They've changed the way we live. They come in all different colours, shapes and sizes. We don't always understand them, sometimes explaining it can be a little difficult. But they've helped us shed light on the world that we previously knew very little about. All of them landmarks in technology, and they all have one thing in common. They were made by poles. Oh, kurja you might say. I had no idea a pole invented that. But the English-speaking world often keeps the records. And maybe they were having problems with the spelling, let alone the pronunciation. In this video we're shedding the limelight on the top 10 inventions made by poles, at home and abroad. Number 10. The Woki-Torki Born in Warsaw in 1909, Henrik Magnuski worked as a radio repairman for the Polish military, and he eventually ended up in Chicago. Surprise, surprise. It was here that he would be employed by the Galvan Manufacturing Company, which would later change its name to Motorola. Leading a team of radio engineers, they developed the SCR-300, the first radio to be used by American forces in Europe. This revolutionary mobile device became known amongst GIs as the Woki-Torki. Nowadays you can find the Woki-Torki in just about any line of work. Take this part-time construction worker for example, overseeing Magnuski's head. Number 9. Esperanto Imagine a world where there is one neutral language that everyone can communicate in. A language of understanding and diplomacy that has the power to end international conflicts and foster world peace. That was the dream of a linguist from Biauerstock by the name of LL Zamenhof. While studying in Warsaw as a young man, he began to develop Esperanto, largely based on his knowledge of the romance, Germanic and Slavic language groups, but with a much simpler grammatical structure that could be easily learned. A simple language invented by a pole. Who'd have thought? After more than 30 years of development and several books published, the first world Esperanto conference was held in 1905. Since then, the movement of Esperantists has continued to grow, and today there are an estimated 63,000 to 2 million speakers of Esperanto. Number 8. The Kerosene Lamb The story of the Kerosene Lamb can be traced back to the present-day Ukrainian city of Lviv, which used to be Lviv, Poland. It was here in 1853 that two Polish chemists, Jan Zek and Ignatso Łukaszewicz, attempted to distill alcohol from oil, which at the time was an incredibly cheap resource being extracted in the region. Though they failed to make anything potable, at least not to any self-respecting spirit connoisseur, what they did discover was a clear flammable liquid that burned long and bright, and more importantly, it didn't stink like oil. Ale smirdi. Putting the liquid called Kerosene to work, they asked a local tin smith to make a lamp with a small tank at the bottom. Thus, the classic shape of the Kerosene Lamb had been born. Number 7. The Railway Signal Device Jan Józif Baranovski deserves the award for the most proactive employee of all time when it comes to his work for the French railway. Fleeing Poland after the failed November uprising of 1830, Baranovski first worked as a bank teller and cashier in France before he landed a job as a bookkeeper for the National Rail Network. Baranovski made several key inventions for the railway system, including the first ever ticket printing machine that could spit out 5,000 tickets an hour, and each with a unique serial number. But at a time when railroad accidents were becoming more and more frequent, it was Baranovski's automated railway signaling device, invented in 1857, that made the biggest impact on the industry. Prior to this, signaling depended on employees waving flags at various points along the track. As well as their knowledge of when and where the trains were coming from. In an age of increasingly busy railway winds, the Baranovski signal, as it became known, avoided countless accidents and undoubtedly saved a lot of lives. Number 6. The Telektroscope Jan Schuepernik, often referred to as the Polish Edison, made several contributions to technology throughout his lifetime. However, it's his version of the Telektroscope, produced in 1898, that is considered to be a landmark in the development of telecommunication. A Telektroscope is a scope in lens, amplified with electricity, that can reproduce images from a distance. Sound familiar? You may not be surprised to know that the term Telektroscope was replaced around the turn of the century with the word television. Though he was certainly not the first, Schuepernik's weird machine, as it was called, is alleged to have been able to recreate colour, which would make Schuepernik the forefather of colour television. Number 5. The Paperclip Whilst the person behind the idea of the mighty paperclip has long been disputed, one contender for your praise may be the famous Polish pianist and composer, Yosuf Hoffman. Praised by many as the greatest pianist that ever lived, Hoffman