not registered, thus placing the Italian dynamo among the many inventions never patented.
The discovery of penicillin: the proof that Molise exists!
Sugar beet e discovery of penicillin: these were the life-saving answers when you showed up at school without homework done. But if we know practically everything about the sweet plant, the speech is different about the antibiotic par excellence. The official discoverer of penicillin, according to history and our science teacher, is Alexander Fleming (1928). However, what many do not know is that as early as 1895 the destructive effects of certain molds on bacteria were noted. This is thanks to the work of the Molise doctor Vincent Tiberius, who published the results in a long signed report. Unfortunately, the lack of interest in the Italian scientific environment made that work slip into oblivion, postponing the discovery of the antibiotic for 33 years.
