What does it mean to be an American???

[Eisenhower]

Originally Posted by Mike88

not that you shouldn't be proud as an American, but boy you picked a lot of things that Americans didn't invent. In addition to the above post of things that weren't invented by Americans, Basketball was invented by a Canadian, Dr. James Naismith. Although the telephone was first patented in the US, Alexander Grahame Bell was a Scot who immigrated to Canada and later to the US, still retreating to Canada every year for summer. Finally, football was invented by Americans, but first played in Canada. Every year Harvard would play McGill University in a game of rugby. In 1874, the Harvard rugby came up to Montreal to play a game and suggested a few rule changes (forward passing) to the game of rugby and thus the first game of American football was played in Canada.

Ok, let me reiterate. I never said that “Americans” as in Cecil from Omaha, invented all this stuff. I meant that to say that it was invented & patented “in” America -that makes it American. This is mostly technical information anyway due to the fact that America is made up of immigrants. People born in other regions and later nationalizing here.

A good example is Louis Joseph Chevrolet- dude was born in Switzerland. Time passes- he moves to America, becomes a citizen and before you know it, it’s an American Revolution!

James Naismith was in fact born in Canada -never disputed it- but he did invent basketball in America and became an American citizen.

Rugby? Well, you guys were doing it wrong. kidding…

John Baird had more of an electromechanical setup, one of the early precursors to television—but not quite. All those folks previously listed were mostly working on/in different areas of the television. Credit as to who the inventor of the “modern television” really goes out to a lot of people, including Philo Farnsworth -Utah boy. But one person in particular is Vladimir Zworykin, a Russian-American pioneer of television technology. Zworykin invented a television transmitting and receiving system using cathode ray tubes- grass roots stuff. But, a lot of folks laid the ground work and as was mentioned, the list goes on…

A lot of people tried to make the light bulb but those damn things didn’t work like the one Edison’s company patented. All fairness- there is a long list.

Alexander Graham Bell was born in Scotland -absolutely- he also became a US citizen- and he did invent & patent the telephone in America.

Computers? Actually, I think it was the Babylonians that developed the world’s first computing device called the Abacus. Ancient China used it like it had Windows installed. There are also ancient manuscripts dating back to that period stating that the system crashed a lot.

[Good53X]

Originally Posted by Dragoneye

We've also got great neighbors to the North

Damn straight

[Jeff]

Typically I tell someone I'm "Texan" instead of saying I'm "American", nothing against the country as a whole there. Just love Texas, and as far as being a "American". I'm just as proud of that too. Life, liberty.

[Mr. Wyndham]

Originally Posted by Jeff

Life, liberty.

and the Persuit.

Cadillac.



Sorry, I had to.

I, too tend to refer to myself by my state, more than America as a whole. Which ever my mouth would rather say that day, it seems.