5 great inventions you didn´t know were Belgian

Even if Belgium is a small country, a lot of things, that you need in your everyday life, are invented by Belgians. The Belgian are really great inventors, here you can find five of the most important inventions.

1. The Smurfs

These little, blue creatures, called “Les Schtroumpfs” (French) come from Belgium. In 1958 the Belgian cartoonist Pierre Cull (Peyo) ifordcreated and introduced the Smurfs. The first publication was a comic book, which was followed by short-movies, a TV-series and a music album. Nowadays you can see Smurf characters in advertising, 3D-movies, video games, theme parks and as dolls.

2. Saxophone

The saxophone belongs to the woodwind instruments, but is actually made of brass. The Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax tried to fill the gap between woodwind and brass instuments and created this amazing instrument in the year 1846. It is used in classic music, military bands, marching bands and in jazz as a soloing and melody instrument.

3. Plastic

In the 1900s the Belgian Leo Henricus Baekeland created the first commercial version of plastic and named it Bakelite, inspired by his own name. Improvement in chemical technology led to an huge number of different plastic forms, which we can’t imagine living without anymore.

4. Body Mass Index

The Body Mass Index measures body fat, by dividing a person’s weight in kilograms by his size in centimeters. This useful index was formulated by the Belgian mathematician Lambert Adolphe Quetelet between the years 1830 and 1850.

5. Asphalt

When the Belgian chemist Edward de Smedt invented the asphalt in the year 1870, he paved the way for the creation of modern roads. He improved his asphalt mix with bitumen from different countries so long, till he found the right formula to carpet roads with a smooth and clean finish.