10 Amazing Inventions Louisiana Has Given to the World

Did you know the binocular microscope was invented right here in Louisiana? John Riddell from Tulane University gets credit for inventing the binocular microscope in 1852 and changing the scientific community forever.

The next time you ease up to the craps table to let the big bucks ride, you can thank Bernard Xavier Philippe de Marigny de Mandeville. He gets credit for inventing the dice game in New Orleans.

If it's delicious, chances are it came from Louisiana. We were the first people brave enough to dump a big fat turkey into a boiling pot of hot grease, and the world has been following in our footsteps ever since. Legend has it that the fried turkey started in Church Point.

New Orleans is home to America’s very first cocktail, the Sazerac, invented by Antoine  Amadie Peychaud.

In Louisiana, we just call it "Tony's" and you'll be hard-pressed to find a home in South Louisiana that doesn't have it. Created in 1972 by Tony Chachere, it has made its way from Lombard Street in Opelousas to the rest of the world.

Every time the rest of the U.S. sips on a delicious Smoothie King smoothie they have Louisianian Steve Kuhnau to thank for it. In 1973, Kuhnau created “The Smoothie Bar” in New Orleans as an answer to poor nutrition, health conditions, and food allergies.

I had no idea that poker started right here in Louisiana. Poker was developed and spread by Mississippi riverboats around Louisiana in the 1800s, and is now pretty much the most popular card game on Earth. Hey world, you're welcome.

Basically, Louisiana won World War II. More specifically, the Higgins Boat invented by Andrew Higgins in New Orleans won World War II. Dwight Eisenhower is quoted as saying "Andrew Higgins is the man who won the war for us". Have you ever wondered why the WWII Museum is in New Orleans? Mr. Higgins is why.

You know how you turn that lil' stick on your blinds and change the angle of the slats to open and close them? New Orleanian John Hampson is who we have to thank for this.

Todd Graves opened the very first Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers Restaurant in Baton Rouge at the intersection of Highland Road and State Street in 1996. The second restaurant opened right here in Lafayette. Now, you can find those insanely good chicken fingers in 22 other states.