One Canadian invention after another has changed the world we live in. Here are just a few inventions that have helped to connect us, entertain us, and make our lives better.

Canadian Invention 1: Superman, 1938
Joe Shuster, an artist for the Toronto Star Newspaper, and American Jerome Siegel, invented  SUPERMAN, the superhero character. The first comic appeared in June 1938. Shuster & Siegel sold their rights to the character to DC Comics in 1940.

Canadian Invention 2: Time Zones, 1885
A Canadian invention lets us know the exact time anywhere in the world. Before time zones, people knew it was noon when the sun was overhead. So, time varied from town to town. In 1879, Sandford Fleming first made public his idea that the world should be divided into 24 equal time zones, with a standard time in each zone. In 1883, all North American railway companies adopted his idea, and by 1885, Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) was established. This placed England as the designated zone where time starts.

Canadian Invention 3: First Electric Light Bulb, 1874
Henry Woodward, a medical student from Toronto, patented the first incandescent lamp with an electric light bulb after testing it 87 times. Henry sold a share of his patent to Thomas Edison in1875, and in 1876, Edison came up with a more practical lamp that efficiently transmitted electricity into the light bulb.

Canadian Invention 4: Odometer, 1854
Odometers show how slow or fast a car is travelling. The invention of the odometer was a first in 1854. Samuel McKeen of Nova Scotia thought to attach a device to the wheel of a carriage, thereby measuring distance as the wheel turned.

Canadian Invention 4: Snowmobile, 1922
Joseph-Armand Bombardier of Valcourt, Quebec invented and produced the first snowmobile in 1922.

Canadian Invention 5: Trivial Pursuit,1979
Two university students, Scott Abbott and Chris Haney, invented an innovative and challenging game that they called TRIVIAL PURSUIT. It was available for sale in 1982. The game turned out to be a big hit with the public, and in 1984 more than 20 million copies of the game were sold worldwide!

Canadian Invention 6: Telephone, 1874
Among the best known of Canadian inventors is Alexander Graham Bell. He was living in his hometown of Brantford, Ontario when he came up with the idea for the telephone. After he moved to Boston, Massachusetts he continued to work on his invention, which he launched in 1874. Bell also invented the hydrofoil boat, the telegraph and the phonograph. Over his lifetime, Bell patented 18 inventions of his own and a further 12 with colleagues.

Canadian Invention 7: Pablum, 1920s
Toronto, Ontario doctors Alan Brown, Theodore Drake and Frederick F. Tisdall invented PABLUM, the first pre-cooked, vitamin enriched cereal for babies. All three inventors worked at the Hospital for Sick Kids in Toronto. The name comes from the Greek word for food – pabulum.

Canadian Invention 8: Snowblower, 1927
In 1927, Montreal resident Arthur Sicard invented a machine capable of clearing and throwing snow 30 meters, and could be operated by just one person. The snowblower is a great asset to all Canadians who shovel mountains of snow every winter!
Snow-mobile