The 'special relationship' between the UK and US goes back centuries, with both having a significant cultural impact on the other.
But more recently, government and business leaders had hoped that Britain could avoid sweeping US tariffs, which have been brought in for many countries when Donald Trump became president for the second time.
So in the interest of transatlantic harmony, we've rounded up five beloved British inventions that are actually American – showing there's much more that unites us. We also take a look at five American inventions that have British roots...
Five inventions that are actually American
Tea bags
The UK Tea and Infusions Association (UKTIA) says that around 100-million cups of tea are drunk daily and that 84% of the UK population drink tea. It’s heartwarming and convenient, and for that convenience you must raise a mug to American Thomas Sullivan, who accidentally invented the tea bag in 1908.
The New York tea merchant reportedly sent samples of tea to his customers in small silken bags, which some customers assumed that these were used in the same way as metal infusers, by putting the entire bag into the pot, rather than emptying out the contents. It was thus by accident that the tea bag was born.
Tomato ketchup
Research undertaken by agency Perspectus Global revealed that tomato ketchup is the UK's favourite condiment. Bacon sandwiches, chips, roast dinner (18% of Brits douse their roasties in ketchup, says Asda) – no food is safe from a dollop of the red stuff. But the first tomato-based ketchup recipe was actually published in 1796 by Philadelphia scientist James Mease. The recipe was created as a way to help prevent scurvy, a disease caused by a lack of vitamin C that causes weakness and bleeding gums.
"You'll Never Walk Alone"
Attend a Liverpool FC home match and you’ll feel a shiver down your spine when the majority of the 60,000 sing "You’ll Never Walk Alone". It’s so inextricably linked to one of Britain’s greatest football teams that those four words are found on the club’s badge. The song was a hit for Liverpool band Gerry and the Pacemakers in 1963. But unbeknownst to many, it was actually the brainchild of American theatre composers Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II and featured in their 1945 musical hit Carousel.
Can opener
London merchant Peter Durand contributed to Britain ruling the waves with his 1810 invention and patent of the tin can. Before the can, food was preserved in glass jars, which had limitations due to the fragility and bulkiness of the jars. Opening the cans wasn’t quite as transformative with the suggested opening method via hammer and chisel. The world would have to wait another 48 years before the first can opener was patented. This time by an American, Ezra Warner of Connecticut.
Internet
The internet invented by an American? No, no, no, it was Brit Tim Berners-Lee, who invented the worldwide web. Which is correct. But that’s slightly different than the internet, which is the brains behind the information superhighway, and was a product of American computer scientists Bob Kahn and Vint Cerf in the 1970s. Kahn and Cerf created ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network), a set of protocols that govern how data moves through a network.
Main image: Getty
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