curiosity about croats and Croatia ... things that you might have known but don't know why
... that the ball-point pen was invented by a croat, Eduard (Slavoljub) Penkala (1871-1922), that it bears his name and is in daily use.
... that Nikola Tesla (1856-1943), the father of alternative current electricity and technology of wireless communications, after which the unit for magnetic induction is named, was born in Croatia in a serbian minoritiy in Lika county, and that he refused to receive the Nobel prize he had to share with T. A. Edison.
... Zeppelin was inovented by zagabrian David Schwartz (1852-1897). Lately, Ferdinand Zeppelin, bought this invention, and registered it under his name.
... that fingerprint was invented by Ivan Vucetic (1858-1925), a croat from Hvar island, but no institution in Croatia was named after him, meanwhile in USA for exemple it does.
... the tie has origin croate? In silk and hand made is the best expression of cultural and civil development of ours people. In the seventeenth century marks the name tie indicated large scarf, that the croatian soldiers put. The eighteenth century marks a variation of tie, that becomes part of masculine clothes. The succesive centuries bring ulterior changes, following the fashion's inclinations. Thank's to her originality, the tie was received to Parisian like symbol of progress, and during the French- Revolution keep oneself the black tie like symbol of protest, like all was retrograde.
... that the firs nautic museum was established at Pula in 1870 under the authority of Austria.
... that Marco Polo (1254-1324), an adventurer, merchant and one of the best known world travelers, whose book “The Travels of Marco Polo” is the first tourist book in the world, comes from Korcula on Korcula island in Croatia.
... that Croatia is not member of european comunitiy
