# The English are not an inventive people, they do not eat enough pie. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 23, 2003, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-english-are-not-an-inventive-people-they-do-not-eat-enough-pie/183697 "2003-06-23T04:21:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![merrily](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@merrily](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/merrily)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2003, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-english-are-not-an-inventive-people-they-do-not-eat-enough-pie/183697/101 "2003-06-29T22:19:14Z")
And we Americans have…quiche, a nice savory egg pie. Somehow I don’t think we invented quiche lorraine, though. But we still like it. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Great\_Unwashed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_great_unwashed/32/4791_2.png) [@The\_Great\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Great_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2003, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-english-are-not-an-inventive-people-they-do-not-eat-enough-pie/183697/102 "2003-06-29T22:35:31Z")
As if this poor thread hadn’t been hijacked to death already, I feel I must ask – is it just me, or, does _quiche lorraine_ sound like the most filthy innuendo? runs off to make his name at [“face.pajamas.com”](http://www.wadham.ox.ac.uk/~jstacey/facepyjama/whatisfp.html) ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2003, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-english-are-not-an-inventive-people-they-do-not-eat-enough-pie/183697/103 "2003-06-30T07:34:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Warnas \* > \*\*But only we, The Dutch, can stomach a RAW HERRING! \*\* When did the Netherlands annex Scandinavia? ---
**Author:** ![mascaroni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/dc4da7/32.png) [@mascaroni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mascaroni)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2003, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-english-are-not-an-inventive-people-they-do-not-eat-enough-pie/183697/104 "2003-06-30T09:58:02Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Shrinking Violet \* > \*\* > “… A very famous photograph from the Nineteenth Century shows a group of tin miners at ‘Croust Time’ , that is meal time to you and I, tucking into very large pasties. Such pasties would have **meat at one end and a fruit filling at the other**.” > > [link to site](http://www.cornishlight.co.uk/cornish-pasty.htm) > > Julie 😛 \*\* They used to eat [Bedfordshire Clangers](http://www.hwatson.force9.co.uk/cookbook/recipes/meat/bedfordshireclanger.htm) in Cornwall? ---
**Author:** ![Shrinking\_Violet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@Shrinking\_Violet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shrinking_Violet)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2003, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-english-are-not-an-inventive-people-they-do-not-eat-enough-pie/183697/105 "2003-06-30T11:32:59Z")
> [@](#): > > They used to eat Bedfordshire Clangers in Cornwall? Wow mascaroni … I _live_ in Bedfordshire and I’ve never heard of Bedfordshire Clangers. They look delish! I reckon they stole the idea from Cornwall tho’ 🙂 Julie ---
**Author:** ![Carnac\_the\_Magnificent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Carnac\_the\_Magnificent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carnac_the_Magnificent)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2003, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-english-are-not-an-inventive-people-they-do-not-eat-enough-pie/183697/106 "2003-06-30T14:06:05Z")
To claim that Americans do not make good use of organ meats is patently false. We do, but we call it dog food. Yum! ---
**Author:** ![mascaroni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/dc4da7/32.png) [@mascaroni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mascaroni)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2003, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-english-are-not-an-inventive-people-they-do-not-eat-enough-pie/183697/107 "2003-06-30T17:11:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Shrinking Violet \* > \*\*Wow mascaroni … I _live_ in Bedfordshire and I’ve never heard of Bedfordshire Clangers. They look delish! I reckon they stole the idea from Cornwall tho’ 🙂 > > Julie \*\* Try one from [here](http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/foodheroes/producers/194.shtml)… It could solve the transatlantic fruit or meat in pie debate though… a Pilgrim Father took a Bedfordshire Clanger down to Plymouth, a Cornishman tried to snatch it, only got the meat part, and called it a Cornish pasty, while the Pilgrim was left with the (as American as) Apple Pie. This is how conspiracy theories start… ---
**Author:** ![Hoopy\_Frood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hoopy_frood/32/8452_2.png) [@Hoopy\_Frood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hoopy_Frood)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2003, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-english-are-not-an-inventive-people-they-do-not-eat-enough-pie/183697/108 "2003-06-30T21:18:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Kid\_Gilligan \* > \*\*Could you make a Steak and Kidney Turnover? \*\* Only after I make the Egg Roll. Thank you, I’ll be here all week. Don’t forget to tip your waitress. ---
**Author:** ![Hoopy\_Frood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hoopy_frood/32/8452_2.png) [@Hoopy\_Frood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hoopy_Frood)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2003, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-english-are-not-an-inventive-people-they-do-not-eat-enough-pie/183697/109 "2003-06-30T21:23:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by amanset \* > \*\*When did the Netherlands annex Scandinavia? \*\* My father always eats pickled herring. He’s Scandinavian. I don’t know if he’s actually had herring raw and unpickled, but I wouldn’t be surprised. He’s also tried lutefisk. He said it likes chewing on rubber bands–only rubber bands taste better. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2003, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-english-are-not-an-inventive-people-they-do-not-eat-enough-pie/183697/110 "2003-07-01T00:35:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by The Great Unwashed \* > \*\*Hitler, as any fule kno, was a _vegetarian_. \*\* And Americans eat vegetarian fruit pies rather than meat pies, therefore . . . ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2003, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-english-are-not-an-inventive-people-they-do-not-eat-enough-pie/183697/111 "2003-07-01T01:40:39Z")
Hitler was a fruit?! ---
