26 Feb America invented everything
Two of Obama’s claims from the SOTU:
“We invented solar technology, but we’ve fallen behind countries like Germany and Japan in producing it.”
and
“I believe the nation that invented the automobile cannot walk away from it.”
After a period of prolonged study and meditation (ie, I consulted Wikipedia for 45 minutes after the speech), I have concluded that these claims are questionable at best and false at worst. Not quite sixteen words, we-invaded-Iraq-on-the-strength-of-this-information false. But probably false. Here is my evidence:
An English scientist by the name of Willoughby Smith first discovered that selenium was photoconductive, and a French scientist named Alexandre-Edmond Becquerel discovered the photovoltaic effect. That was the basis of “solar technology.” That, and the English Chemist Edward Weston apparently holds the first American patent for a solar cell.
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