The 300-year-old contract for the world’s first ever overdraft, bagpipes, Grand Theft Auto and red hair are featured in a new exhibition celebrating Scotland’s contribution to the world.
Wha’s Like Us? A Nation of Dreams and Ideas, which opens today at the National Library of Scotland, offers very nearly an A-Z of outstanding achievements by the country and its people.
Ideas and innovations range from A for anaesthetics, Auld Lang Syne and antisepsis to Y for Yosemite, with Z left open for visitors’ suggestions.
Other topics include the bagpipes, the poetry of Burns, the digestive biscuit, Dolly the Sheep, golf, the Higgs Boson, penicillin, Harry Potter, radar, the telephone, television, urban planning and the vacuum flask.
Exhibits include manuscripts, books, photographs and films.
The oldest exhibit is a 1490 manuscript discussing the ideas of the Scottish mediaeval philosopher John Duns Scotus.
The most recent is a manual for the game Grand Theft Auto, which originated in Dundee.
Manuscripts curator Maria Castrillo, who put the exhibition together with fellow curator Andrew Martin, said: “Scotland has contributed to the world in so many areas, from arts and creativity to politics, science and technology and social progress.
“Many of the successes shown in the exhibition still impact on how we live today. The telephone and television are obvious examples but there are many others.
“Our lives have been shaped by these developments and it is a privilege to reflect on Scotland as a successful nation of dreams and ideas.
“I hope people who visit the exhibition will have their curiosity aroused, not just about what Scotland has given to the world but what we have in the library.”
Some Scottish ideas and innovations, such as the development of the steam engine, the telephone and television, will be familiar to many, but others are less well known.
Few people may be aware that the common overdraft can be traced back to 1728, when Edinburgh merchant William Hog approached the Royal Bank of Scotland with a problem.
He had a thriving business but payments from his customers did not always come on time to allow him to pay his bills.
The bank agreed to let his account go into the red for a few days as they knew money would soon be paid in.
The display runs until May 8 at the National Library of Scotland, George IV Bridge, Edinburgh. Entry is free.