Revolutionary Inventions You Didn’t Know Came from Minnesota

Lots of cool things were invented in Minnesota. We are all aware of the well-known Minnesota inventions like SPAM, Scotch Tape, and Post-Its (regardless of what they say in Romy and Michele's High School Reunion movie lol). But, there are some things on this list that totally blew my mind like the toaster!

Did you know that all of these revolutionary things were invented right here in the Land of 10,000 Lakes?

Milky Way Candy Bar

Who knew the Milky Way was invented in Minnesota? MinnPost says, Frank C. Mars, from Hancock, founded the Mar-O-Bar candy company in Minneapolis in 1920. Three years later, he introduced the Milky Way, the world’s first "filled" candy bar, inspired by a popular chocolate-malt milkshake.

Get our free mobile app

Rollerblades

Breathe Right Strips - helping marriages everywhere! ;)

Bruce Johnson, a self-taught engineer who suffered from severe nasal congestion, found that two pieces of plastic affixed with an adhesive pad kept his nostrils open at night, and licensed the idea to CNS, the Minnesota medical equipment company that made the strips, according to Minnpost.

Nerf Ball

Nerf, which stands for Non-Expanding Recreational Foam, was founded back in 1969 by Parker Brothers after Reyn Guyer, a Minnesota-based inventor approached the company. Reyn proposed to Nerf a safe indoor football game, according to Hatchwise. 

Retractable Seat Belt

James J. "Crash" Ryan, a mechanical engineering professor at the University of Minnesota from 1931 to 1963, invented the automatic retractable lap safety belt and patented it in 1963, according to the Minnesota Inventors Hall of Fame.

Also See: Picturesque Town Now Minnesota's Coolest Small City.

Snow Blower

Toro introduced the first walk-behind snow blower, much to the relief of corner-lot homeowners and their cardiologists. - MinnPost.

Listen to Curt St. John and Samm Adams in the Morning
weekdays from 6 to 10 a.m. on Quick Country 96.5