5 Life Changing Capital Region Inventions

Lets face, this is a life changing invention. According to Toilet Paper History,  Seth Wheeler of Albany did not invent toilet paper itself, but he was the guy who put it on a roll and made it perforated. Genius!

Again, life would be very different without potato chips. What the heck would you eat with a sandwich without them? According to Zoom School, George Crum, the chef at Moon Lake Lodge, in 1853 made the first thinly sliced potatoes to annoy a customer who was complaining his french fries were too thick. The customer loved them, and so do we.

Let's face it, everything is better with bacon. And since potato chips were invented in Saratoga Springs, it's only fitting a great partner chips was invented there too: the club sandwich. NYUP says the club was first made at the Saratoga Club House gambling hall in 1853.

Full disclosure: we did not invemt Santa, but good 'ol Saint Nick did get his his start in America right here in Albany. He was imported from the Netherlands, and was first referenced here in the Van Rensselaer papers, according to the Times Union.

According to Albany.org, the Mohawk and Hudson River Railroad was the first of its kind to operate in America.