Talk:List of Canadian inventions, innovations, and discoveries

Untitled
Word order - shouldn't the invention come before the inventor? I know to look for garbage bag - but not the inventor. Should be inventions first, inventor second. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Themepark (talk • contribs) 05:04, 16 November 2007 (UTC)
 * Good idea; done! Verne Equinox (talk) 17:49, 19 March 2008 (UTC)


 * what about the telephone? ```` —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.53.36.5 (talk) 20:53, 15 January 2009 (UTC)

Didn't an Englishman named Joseph Swan invent the light bulb? Didn't the British invent hockey and Canadians invent ice hockey? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.42.10.117 (talk) 01:51, 19 January 2009 (UTC)

That's right. Joseph Swan is the original inventor of the light bulb although Thomas Edison invented or improved it a few years later.

Therefore, the credit for inventing the light bulb goes to Joseph Swan and anyone else credited for it likely made a modified version. Hackyakstack (talk) 21:24, 28 January 2009 (UTC)

I deleted Bixi
Bixi isn't an invention. Bixi is a company which created a bicycle sharing system. (The system itself could be an invention- but Bixi didn't invent the system - just applied it to bicycles). If Bixi is included - I would like to include the pizza restaurant down the street - for inventing a pizza restaurant by the name of Panago. Hopefully you see the difference between an invention, and an innovative/successful company. Bixi belongs to the later category. I deleted Bixi.

Another invention
I can think of another possible Canadian invention. But listing it requires acknowldgement that it was co-invented between an American and a Canadian. And the invention would be the charge-coupled device, co-invented by the Canadian Willard Boyle and the American George E. Smith. If anybody can find a reliable source and if there is consensus to add it to the list since the invention itself is not totally Canadian, then it should be added.

Also, where are the citations for this list. Everything is unreferenced and unverifiable. Yoganate79 (talk) 04:39, 24 January 2010 (UTC)


 * Everything should be cited, but the tags at the top already mention that there are no citations, so it is unnecessary to add a citation needed tag after every claim. -  ʄɭoʏɗiaɲ  τ ¢  01:35, 25 January 2010 (UTC)

Apparently, you do not comprehend nor do you understand the English language. This discussion which I initated on here is about the Charge-coupled devicice and not tags placed throughout the article..... If you wanted to discuss the placement of tags, then you should have started a new entry on this talk page. Yoganate79 (talk) 10:46, 30 January 2010 (UTC)


 * I don't want to discuss it; I'm telling you. Now I'm leaving so you can be hostile with you and yourself. -  ʄɭoʏɗiaɲ  τ ¢  16:30, 30 January 2010 (UTC)

Q? Claiming a device was improved or invented by a none Canadian in Canada could be seen as taking credit for something Canada has no right to. Before anyone gets annoyed this is an observation. Also some one may want to alter the standard time thing to, as I think it was standard in Britain long before it was in North America? [User:Dottorre|Dottorre]] 15:32 GMT - LAST DAY OF 2010 — Preceding unsigned comment added by Dottorre (talk • contribs) 15:33, 31 December 2010 (UTC)

Java / Gosling
The article has an unsourced, dubious claim that Java is a Canadian invention. From Java_programming_language

and from Java_(software_platform)"

That would make 1/3 of the contributors Canadian, but the invention occurring in California. Java programming language should be removed from the list in this article.Toddst1 (talk) 15:55, 15 April 2013‎ Toddst1 (UTC)
 * Given no objections in a few months, I've removed it. Toddst1 (talk) 22:18, 1 June 2013 (UTC)


 * You did, but the version from 00:08, 30 August 2021 included it back. 69.159.76.168 (talk) 17:18, 7 March 2023 (UTC)

Not Canadian
Looking over the list, it's clear that a considerable number of the items listed are not Canadian. They were invented by people that were born in Canada, or visited Canada at some point, but the invention itself took place entirely outside the country. Fessenden is a perfectly example - he dominates this list, but appears to have done the vast majority (all?) of his inventing while living in the US, where he spent the majority of his life. Should I prune? Maury Markowitz (talk) 23:45, 2 August 2013 (UTC)