**Author:** ![Hoopy\_Frood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hoopy_frood/32/8452_2.png) [@Hoopy\_Frood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hoopy_Frood)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2003, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-english-are-not-an-inventive-people-they-do-not-eat-enough-pie/183697/112 "2003-07-01T12:43:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by NoClueBoy \* > \*\*Hitler was a fruit?! \*\* More than that, he was a vegetarian fruit. And we ate him. At least, I think that’s the point Muffin is making here. ---
**Author:** ![Shrinking\_Violet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@Shrinking\_Violet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shrinking_Violet)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2003, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-english-are-not-an-inventive-people-they-do-not-eat-enough-pie/183697/113 "2003-07-01T12:57:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by mascaroni \* > \*\*Try one from [here](http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/foodheroes/producers/194.shtml)… > It could solve the transatlantic fruit or meat in pie debate though… a Pilgrim Father took a Bedfordshire Clanger down to Plymouth, a Cornishman tried to snatch it, only got the meat part, and called it a Cornish pasty, while the Pilgrim was left with the (as American as) Apple Pie. > This is how conspiracy theories start… \*\* Ohhhh, I _like it_ 😃 And thanks for the link … I may well give it a try! Julie ---
**Author:** ![brainfizz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/da6949/32.png) [@brainfizz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brainfizz)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2003, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-english-are-not-an-inventive-people-they-do-not-eat-enough-pie/183697/114 "2003-07-01T15:28:13Z")
Ok, this is just a **small** list of British, meat and offal pie-eating inventors and their inventions. Aeroplane - John Stringfellow Anemometer - Robert Hooke Age of the Earth - Arthur Holmes Battery - Humphrey Davey Disc Brakes - Frederick William Lanchester Tin Can - Peter Durand Carbonated Water - Joseph Priestly Cat Eyes - Percy Shaw Portland Cement - Joseph Aspdin Cordite - Sir James Dewar, Sir Frederick Abel Corkscrews - H.S. Heeley Crossword Puzzles - Arthur Wynne Depth Charges Diving Equipment/Scuba Gear - John Smeaton, William James, Henry Fleuss EKG (Underlying Principles) - Various Electric Motor - Michael Faraday Electromagnet - William Sturgeon Fax Machine - Alexander Bain Gas Mask -John Tyndall and others Dew-point Hygrometer - John Frederic Daniell Holography - Dennis Gábor Internal Combustion Engine - Samuel Brown Jet Engines - Sir Frank Whittle Kelvin Scale - Lord William Thomson Kelvin Metal Lathe - Henry Maudslay invented the first in 1797. Latex - Henry Wickham Lawn Mower - Edwin Beard Budding Lightbulbs - Humphry Davy, Sir Joseph Wilson Swan, James Bowman Lindsay Locomotive - Richard Trevithick Power Loom - Edmund Cartwright Little Nipper Mousetrap - James Henry Atkinson Pencil - Someone in the Lake District Penny Farthing - James Starley Periodic Table - John Newlands Periscope - Sir Howard Grubb Propellor - IK Brunel Puckle Gun - John Puckle Radar Locating of Aircraft - Sir Robert Alexander Watson-Watt Radio (Underlying Principles) - James Clerk Maxwell Refridgerator - William Cullen Rubber Bands - Stephen Perry Rubber Masticator - Thomas Hancock Safety Lamp - Humphrey Davey Safety Razor - Henson Sandwich - Earl of Sandwich Screwdriver - 15th century Seed Drill - Jethro Tull Seismometer - James Forbes Seismograph - John Milne, Sir James Alfred Ewing, Thomas Gray Sewing Machines - Thomas Saint Shrapnel - Henry Shrapnel Steam Engine - Thomas Savery, Thomas Newcomen, James Watt Steel Production - Sir Henry Bessemer Submarine - William Bourne, Spinning Jenny - James Hargreaves Spinning Frame - Richard Arkwright Spinning Mule - Samuel Crompton Telephone - Alexander Graham Bell Television - John Logie Baird Telescope - Various Thermos - Sir James Dewar Toilet Paper - British Perforated Paper Company Torpedo - Robert Whitehead 1866 Umbrella (steel-ribbed) - Samuel Fox Universal Joint - Robert Hooke (also Iris Diaphragm, Balance Spring) Vacuum Cleaner - Hubert Cecil Booth Venn Diagram - John Venn Viagra - Peter Dunn, Albert Wood, Dr Nicholas Terrett Wacky Inventions - Arthur Paul Pedrick Waterproof Fabric - Charles Macintosh World Wide Web - Tim Berners-Lee Just goes to show that steak and kidney’s good for the old noggin. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2003, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-english-are-not-an-inventive-people-they-do-not-eat-enough-pie/183697/115 "2003-07-01T16:02:48Z")
And then there is the sub-list of Scottish inventors, led by the 9th Earl of Dundonald, who poured his estate’s resources into developing production processes for coal tar for ship’s hull preservation, and salt for consumption. A by-product of the coal tar production process was coal gas, which he burned off. Unfortunately, he never thought to use the coal gas for street lighting, but others did, and made their fortunes from it. A by-product of salt production process was soda, for which he had no use. Unfortunately, others did, and made their fortunes as soda revolutionized the glass industry. The 9th Earl lost everything. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-english-are-not-an-inventive-people-they-do-not-eat-enough-pie/183697.md?page=5)