Good idea Phil.
A quote from Wikipedia. Even if it is not 100% accurate, the Birmingham area is obviously a tour de force.
By the year 2000, of the 4,000 inventions copyrighted in the UK, 2,800 came from within a 35-mile radius of Birmingham. Peter Colegate of the
Patent Office stated that "Every year, Birmingham amazes us by coming up with thousands of inventions. It is impossible to explain but people in the area seem to have a remarkable ability to come up with, and have the dedication to produce, ideas."[2]
Here are saome more firsts;
After electricity was discovered no one could find a use for it! Two Birmingham brothers found a use for it that changed Birmingham and the world, they patented electroplating. Their names were Elkington.
Brylcreem was invented in Birmingham in 1929 by County Chemicals who also manufactured the abrasive cleaner, 'Chemico'. County Chemicals are still in business in Shirley.
Birmingham manufacturer Henry Clay patented the making of papier mache which was originally cloth and glue. Many durable objects such as furniture were made from papier mache.
Birmingham company, Horsfall & Batchelor, made the first transatlantic telephone cable in 1865. While it was being laid the end was lost, so they made another one in 1866!
In Birmingham in 1849 the first building to be put up solely for the exhibition of manufactured goods was built for an exhibition of the British Society. It had a 10,000 square feet area, and together with Bingley House, in the gardens of which it was erected, 12,800 square feet of exhibition space was available.
Cotton wool was invented in Birmingham.
Sir Edmund Crane, the co- founder and managing director of Hercules Cycles, is said to have pioneered the British export trade
Has that set the cat amongst the pigeons?