Birth control pill is voted Best Belgian Invention

Last week, Flanders Today listed some of the inventions proposed by Radio 1 and by listeners to the station. They included roll-on deodorant, witloof, the Big Bang, the dynamo and asphalt. Listeners were invited to add to the list, which explains some of the more unusual suggestions. Asphalt, for example, dates back to the fifth millennium BCE. The doorbell, also on the list, was probably invented by a Scotsman, in this case William Murdoch, in 1817.

On the other hand, the roller skate was indeed invented by a Belgian, John Joseph Merlin, and his invention was closer to the inline skates we know today than anything that went before. The contraceptive pill, to be fair, was not purely the invention of Turnhout gynaecologist  Ferdinand Peeters. He took an idea that had been partially developed in the US and improved on it.

Dr Peeters never took out a patent on his discovery, which would surely have netted him millions. As a strictly observant Catholic, he never quite came to terms with how his invention clashed with the view of the church. Peeters’ son, Marc, was present on Friday to receive the award at Radio 1.

Photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons