Hey there, Chicago trivia fans!
When people think of Chicago, they usually picture deep dish pizza, tall skyscrapers, or maybe Al Capone. But this city has quietly shaped the way we live in ways you probably never realized.
We’re the Ben Lalez Team, and after spending over a decade helping families find their perfect Chicago homes, we’ve gotten passionate about what makes this city special. So when we started digging into all those “invented in Chicago” claims you see online, we figured we’d better separate the truth from urban legends.
Chicago’s innovation story gets way more interesting when you know what’s actually true and what was probably just good marketing. Let’s jump into 15 invention claims and see which ones Chicago can take credit for.
True Chicago Inventions
These inventions have verified evidence behind them, so Chicago can take credit for changing the world with these innovations.
Car Radio (Motorola, 1930)
Paul and Joseph Galvin founded the Galvin Manufacturing Corporation in Chicago way back on September 25, 1928. Within a couple of years, they developed the first mass-produced car radio. The documentation is all there, and the company’s still around to prove it.
The name “Motorola” came from combining the words “motor” and “ola” (from Victrola, those old record players). Before the radio was invented, driving was just about getting from point A to point B. The Galvin brothers made music mobile and created our entire car culture. So, think about road trips with your favorite songs, popular radio shows, and you singing along in traffic. All of that started in a Chicago workshop!
Twinkies (1930)
James Alexander Dewar was working as a plant manager at Continental Baking Company in Schiller Park when he invented Twinkies on April 6, 1930. Twinkies were definitely Chicago-born.
Originally, they had a banana cream filling, but World War II made banana imports dangerous due to submarine attacks on shipping routes. So the banana got switched to vanilla, and it stuck. It’s crazy to think that Twinkies have survived company bankruptcies, market crashes, and they even made it into Supreme Court cases. A Chicago-area baker’s experiment turned into a cultural phenomenon, and we don’t think they’re going away anytime soon.
The Ferris Wheel (1893)
George Washington Gale Ferris Jr. was asked to design the original Ferris wheel for Chicago’s 1893 World’s Columbian Expo. The organizers wanted something to compete with Paris’s Eiffel Tower and attract visitors from around the world.
So Ferris got to work and delivered something for the ages – the Ferris Wheel. His wheel was 264 feet tall with 36 gondolas that could hold 60 passengers each. If you do the math, that’s over 2,000 people at once. The engineering was unprecedented at the time, and two 1,000-horsepower steam engines were needed just to turn the thing. Every amusement park ride, carnival attraction, and observation wheel you’ve ever seen leads back to that first Chicago Ferris wheel.
Sears Mail-Order Catalogs (1886)
Richard Warren Sears started selling watches through mail order way back in 1886. A year later, he relocated to Chicago and in 1893, the Sears, Roebuck & Company was born. Mail order completely changed how Americans shopped.
The Sears catalog brought shopping opportunities to rural families who couldn’t get to big city stores. From 1908 to 1940, Sears sold complete house kits that were delivered by train. We’re talking about 70,000 to 75,000 houses with over 370 different designs, all coordinated from Chicago. You might be living in a Sears kit house right now and not even know it!
Chicago-Style Hot Dogs (1930s)
The classic Chicago hot dog with all the fixings started during the Great Depression. Money was so tight back then that vendors came up with the idea of loading up hot dogs with mustard, relish, onions, tomatoes, pickles, sport peppers, and celery salt to make the meal more filling and flavorful.
So where did the “no ketchup” rule come from? Some places used ketchup to hide the taste of lower-quality meat, so Chicago vendors took pride in serving quality beef that didn’t need masking.
And the rule just stuck.
Claims That Might Be True
These inventions have Chicago connections, but the details get fuzzy. They’re probably true, but there are some details worth knowing.
Spray Paint (1949)
Edward Seymour invented aerosol spray paint in 1949 as a solution for coating radiators. But Seymour worked in Sycamore, Illinois, which is about 70 miles from Chicago.
Does Sycamore count as “Chicago-area”? That’s really up for debate. What is undeniable is that spray paint has revolutionized everything from DIY projects to street art you see around the world today.
