15 Things That You (Maybe) Didn’t Know Were Invented by Argentines

Here’s a list of inventions, creations, and cultural milestones that were made in Argentina, including a couple that are up for debate.

Tango dancers. photo: Tim Fitzgerald

There’s a bakery chain in Argentina called Costumbres Argentina (Argentine Traditions). When they first appeared around Buenos Aires, their signs proudly listed house specialties, such as the medialuna (created in Austria circa 1200) and pan francés (a French baguette, if the name hasn't given it away already). A bold move from a bold and ever-proud nation. 

Argentina may not have invented those particular baked goods, but it has given the world a remarkable number of game-changers, from medical breakthroughs and pioneering transportation to a movie that might just have inspired Walt Disney. Here’s a list of inventions, creations, and cultural milestones that originated in Argentina, including a couple that are subject to debate and are likely being discussed elsewhere around the world. 

Transportation Innovation

1. The Colectivo

In the 1920s, taxi drivers in Buenos Aires were battling the lethal combination of rising fuel prices and falling fares. The solution? Use their cars for fixed-route trips with multiple passengers paying one shared price. They called it the colectivo. Unlike earlier European models, such as Paris’ horse-drawn Carrosses à cinq sols (1662), which were state-operated, the colectivo was a grassroots, privately run fix that became a precursor to the modern bus.

The first route ran on September 24, 1928, between Caballito and Plaza de Mayo. Within months, more drivers jumped on the bandwagon and began using their cars as “buses.” Cheap, flexible, and full of street-smart ingenuity, collectivo culture spread throughout Latin America. Today, the name colectivo refers more to a traditional public bus, but it still remains the lifeblood of Argentina’s public transportation system. 

2. Helicopter Control System

If you’ve ever wondered who invented the helicopter, the first controlled takeoff and landing is often credited to the Spaniard Juan de Clerva. But enter Argentine lawyer-turned-inventor Raúl Pateras de Pescara. Born in Buenos Aires in 1890, he designed and patented coaxial helicopters with cyclic pitch control (for forward and lateral movement) and autorotation (for safe emergency descent), both of which are still crucial to modern rotorcraft. 

Pateras de Pescara began testing as early as 1916, but moved to France to access government funding and refine his work. In 1924, his Model No. 3 safely flew 736 meters at 8mph (13 kmph). This earned him a world record from the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI). With European innovation inspired by Argentine origins, where does the true credit lie? That’s where things hover in debate. 

Science and Technological Firsts

1. Ballpoint Pen / Birome 

While the first patent for a ballpoint pen was given to American John J Loud in 1888, it was László Bíró who made it work. A Hungarian journalist, Bíró, was frustrated with the inefficiency of the fountain pen. He teamed up with his chemist brother to create quick-drying and non-smudging ink similar to newspaper print. It utilized a rotating ball mechanism similar to a roll-on deodorant.

Biró received his first patent in 1938, but things only took off in the 1940s. Fleeing a war-torn and persecuted Europe, he accepted funding to relocate to Argentina. Partnering with Juan Jorge Meyne, the first birome (or biro) pen was released in 1943, with the original factory located in Palermo. We must be grateful to this honorary Argentine for almost everything we write on paper today.

Bonus fact: In his lifetime, Biró held dozens of other patents, including for washing machines and printing press improvements. And Argentina celebrates the Dia del Inventor every year on his birthday, September 29. 

2. Coronary Bypass Machine Surgery

If you’ve ever suffered from a clogged artery and are still here to read this, you might have the Argentine doctor René Favaloro to thank. In 1967, he performed the world’s first documented coronary artery bypass graft (CABG). This surgery involved using a healthy vein to reroute blood around a blocked artery and restore flow to the heart. The pioneering surgery was performed on a 51-year-old female patient at the Cleveland Clinic in the United States. 

Born in La Plata in 1923, Favaloro began his medical career as a rural doctor in La Pampa. He moved to the United States in 1960 and soon joined the Cleveland Clinic’s cardiovascular surgery team. After returning to Argentina, he set up the Favaloro Foundation in 1975. His breakthrough technique is estimated to have saved around 55 million lives, and counting. 

3. Fingerprints as a Criminal ID Method

Unbeknowingly at the time, Argentina helped rewrite the rules of modern-day policing. Working in La Plata, Croatian-born Juan Vucetich was more than a standard police officer. He was also a curious anthropologist who developed the world’s first known fingerprint classification system, now known as dactyloscopy. Vucetich began taking fingerprint records from inmates at La Plata Prison, likely unaware of the profound impact his work would have.

In June of 1892, the brutal murder of two young siblings in a village in Necochea province rocked the nation. The initial suspect was a family friend who maintained his innocence throughout the investigation. But when crime scene investigators discovered a bloody fingerprint, they immediately contacted Vucetich. To their surprise, it matched the children’s mother, Francisca Rojas, who eventually confessed to the crime. 

