10 Inventions That You Assumed Were American But Really Aren’t

Americans have invented a lot of pretty cool stuff, guys. Doritos. Snuggies (remember those???). Football (the American one. Not soccer, you big silly head!). Spam (both the food and unsolicited emails promoting stupid and weird stuff). But believe it or not, there is an entire world out there where all sorts of amazing non-Americans created things that a lot of people mistakenly think originated in America. Here are 9 of them that might surprise you.

1. Apple Pie
“As American as Apple Pie” is a popular expression, but I have some terrible news: you’ve been lied to this entire time. The origins of pies go all the way back to Ancient Greece, although it was more common to fill them with meat and seafood. The earliest recorded reference to apple pies dates back to 1589 when British poet Robert Greene wrote “Thy breath is like the steeme of apple pies.” Goodness. Here’s to hoping he didn’t use that as a pickup line.

2. Cars
Back in 1908 Henry Ford came up with the idea of the assembly line, which revolutionized both the automobile industry and pretty much every industry for that matter. But while the Model T made it possible for the average person to own a car, the automobile was actually invented by Europeans – particularly Germans such as Karl Benz – who were looking to create a horseless carriage because, quite frankly, dragging the horse out of the stable to go on a 2am beer run just wasn’t practical.

3. The Kit Kat Bar
Here’s the concept of the Kit Kat: let’s take crunchy wafers and cover them in a wax-like substance that vaguely tastes like chocolate. That totally sounds like the American way, right? But in reality, the Kit Kat was first manufactured in 1935 York, England by the Rowntree candy company, although it was originally given the super inspired name “Chocolate Crisp.” It didn’t actually make its way to America until the 1970s.