Best Inventions In Each State. What Is Montana’s?

Ever wonder what your state is famous for? I was surprised to know my birth state invented the Post It Notes. Times have definitely changed! Check your birth state and Montana!

Alabama: The Electronic Hearing Aid
Miller Reese Hutchinson spent four years at Alabama Medical College, researching and trying time and time again to develop the first portable hearing aid. He eventually succeeded in 1898.

Alaska: The Kayak
These streamlined vessels were designed thousands of years ago by the region's native people as a way to better hunt sea otters, seals, and even whales.

Arizona: Taser
NASA nuclear physicist Jack Cover developed the first Taser, which he patented in 1974.

Arkansas: The Bowie Knife
Jim Bowie in the early nineteenth century inspired the creation of what is now known as the Bowie knife, characterized by its long blade and double-edged point.

California: Google
Two Stanford University graduate students named Larry Page and Sergey Brin debuted their world-class Internet search engine that has now come to be known as Google—today a near-universal term.

Colorado: Otterbox
This highly resilient, waterproof, crush-proof, smash-proof, drop-proof, accident-protecting case, introduced by a Fort Collins start-up in 1998.

Connecticut: Vulcanized Rubber
Products like pencil erasers, life jackets, and gloves are all possible because, in the 1840s, Charles Goodyear discovered the secret to vulcanizing rubber, a process that he named after Vulcan, the Roman god of fire.

Delaware: Kevlar
The material in bulletproof vests. This was created by chemist Stephanie Kwolek in 1965.

Florida: Air Conditioning
A doctor by the name of John Gorrie first came up with the idea in 1841, when he imported massive amounts of ice from northern lakes down to Florida, in order to cool his patients' sickrooms.

Georgia: Cotton Gin
Eli Whitney patented the cotton gin while working on a Georgian plantation in 1794.

Hawaii: Surf Board
Hawaiians viewed the practice of finding their balance on the board as a sort of unique spiritual ritual.

Idaho: Television (kind of)
Philo Farnsworth in the early 1900s first drew up the blueprints, but he didn't actually invent the device until 1927 when he had relocated to San Francisco.

Illinois: Transistor
William Shockley developed the first junction transistor in 1948. (For us less electrically savvy people, a transistor switches electric signals on and off.)

Indiana: Voicemail
Scott Jones in the early '90s created this fancy messaging tool. The voicemail made the inventor wealthy enough to retire at the age of 31.

Iowa: Tractor
Iowa farmer, John Froelich got fed up with dragging his steam-powered thresher through the fields. He had the idea to attach a gas engine to the thresher's running gear and was amazed at how well it worked. Later John named the company, "John Deere".

Kansas: Helicopter
Kansan Rex Maneval developed the helicopter in 1939.

Kentucky: Bourbon.
The Samuels family is who we have to thank for opening the first bourbon distillery in Samuels Depot, Kentucky. Rumored to have had the recipe for generations before opening the first distillery.

Louisiana: Binocular Microscope
Tulane chemistry professor John Riddell developed the binocular microscope in 1852.

Maine: Diving Suit
In 1834, Leonard Norcross successful invention of the first fully-enclosed diving suit.

Maryland: The Human Genome Map
In 2001, The National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, published the first mapping of the human genome. This opened up the flood gates for DNA.

Massachusetts: Facebook
Mark Zuckerberg developed this wildly popular social media platform in his Harvard college dorm room.

Michigan: Ford Model-T
Thanks to inventor Henry Ford, the Model-T was produced in massive quantities in an assembly-line factory in Detroit and Highland Park, Michigan. The Model-T became the first vehicle that was accessible to the everyday, working-class American.

Minnesota: Post It Notes
Two scientists in the 3M Research labs, developed the sticky-but-not-too-sticky product in the 1970s.

Mississippi: Lung Transplant Technique
Dr James D. Hardy performed the very first human lung transplant at University Hospital in Jackson, Mississippi, in 1963.

Missouri: Ice Cream Cone
In 1904 when an exhausted, overworked ice cream vendor ran out of cups at the St. Louis World's Fair, he asked the waffle vendor next to him to roll up some of his waffles so he could perch the scoops of ice cream on top of them.