was also an inventor in his spare time. It's been suggested that the inspiration behind the shape of the paperclip was the treble clef. No doubt burned into his brain after hours of reading piano scores. Hoffman is also accredited for developing one of the earliest mechanical windscreen wipers, which apparently was inspired by the back-and-forth motion of his metronome. Number 4. The Electric Powered Submarine Although experimentation with submersible craft had existed since the mid-16th century, it was a pole who first successfully created a submarine powered solely by electricity. Mechanical engineer Stefan Jevietski was taken on by the Navy of the Russian Empire in 1877, and it was here that he made a huge number of developments in submarine technology. The biggest of these came in 1884 when he installed a battery-powered propeller to a one-man submarine that could chug along at a steady four-nots an hour. While it may sound slightly unimpressive now, this was a major technological advancement at the time, and especially considering the fact that most submarines were still relying on coal power and ores. Outside of submarine technology, Jevietski is also the guy who invented the taximeter of all things. Number 3. The Vote Counting Machine Oh look, it's our friend Baronovsky again. The mid-19th century was a time of renewed interest in liberal democracy, and public voting was taken very seriously. Realising the overwhelming task of counting votes, as well as issues of scrutiny and impartiality, Baronovsky conceived the idea that it would be better for a machine to do all the counting instead. No doubt his obsession with numbers was the major motivator behind this, and other machines he paid to do as well include the gas meter. Yes, apparently he invented that as well. Number 2. Cotton Swabs A cornerstone of modern hygiene, the cotton swab was developed by Leo Gastanzan, a poll from Warsaw who made the Chicago move in 1912. The story goes that in 1923, Gastanzan found his wife, Juta, applying cotton wads to toothpicks in an attempt to reach those hard-to-clean places. This became the inspiration behind the Q-tip, Q-stating for quality. But unlike his wife's toothpick, the Q-tip had two cotton tips to allow for double takes. Before we reveal our number one polish invention, we'd like to mention that polling in your pocket is currently struggling financially, no thanks to the coronavirus situation. In the description you'll find a link to our donation campaign, where you can make a contribution to keep us going at this difficult time, and we really do appreciate any support that you can give us. Number 1. The Bulletproof Vest If you can stop a bullet, you're either Superman or a poll. The first commercially produced bulletproof vest was made by Polish priest, named Kajamiya Jeglenn, who traveled to the US in the 19th century. It was here that he came across the research of a Georgie Goodfellow, a physician based out in the Wild West. It was Goodfellow that observed how gunshot victims, who had silk fabric against their bodies, often had reduced injuries when struck by a bullet. Expanding on his research, Jeglenn developed a centimetre thick vest of layered and woven silk that could stop a bullet altogether. He publicly demonstrated his new invention in 1897, the priest wore the vest, and the assistant fired the bullet. But Jeglenn's vest was not a viable product. It was slow to produce, not to mention the outrageous price tag of $800 US, which is about $25,000 today. Enter poll number 2. Young's Chiappanic. I think you've been acquainted. Chiappanic, who had been developing automated weaving technology for years, teamed up with Jeglenn and managed to work out the whole mass production thing. The Bulletproof Vest was a huge success amongst the rich and the famous, who could afford the ridiculous price tag that still remained. Most notably, Chiappanic managed to palm one off to king Alfonso of Spain, and the Vest saved his life during an assassination attempt. Artschuk, France Ferdinand, is alleged to have been offered a vest, but turned it down. And we all know how that turned out. Jeglenn and Chiappanic eventually had a falling out over business relations, and although Jeglenn never relinquished his authorship, it was Chiappanic's weaving production and entrepreneurship that made his profit greater. So much so, in fact, that Jeglenn's contributions are all but forgotten today. It's also interesting to note that over 60 years later, it was an American woman of Polish descent, Stephanie Kfolek, that developed the polymer for Kevlar, the fabric which is used in today's standard issue bulletproof vests. So what did you think of our list? Were there any crucial Polish inventions that we somehow overlooked? Make sure you leave a comment below, and in the meantime, if you're interested in checking out more content on Poland, make sure you head along to pollen.inyourpocket.com, or check out one of our City Facebook pages. We'll see you next time.