Austrian Innovations: Inventions That Shaped Our World

Austria has been at the forefront of many inventions and discoveries, from the first electric car to the croissant. In the fields of medicine, physics, chemistry, psychology, and engineering, Austrian inventors have made groundbreaking contributions that have shaped the world as we know it today. The country's capital, Vienna, has been a hub of innovation, with pioneering discoveries and inventions that have improved everyday life and taken the world by storm.

The first electric car

Vienna is known for its pioneering discoveries and inventions, and one such invention is the first electric car. In 1899, coachmaker Ludwig Lohner and automotive engineer Ferdinand Porsche produced the first electric car for the Vienna-based Lohner-Werke company. The vehicle was unveiled at the World Expo in Paris a year later, and the first hybrid vehicle followed in 1900.

Lohner believed that the increasing number of petrol engines would inevitably damage the air, a concern that echoes similar concerns about the environmental impact of hydrocarbon-fuelled vehicles today. However, the Lohner-Porsche vehicle faced a short life due to crippling development costs and a legal dispute over patents.

The Lohner-Porsche electric vehicle was not the first attempt at creating an electric car. Crude electric carriages were first invented in the late 1820s and 1830s, and the first model electric vehicle is attributed to various people. In 1828, Hungarian priest and physicist Ányos Jedlik created a small model car powered by an early type of electric motor. Between 1832 and 1839, Scottish inventor Robert Anderson invented a crude electric carriage, and in 1835, Professor Sibrandus Stratingh of Groningen, along with his German assistant Christopher Becker, created a small-scale electric car.

In 1881, French inventor Gustave Trouvé presented the world's first officially recognised electric vehicle: the Trouvé tricycle. This three-wheeled electric vehicle was introduced at the International Electricity Exhibition in Paris in 1881, bringing electric vehicles into the spotlight. In 1888, Trouvé created the first four-wheeled electric car, and German engineer Andreas Flocken built and publicly tested the first electric car in Coburg, Germany.

In the United States, William Morrison built an electric car in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1889. The car used rechargeable batteries, could travel over 20 miles, and had a top speed of 6 to 8 miles per hour. The popularity of Morrison's car inspired other manufacturers to venture into electric vehicle production.

The first indoor ski slope

The world's first indoor ski slope opened in Vienna, Austria, in 1927. The Schneepalast (Snow Palace) was housed in the city's disused Nordwestbahnhof train station and featured a 20-metre slope constructed on scaffolding covered with coconut matting and artificial snow. The artificial snow was made using a combination of washing soda, sawdust, and water. The soda-based snow was soft and slippery, allowing visitors to ski or toboggan down the slope. The Schneepalast also had a ski jumping hill and a toboggan run, and it became a popular attraction in Vienna.

The idea of indoor skiing was to bring the thrill and enjoyment of snow sports to places where outdoor skiing was impossible or inconvenient due to a lack of snow, seasonal restrictions, or geographical limitations. The Schneepalast was a significant development in the history of skiing, as it allowed people to experience the joy of winter sports regardless of the outdoor conditions.

However, the Schneepalast faced some challenges. Patrons reported breathing difficulties and skin irritation due to the soda used in the artificial snow. These issues, along with a lack of sustained interest, led to the Schneepalast closing less than a year after it opened. Despite this, the concept of indoor skiing had taken root, and the popularity of indoor winter sports arenas grew internationally in the 1930s and beyond.

The Schneepalast paved the way for the modern era of indoor ski slopes, with the opening of the Snowdome in Tamworth, Staffordshire, England, in 1994. This facility offered a small ski slope with manufactured snow, allowing for year-round skiing and snowboarding. Today, indoor skiing has become a global phenomenon, with ski centres and resorts in various countries, including the Middle East and China, offering year-round snow sports experiences to enthusiasts and athletes alike.

Psychoanalysis

Freud's work in Vienna laid the foundation for psychoanalysis, a therapeutic approach that sought to bring unconscious thoughts into conscious awareness to induce catharsis, or emotional release, in patients. He collaborated with Josef Breuer on the "talking cure", which encouraged patients to speak freely about their past experiences and desires, with the belief that this would alleviate their symptoms. Freud's most famous works include "The Interpretation of Dreams", "The Psychopathology of Everyday Life", "Totem and Taboo", and "Civilization and Its Discontents".