 * Examples:
 * The CCD was invented entirely in the US at AT&T by an American and a ex-pat Canadian. The appearance here is dubious at best.
 * Everything by Fessenden, as noted above, was really a US invention
 * Boyle invented ASDIC in England
 * Wilson's work on carbide took place in the US
 * Urry's work on the battery took place in Ohio, where he spent most of his life
 * Brunton compass - invented in Colorado, where Brunton lived most of his life
 * McCoy invented the lubrication system while working in Michigan, where he settled (also the source of the term "the Real McCoy")
 * Instant mashed potatoes appears to be simply wrong, as noted on that article's talk page
 * Helmut Lucas definitely did not invent the prosthetic hand, and the only references to the electric claim are from the same janky list
 * The walky-talky appears to have been independently invented at Motorola, worth mentioning
 * JACO, quasi turbine, TM4, WEEVAC 6, Uno and others are all questionable for this list, they are relatively minor inventions not worth to be on the same list as "telephone" and "snowmobile"

Maury Markowitz (talk) 01:06, 3 August 2013 (UTC)
 * Maury: I suppose it falls to the definition of what is "Canadian". While it is true that many inventions were made outside Canada, it is reasonable for a nation to claim the inventors/inventions as their own (or at least a share in them). Look at expatriat Canadian musicians and actors for an analogy. How many of Neil Young's songs were written in Canada? I think your aproach as in your list is a good one: state where the inventions took place while also recogniing the inventor's nation of origin. Verne Equinox (talk) 12:44, 9 August 2013 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 3 March 2014
Ice hockey was invented by James Creighton and McGill University students in 1875

Basketball was invented by Dr. James Naismith in 1891

24.213.64.214 (talk) 22:59, 3 March 2014 (UTC)
 * Red information icon with gradient background.svg Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. — &#123;&#123;U&#124;Technical 13&#125;&#125; (t • e • c) 02:11, 4 March 2014 (UTC)

ta mere
ta mere en string de guerre

174.91.184.8 (talk) 22:54, 3 February 2015 (UTC)

Not done: not english, and not clear on changes to be made. -- Orduin  Discuss 00:04, 4 February 2015 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 3 October 2015
Please change Uno motorcycle to Uno dicycle - per target, the wheels are side-by-side, not one behind the other, hence former is incorrect, latter is correct. Thanks. 110.77.221.89 (talk) 21:00, 2 October 2015 (UTC)
 * Yes check.svg Done Thank you. --Stabila711 (talk) 21:56, 2 October 2015 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 31 October 2016
Link to WEEVAC 6 is incorrect. There is another Wikipedia page at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weevac_6 (different capitalization) that should be pointed to instead.

William.rc.mitchell (talk) 16:40, 31 October 2016 (UTC)
 * ✅ - thanks for pointing that out - Arjayay (talk) 17:19, 31 October 2016 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 26 July 2017
Prosthetic hand was invented by Helmut Lucas in 1971.

Change "Lucas" to "Lukas" because "Lukas" is the correct spelling. This has been mistakenly recorded on several sites which I am working on correcting. This is my grandfather and I'd like his work to be properly recognized. Jmac1285 (talk) 19:55, 26 July 2017 (UTC)
 * Please provide a reliable reference for the correct spelling. For that matter, please clarify this claim with a reliable source. Clearly the first prosthetic hand was not invented in 1971. They have been used for hundreds of years. Meters (talk) 20:05, 26 July 2017 (UTC)
 * Red information icon with gradient background.svg Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. jd22292 (Jalen D. Folf) (talk) 20:30, 26 July 2017 (UTC)
 * I've removed the claim. It was unsourced and overstated. Possibly there was some extension of prosthetic hand technology invented in 1971 by Lucas/Lukas but I can't tell what it was. Meters (talk) 21:54, 17 August 2017 (UTC)

Protocol? Self-Identification?
What's the protocol for adding Canadian inventions and inventors to this page?

I am Canadian. I am a moderately prolific inventor, circa 120 US patents as of 2017 - at one time I was the most prolific inventor at Intel (which I left in 2009).

My inventions are in the field of Computer Architecture: Out-of-Order CPU Design (eg many in Intel P6), packed SIMD vectors (Intel MMX), virtual machines, computer security, etc. Many are minor, as is the way of such things. Some are important. You can google them or me if you want more details.

Am I allowed to add my important inventions to this list of Canadian inventions? Or is that too shameless self promotion? My motivation is mainly that it annoys me not to see important Canadian inventions in computer technology listed - although there is probably some ego gratification as well.

If it is not permitted to add myself to this list, may I add other Canadian inventors and their inventions that I am familiar with? For example, in my field of computer hardware design, Marc Tremblay is already on wikipedia, and is a prolific inventor. Not on Wikipedia: David Christie of AMD, whose inventions include large parts of AMD x86-64. Olivier Giroux of Nvidia, whose work was important enough to inspire me to join that company. Giroux, Tremblay, Christie, and I all grew up within several miles of each other, but did not know of each other until much later.

