Scotland has long punched above its weight when it comes to inventions. From Alexander Graham Bell getting the first patent for the telephone to the first MRI machines.Â
And while there are some major inventions most of you will be very aware of having Scottish roots, there are plenty you may not realise came from the minds of Scots.
We’ve pulled together a list of 11 major ones to discover in our gallery below.Â
5. Colour photography
You probably snap pictures with your phone fairly regularly, but could you imagine what they would look like without colour. Well, thanks to famed Scottish physicist James Clerk Maxwell the only time photos need be in black and white is when it is an artistic choice. During a lecture in 1861, Maxwell presented the world’s first colour photograph - a picture of a tartan ribbon. Wonder what he would make of Instagram! Photo: Paul Hawthorne/Getty Images | Paul Hawthorne/Getty Images Photo: Paul Hawthorne/Getty Images
6. Vacuum flask
How would we keep our morning coffees from going cold on a commute - or enjoy a warming hot chocolate after a walk in the great outdoors without one of these. You may know this invention as a thermos, but you may not realise it is yet another invention from the mind of a Scot. Sir James Dewar from Kincardine came up with the vacuum flask in 1892. Photo: ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP via Getty Images | ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP via Getty Images Photo: ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP via Getty Images
7. Hypodermic syringe
The first hypodermic syringe, the kind used to deliver your annual flu jab, was actually invented by Scottish physicist Alexander Woods in the 19th century. He combined the recently invented hypodermic needle with a plunger and a glass tube, so that the contents could be seen, in 1853 and the rest was history. Photo: Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images | Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images Photo: Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images
8. Modern flush toilet
The idea of a flushing toilet has existed in one form or another for thousands of years. But the modern loo as we know it owes a lot to Scottish mechanic Alexander Cumming, who took prior versions and added his S-bend invention in 1775. It solved the problem of foul smells coming up from sewers by using standing water in a bowl - and toilets today are still using it. Photo: PHILIP FONG/AFP via Getty Images | PHILIP FONG/AFP via Getty Images Photo: PHILIP FONG/AFP via Getty Images