65 Incredibly Useful And Ingenious Things In Various Parts Of The World That The US Would Like Too

The United States is seen by some as a first-world country that sets the bar for the rest of the world. It's the land of opportunity, where anything is possible. But many quintessentially American things actually weren't even invented there. And to this day, the country trails behind when it comes to certain innovations.

Even the national anthem isn't originally from the States. The melody of "The Star-Spangled Banner," believe it or not, comes from a British drinking song. Once Francis Scott Key wrote the poem that ultimately became the anthem, he was humming to the tune of "To Anacreon in Heaven."

As Business Insider reports, the British song praises debauchery rather than patriotism, "yet Americans proudly listen to and sing the notoriously tricky-to-nail tune on the Fourth of July and at countless sporting events throughout the year." 

And while the United States holds the record for having the most private jets in the world, accounting for about 63% to 67% of the entire global fleet, Americans weren't the ones to "fly" the first plane. That prize goes to a New Zealand farmer named Richard Pearse, who got his self-made plane off the ground in March of 1902. It was around nine months before the famous Wright brothers took to the sky.

According to the official New Zealand History site, there is evidence that Pearse had begun working on ideas for powered flight from 1899 and had built his first two-cylinder petrol engine by 1902.

"He then constructed, using bamboo, tubular steel, wire and canvas, a low aspect ratio monoplane," notes the site. Following his first attempted flight, Pearse continued to test the plane and achieved several further powered take-offs or long hops, it adds. "None of them, in terms of length or control, was a true flight by any strict definition."

Denim and jeans might seem like a very American fashion statement but they didn't originate in the United States.

"Denim was invented by accident in 18th-century France in the city of Nîmes," reports Business Insider. "Attempting to copy an Italian fabric, serge, the French created a material they called "serge de Nîmes," which was shortened to "denim."

It was Levi Strauss (born Loeb Strauss) who brought the much-loved fabric to America when he emigrated from Bavaria in 1853.

"Living in San Francisco and working at his family's dry goods store, Strauss teamed up with Jacob Davis, a tailor from Nevada. Together, they registered a patent for pants strengthened with rivets that catered to the mining industry," the site reveals.

An American man called Philo Taylor Farnsworth was awarded the "Father of Electronic Television" title after unveiling a video camera tube that has evolved into what we know today as the TV. He was just 21 at the time. In 1927, Farnsworth wowed the world by showing them that the tube could transmit images by scanning them with a beam of electrons. And thanks to him, Hollywood continues to bring us lifetimes of entertainment.

But what many might not know is that the television was in the making long before Farnsworth's big reveal...

"Earlier experiments by people such as Boris Rosing in Russia and John Logie Baird in England preceded Farnsworth's invention," reveals Business Insider.

The site explains that in 1907, Rosing researched how a cathode ray tube could be used as a receiver and filed a German patent for the device, while Baird discovered in 1924 that rotating discs with holes in them could transmit images mechanically.