Montana: The Holter Monitor Test (kind of)
Although not invented IN Montana, the Heart Monitor inventor was from Montana. Norman "Jeff" Holter, the Holter Monitor Test was developed in 1947.

Nebraska: The Ski Lift
James Curran had invented a system to get bananas lifted and carried to different loading dock areas. When he was asked to invent something to get skiers to the top of mountains, he knew exactly what to do.

Nevada: Levi's
In 1873, Levi Strauss revealed and patented the idea of using rivets at the "points of strain" in "men's work pants. Today Levi's have become a fashion statement as well as a "workers" jeans.

New Hampshire: The Washing Machine
Nathaniel Briggs, in 1797, created this commonly used household appliance. I prefer top-loading.

New Jersey: The Light Bulb
Thomas Edison's laboratory in Menlo Park, New Jersey, experimented with over 3,000 different designs for bulbs between 1878 and 1880 before finally perfecting a bulb that worked.

New Mexico: Atomic Bomb
In July of 1945, the world's most brilliant physicists and chemists undertook the creation of the world's first atomic bomb in Alamogordo, New Mexico.

New York: MRI
Dr. Raymond Damadian, in the 1970s, was able to use the imaging system to successfully identify cancerous tissues. Later creating the full-body MRI in 1977.

North Carolina: Universal Product Code (UPC)
In the early 1970s, an I.B.M. engineer named George Laurer was originally tasked with creating a scannable code for food products. Unfortunately, Laurer never received any royalties for this universally used product.

North Dakota: The Kodak Camera
In 1881, David Henderson Houston was supposed to be a farmer. But instead, filed a patent for an invention: a camera containing a roll of film. Houston's camera would go on to become today's iconic Kodak camera.

Ohio: Three Color Traffic Light
In 1923, Garrett Morgan patented the stoplight (as we call it today). He was also the first African-American to own a car in Cleveland. A very interesting man in my eyes.

Oklahoma: The Parking Meter
The state installed the first coin-regulated meter in 1935, in Oklahoma City.

Oregon: Pendleton Blanket
In the 1900s this thick wool blanket features Native American-inspired designs that are wildly popular among the locals and now worldwide.

Pennsylvania: The Computer
The very first computer was constructed at the University of Pennsylvania during the World War II era to perform ballistics calculations for the U.S. military.

Rhode Island: The Automatic Sprinkler System
Frederick Grinnell invented the automatic sprinkler system in 1872. This system, which detects smoke and then rings, has saved many lives.

South Carolina: Military Submarine
The Submarine made its first appearance during the Civil War, the H.L. Hunley was manufactured by the Confederate Army.

South Dakota: The Cyclotron
I had no clue what this was. Apparently, a South Dakotan invented this tool that functions as a particle accelerator in 1932. It provides help in the field of nuclear physics experimentation. I will stick with radio.

Tennessee: The Tow Truck
Ernest Holmes, Sr. came up with a contraption that consisted of a pulley, three poles, and a chain in order to transport his friend's Cadillac.

Texas: Hand-Held Calculator
1967, Texas' Instruments' came up with this easy "bring with you" math tool. I'm just happy I had this for math class.

Utah: Airbags
George Kirchoff was able to perfect this life-saving device in the 1980s.

Vermont: The Copper Coin
The first state to roll out copper coins in 1785. This set the precedent for today's U.S. pennies featuring Honest Abe.

Virginia: Mobile Phone
In 1900, Reginald Fessenden placed the first-ever "wireless telephone call" on the outskirts of Washington, D.C., essentially transmitting his speech via radio waves.

Washington: The Jumbo Jet
Everett, Washington, showcased the world's first-ever jumbo jet in 1969. This massive aircraft was as tall as a six-story building and could seat 374 passengers.

West Virginia: The Ladies' Garland
The nation's first print publication to focus on topics pertaining specifically to women's interests. 52 issues were published between 1824 and 1828.

Wisconsin: The Blender
Stephen Poplawski, who owned Stevens Electric Company, in 1922 came up with the first-ever liquefying machine.

Wyoming: The Garage Door Opener
Elmer Lovejoy invented the first garage door opener in 1918. And bless his heart!