Freud's theories on the unconscious mind, personality, life and death instincts, psychosexual development, and defence mechanisms have had a lasting impact on psychology and psychiatry. He is credited with developing talk therapy as a method for treating mental health issues, and his work on dream interpretation suggested that our true feelings and desires lie beneath the surface of conscious life.

While Freud's theories have been controversial and criticised, particularly his ideas about women and female sexuality, his influence on psychology, therapy, and culture is undeniable. His ideas have become so ingrained in society that terms like "Freudian slip", "repression", and "denial" are commonly used.

The first waterproof mascara

The world's first waterproof mascara was invented in Vienna, Austria, in the 1930s. The story behind its invention is quite fascinating. Helene Winterstein Kambersky, a celebrated singer in 1920s Vienna, often faced the issue of her eye makeup running due to the hot stage lighting during performances. Determined to find a solution, she collaborated with her brother, a chemist, and began experimenting with various formulations in her kitchen. After dedicated trial and error, they successfully created the world's first waterproof mascara.

Helene Winterstein Kambersky, who used a wheelchair due to an earlier case of lead poisoning, went on to found her own cosmetics company in 1936. She named her company Nussy, inspired by her stage name. This revolutionary waterproof mascara was a significant advancement in the beauty industry, addressing a common issue faced by many individuals under the hot lights or during emotional moments.

The original mascara tubes patented by Helene Winterstein Kambersky are still available for purchase from the Helene Cosmetics Company, which remains under family ownership. The invention of waterproof mascara was a notable contribution to the field of cosmetics, providing a solution to a long-standing challenge and empowering individuals to maintain their desired appearance even in challenging conditions.

The development of mascara itself has a long history, dating back to ancient civilizations. The ancient Egyptians, for example, are known to have used kohl to darken their eyelashes, eyelids, and eyebrows. However, it was Helene Winterstein Kambersky's innovation in the 1930s that specifically addressed the challenge of creating a mascara formulation that could withstand the effects of water and perspiration, marking a significant milestone in the evolution of cosmetic products.

In the following years, the formulation of mascara continued to evolve, with notable improvements made by Helena Rubinstein in 1957. Rubinstein's contribution transformed mascara from a hard cake into a lotion-based cream, packaged in a tube with a brush for application. This innovation further enhanced the convenience and ease of use of mascara, contributing to its widespread popularity.

The first eight-octave concert grand piano

Vienna, the world capital of music, has played a pioneering role in instrument-making over the years. The Bösendorfer piano manufactory, established over 200 years ago, is the oldest premium-segment maker and is synonymous with a unique sound that is prized by aficionados the world over. Each year, Bösendorfer handcrafts 300 of these legendary instruments.

In 1900, Bösendorfer caused a sensation when it built the world's first eight-octave concert grand piano. Even now, Ludwig Bösendorfer's Imperial represents the pinnacle of the piano maker's art and epitomizes the company's musical legacy. The Imperial has 97 keys, nine more than the standard 88-key piano. These extra keys are rarely used, but the additional bass strings add harmonic resonance that contributes to the rich, overall sound of the instrument. The Imperial is played by some of the most talented pianists, from Duke Ellington to Oscar Peterson, and from the Beatles to Bernstein.

The piano was invented by Bartolomeo Cristofori around 1700. Cristofori was a musical instrument technician from Padua, Italy, who was hired by the Florentine court of Grand Prince Ferdinando de' Medici in 1688 to manage his harpsichord collection. Cristofori's invention was a harpsichord with a hammer mechanism that could play both soft and loud noises. This new instrument had a range of four octaves (49 keys).

Over the next two centuries, piano manufacturers designed new pianos with more keys to allow composers to write more challenging music for a fuller keyboard. By the mid-1800s, pianos had up to seven octaves, and by the late 1880s, Steinway created the 88-key piano, which became the new standard.

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