6 Things of Daily Use That Were Gifted to the World by India

India is famous for its unique culture and cuisine. It’s a great place to visit and change yourself with new incredible experiences and emotions. But not many of us ever gave a thought as to how many significant Indian inventions we use every day without even noticing it. USB ports, passports, and even shampoo — we should thank Indian people for all these magnificent things.

The Indian “gift” list consists of hundreds of inventions. We at Bright Side would like to share the most commonly used of them. Here they are.

1. Shampoo

Life without this hair care product is simply unthinkable. But not many of us know that we have India to thank for such a wonderful daily hygiene item. Ancient Indians used a variety of herbs and extracts as shampoo back in 2750 BCE—2500 BCE, long before British colonial traders came to their lands. They liked it so much and didn’t want to abandon newly learned habits, so they introduced it to other Europeans after returning back home.

2. Radio broadcasting

Jagadish Chandra Bose was born in Munshiganj, Bengal Presidency (now Bangladesh). In 1894 (or 1895) at the Town Hall of Kolkata, he conducted an experiment. Using microwaves, he tried to ignite gunpowder and ring a bell. The experiment was a success. And later, his invention gave birth to wireless radio communications. Also, it is the basis of the technology used in mobile telephony, radar, satellite communications, television broadcasting, Wi-Fi, remote controls, and various other applications.

3. Cane sugar granules

Indians were not the first to find out how to extract sugar cane juice from the sugarcane plant. But they were the first who started to manufacture cane sugar granules from this juice. They invented it over 2,000 years ago. And it’s still a very popular “addition” to our coffee and tea.

4. Checks

The first evidence of using checks was found in the Maurya Empire, which ruled most of India from 321 BCE to 185 BCE. It was used as a commercial instrument and was called an “adesha.” And no wonder they used such a genius invention! Even today, many people find it very convenient to write out an order to a banker to pay the money.

5. The USB port

Not many of us remember that there were several cables for different devices, which made users’ lives a disaster. Luckily, an Indian-born American computer architect, Ajay Bhatt, found a solution. He created a simple universal standard tool for a great variety of devices, a port that ’’does it all.’’ And the result changed our lives completely! Not to mention that later, the USB ports became a power source for most laptops.

6. Zinc smelting

Though zinc mines were active since the common era’s early first centuries, Indians started smelting metallic zinc around the twelfth century ACE. Anyway, they were the first who managed to do it. And now, zinc is used as an antiseptic and anti-inflammatory agent in medicine as well as in the metal and printing industry. Additionally, it’s a good dietary supplement.

What aspects of this information surprised you? Have you heard about the history of each of these inventions before? Have you heard about their creators? Share your thoughts in the comments below and let us know which invention was the most crucial in the history of mankind.

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