Me suggesting this is not an example of friends scratching each others' backs. Tremblay probably doesn't know who I am, while in many ways our technical approaches have been opposed. More like paying due respect to a rival.

I have remained a Canadian citizen despite working more than 30 years in the US. I do not know the citizenship status of Giroux, Tremblay, and Christie. I remain proudly Canadian, and would return to live in Canada if my career permitted it - there just aren't many jobs for computer architects in Canada (although that may change given Canada's recent prominence in AI - surely there are some Canadian inventions in that field to be listed). — Preceding unsigned comment added by A.Glew (talk • contribs) 20:50, November 30, 2017 (UTC) Meters (talk) 23:59, 30 November 2017 (UTC)
 * According to my reading of the intro inventions by Canadians or former Canadians are fair game, as is anything invented in Canada, It's not a good idea to add yourself directly, but you can propose changes. See WP:COI. No problem for you to add others assuming there is no COI. .Note that this is a list of notable inventions by or in Canada.(not a list of inventions by notable Canadians). If the invention is not notable enough to have an article then it probably does not belong on this list. Simply being patented is not sufficient. Some of what you are describing is likely to have this problem. Meters (talk) 00:12, 1 December 2017 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 20 April 2018
Can you add more categories please. 99.239.17.170 (talk) 16:10, 20 April 2018 (UTC)
 * Red question icon with gradient background.svg Not done: it's not clear what changes you want to be made. Please mention the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format and provide a reliable source if appropriate. Please more specific in detailing what exactly you would like added. Thanks, Nici  Vampire  Heart  16:17, 20 April 2018 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 6 February 2020
Please, add a reference to the line about the Cardiac Pacemaker - John Hobbs: https://ethw.org/Milestones:First_External_Cardiac_Pacemaker,_1950 209.225.138.8 (talk) 00:10, 6 February 2020 (UTC)
 * Red information icon with gradient background.svg Not done: This is not a referenced list but a navigational list and the article Artificial_cardiac_pacemaker already has John Hopps which is referenced. See this for more details. Eggishorn (talk) (contrib) 21:52, 6 February 2020 (UTC)

A Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion
The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion: Participate in the deletion discussion at the nomination page. —Community Tech bot (talk) 19:08, 11 December 2020 (UTC)
 * The Canadian nurse (1955) (14591776759).jpg

Semi-protected edit request on 30 December 2020
"Add ringette to the sports section" Ringette was invented by West Ferris and Sam Jacks in 1963. 2607:FEA8:2D1F:8E50:605C:7F47:D8B1:410E (talk) 01:02, 30 December 2020 (UTC)
 * ✅ Thank you. TimSmit (talk) 16:00, 3 January 2021 (UTC)

Baseball glove
Many feel baseball is a true American sport, so it might surprise you to know that the Baseball glove was said to be invented in Canada in 1883!! Art "Foxy" Irwin is said to invent the baseball glove, though some contend he just made it popular and we may never know the whole truth. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.27.77.22 (talk) 00:13, 27 March 2021 (UTC)

A Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion
The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion: Participate in the deletion discussion at the nomination page. —Community Tech bot (talk) 04:41, 9 August 2021 (UTC)
 * The Canadian nurse (1955) (14591776759).jpg

Semi-protected edit request on 17 March 2022
add Nodwell 110 to transportation section, invented by Bruce Nodwell.

add Finite element method invented by Alexander Hrennikoff. 109.252.168.174 (talk) 17:10, 17 March 2022 (UTC)
 * ✅ ScottishFinnishRadish (talk) 17:16, 17 March 2022 (UTC)

Duplication
AM broadcasting — invented by Reginald Fessenden in 1906 Amplitude modulation — invented by Reginald Fessenden in 1906

These are largely the same thing, no? 104.156.66.252 (talk) 13:23, 19 June 2023 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 22 August 2023
exhcange = exchange 2603:8000:D300:3650:2DE9:B308:971A:7E3D (talk) 07:19, 22 August 2023 (UTC)
 * ✅ M.Bitton (talk) 12:12, 22 August 2023 (UTC)

Title
Would anyone object if this article was moved to the slightly more accurate title "List of Canadian inventions, innovations, and discoveries"? Tduk (talk) 19:44, 1 October 2023 (UTC)