Grumpy_Mike:
What you mean to say is that a lot of Americans claim to have invented stuff that was made years before in Europe.
And many westerners "invented" stuff that the Chinese had been using for centuries
Super Glue (cyanoacrylate) was tested in the 40's by Harry Coover at Kodak as a potential material for making gun sites, but was rejected because it was too sticky. A few years later he was supervising a team looking for a material for plane canopies and again rejected it, but this time realized that it could be used as a glue.
I can't find it now, but many years ago I read an interview with either Coover or Fred Joyner who said they struggled in the lab because everything was sticking together. This went on for weeks before anyone had the idea it might make a good glue.
Cyanoacrylate - WikipediaMicrowave ovens were discovered by accident in WWII when Percy Spencer noticed his chocolate bar was melted. The first food intentionally cooked with microwaves? popcorn.
Microwave oven - WikipediaSteve Turner