Brownies (1893)
The Palmer House Hotel in Chicago claims it invented brownies in 1893 for the World’s Columbian Exposition. Legend has it that the pastry chef was asked to create a dessert that was smaller than a cake but more portable than cookies for ladies attending the fair.
The Palmer House still uses what they say is the original recipe. But food historians have found competing claims, including one from Maine that has convincing cookbook evidence from 1904. So it’s possible that brownies started in Chicago, but it’s one of several competing origin stories.
Malört (1920s-1930s)
Carl Jeppson was an immigrant from Sweden who started making this bitter liqueur in Chicago as a ‘medicinal’ product during Prohibition in the 1920’s.
Even though people either love Malört or hate it, it’s become a rite of passage in Chicago bars. Although we don’t have all the facts on this one, we think it’s probably true.
Italian Beef Sandwiches (Early 1900s)
Italian beef sandwiches started among Italian-American families on Chicago’s West Side. These families had access to cheap beef cuts through stockyard work and developed the technique of slicing meat paper-thin and soaking it in cooking juices.
The sandwich gained popularity beyond the Italian community after World War II. Where it all started is disputed between different families, and the first newspaper mention didn’t show up until decades later in 1962.
Busted Myths
These inventions would be great if they were true, but the facts show otherwise.
The Zipper (1913)
Gideon Sundback invented the zipper in 1913 while working for Universal Fastener Company. But the company was actually located in Hoboken, New Jersey. Sorry Chicago, we can’t take the credit for this one.
The Skyscraper (1885)
The Home Insurance Building gets credited as the first steel-frame skyscraper, but recent research by architectural historians shows this claim is mostly marketing from the 1890’s.
The building used hybrid construction with cast-iron columns embedded in masonry piers, not pure steel-frame construction. William Le Baron Jenney was a great architect, but the “first skyscraper” claim looks to be the result of just a successful marketing campaign.
Chicago did pioneer skyscraper development and steel-frame construction techniques. The city just wasn’t the first, as the story goes.
Cracker Jack at the 1893 World’s Fair
Northwestern University researchers found no evidence that Cracker Jack appeared at the 1893 World’s Fair. The Rueckheim brothers’ own 50-year company history doesn’t mention the fair, and the first press reports describing Cracker Jack as a “very recent invention” didn’t show up until March 1896.
Cracker Jack has Chicago connections. It was produced here and became associated with baseball through Wrigley Field. But the World’s Fair origin story appears to be a myth that got repeated over time.
Soap Operas (1930s)
Chicago radio stations were among the first to produce soap operas. WGN aired Irna Phillips’ “Painted Dreams” starting in October 1930. But other shows had nothing to do with Chicago. “Ma Perkins” started in Cincinnati, and “The Guiding Light” aired on NBC, not WGN.
So while Chicago played a significant role in the early development of soap operas, it wasn’t the sole originator. A little bit of drama about some drama.
What Made Chicago Special For Innovation?
- Location was a big one. Chicago’s position as America’s railroad hub meant inventors had access to materials and could distribute products nationwide.
- Chicago attracted immigrants with diverse backgrounds who came to the city with fresh ideas and practical solutions.
- The 1893 World’s Fair put Chicago on the global stage. Even if some of the World’s Fair invention stories aren’t true, the fair gave the city a reason to showcase innovation and attract attention from around the world.
The Bottom Line
Chicago created the car radio, Twinkies, the Ferris wheel, and mail-order shopping. That’s an impressive list of things that changed the course of American lives.
Although some of the stories didn’t quite check out, they don’t diminish the real innovations. If anything, they show how much people want to connect good ideas with Chicago. The city’s reputation for innovation is so strong that people just assume good inventions must have come from here.
And Chicago continues to be a center for innovation, from food technology to architecture to transportation. The spirit that created car radios and Ferris wheels is still alive in the city today.
Pretty cool to live in a city with this kind of history, right? If you’re thinking about calling Chicago home, we’d love to chat about what makes each neighborhood special. Give us a shout and let’s talk!
