The Philippines is home to many brilliant Filipino scientists and inventors whose creations have been known not just in the country but in Asia and other countries as well. Aside from the incubator designed out of bamboo by Dr. Fe del Mundo which became the inspiration for the modern incubators being used all over the world today – there are other innovations showing the Filipinos’ ingenuity which the world should know. The five of them are:
Karaoke Sing Along System
Photo source: Squidoo
People who are fond of going to karaoke bars should know that the Karaoke Sing Along System was invented in 1975 by a Filipino named Roberto del Rosario. Karaoke is the Japanese term for singing along to a record in which vocals was removed. The karaoke is a multipurpose compact machine with optional microphone and radio mixer, one or two tapes mechanisms, amplifier speaker, and features that enhance the singer’s voice and enclosed in only one cabinet-like casing.
He was able to get patents for twenty plus inventions which included voice color tape, piano keyboard stressing device, piano tuner’s guide, and Trebel Voice Color Code (VCC).
Quink Ink
Photo source: Vintage Pen Collectibles
Pen users may not know that the ink of the famous Parker Pens was invented by a Filipino chemist named Francisco Quisumbing. Quink stands for Quisumbing Ink and the amalgam of “quick and ink”. The quick-drying ink, Quink, has a cleaning property that stops ink clogging in the pen.
Single-chip accelerator for graphical user interface
Photo source: YouTube
A Filipino invention contributed to making the computers work faster by inventing the device, single-chip accelerator for graphical user interface. This device use graphics for commands and not the conventional type of commands used in older computers. Data processing became a little faster using small chips and very little space in lieu of large boards.
Diosdado Banatao, an electric engineering graduate was also famous for creating the Ethernet controller chip that paved the way for the birth of Internet as well as developing the initial Windows accelerator chip technology currently used by Intel.
DeBCC anti-cancer cream
Photo source: Philippine Made
Filipino inventor Rolando de la Cruz created the “DeBCC” anti-cancer cream using local herbs and cashew nuts. The cream intended for treatment of basal skin carcinoma (BSC) won him a gold medal in November 2005 from the esteemed International Inventor’s Forum and was considered “most significant invention” of the year out of the 1,500 entries.
Dengue Fever Prevention Trap
Photo source: Filipino Inventions and Discoveries
Dengue is a prevalent deadly mosquito-borne disease that is a common problem in most tropical countries. To reduce the reproduction of these mosquitoes, the Department of Science and Technology in the Philippines has created a simple yet effective trap using coconut husk and an organic solution. A simple cup is used as “ovicidal/larvicidal” trap filled with an organic solution that attracts female mosquitoes to leave their eggs on the stick made of coconut husk dipped in the solution. The chemical properties of the solution will kill the eggs including the mosquito larvae that will be hatched. Pakistan and Nepal who are also afflicted with dengue are interested in the Philippine-made device due to its effectiveness.