By 1903, the Buenos Aires police had officially adopted Vucetich’s system, and it’s now a global standard for criminal identification. 

4. Disposable Syringe

Although it may seem simple at first glance, this is one of the most significant inventions in medical history. In 1989, Carlos Arcusín noticed a police disturbance while driving past a hospital in Buenos Aires. Later that day, he discovered that the hospital had been caught reusing used syringes and putting them back into circulation. Shocked by the actions, he set about creating a safer alternative. 

Acusín’s syringe is designed to auto-lock by splitting the plunger into two parts after use. This prevents the use of a second needle and consequently helps curb the transmission of disease. He won gold at the Geneva Invention Expo in 1992 and became the first Argentine to receive a gold medal from the World Intellectual Property Organization. Perhaps surprisingly, the World Health Organization only declared the mandatory use of single-use syringes in 2020. 

5. First Anticoagulated / Indirect Blood Transfusion

Argentine doctor and researcher Luis Agote revolutionized medicine in 1914 by performing the world’s first indirect blood transfusion, which did not cause blood clotting in the container. Born in Buenos Aires in 1868, Agote studied at the University of Buenos Aires, earning a degree with a thesis on suppurative hepatitis. 

Focusing on blood preservation, Agote first experimented with temperature control and specially designed containers. His major breakthrough came when he realized that sodium citrate, a chemical salt derived from citric acid (found in some fruits), prevented blood from coagulating. Safe and naturally eliminated from the body, this compound enabled more extended blood storage and dramatically safer transfusions. 

Arts and Entertainment Milestones

1. Tango

Born out of migration, melancholy, and passion, it’s little wonder that the origins of tango are hotly disputed. Argentina holds the main claim, with Buenos Aires at the heart of its development. However, given the shared Río de la Plata roots, Montevideo also insists that it has played a vital role. And then there’s tango’s most legendary crooner, Carlos Gardel. His birthplace is still a mystery, and a three-way standoff with Buenos Aires, Tacuarembó, and Toulouse all cited as his hometown. 

What is certain is that tango truly took off in the 19th century, particularly in the immigrant-heavy areas of La Boca and other port neighborhoods. From the milonga to the hypnotic bandoneón and nostalgia-driven lyrics of love, loss, and longing, it became Argentina’s iconic cultural expression. In 2009, UNESCO made it official, declaring "Rioplatense Tango" as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity shared between Argentina and Uruguay. 

Bonus: Where to See and Dance Tango in Buenos Aires

2. First Animated Feature Film

When the Italian-born Quirino Cristiani premiered El Apóstol in 1917, Argentina quietly made cinematic history. It was the world’s first animated feature-length film, predating Walt Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs by two decades. Cristiani created the 70-minute film in Buenos Aires using 58,000 hand-drawn frames on 35mm at 14 frames per second. He also used scale models to represent notable landmarks in Buenos Aires city. 

Only a few images from the film survive today; the original was destroyed in a fire in 1926, while much of the celluloid was recycled to make combs. Still, it was a local hit. A clever mix of caricature and stop-motion, the story satirized then-President Hipólito Yrigoyen. In it, Yrigoyen dreams of talking politics with the gods atop Mount Olympus, before purging the city of corruption with one of Zeus’ lightning bolts. A fantasy, then, for many, it’s still a lifelong wish today.

Food and Drink Creations

1. Dulce de Leche

With an estimated annual consumption of 7lbs (3kgs) per capita, Argentina’s love affair with dulce de leche is undeniable. It’s hard to find a dessert or pastry that isn’t stuffed with or smothered in it. This obsession alone makes their claim to it a serious one. As folklore goes, it was created by accident in 1829 in the city of Cańuelas. Here, politician Juan Manuel de Rosas’ cook is said to have been distracted while simmering milk and sugar. Returning to find a sweet and brown sauce-like concoction, history was made.

In 2003, Argentina made a bold move by petitioning UNESCO to include dulce de leche on its list of official national heritage. But Uruguay was having none of it. They argued that it should be classified as part of the shared Intangible Cultural Heritage of the Río de la Plata. Meanwhile, Latin neighbors like Chile, Colombia, and Peru are eager to join the debate. And other far-flung claims come from Indonesia, the Philippines, and Napoleon’s kitchen. 

2. Sorrentinos

If there’s a food item that Argentines love as much as dulce de leche (and meat, of course), it’s pasta. And so comes the story of the sorrentino, a round and stuffed ravioli-like pasta with ties to Sorrento and roots in Mar del Plata. It all started in the 1950s, when waves of Italian immigrants jumped ship from the Amalfi Coast to Argentina’s Atlantic shores. Among them were the Véspoli and the Pérsico families, both from Sorrento.

The Véspolis opened the country’s first sorrentinería in Mar del Plata, naming the dish after their hometown. Their restaurant, Trattoria Napolitana Véspoli, continues to serve these iconic pasta pockets today. At the same time, the Pérsicos crafted their own version of sorrentinos, selling them to local restaurants. Their legacy continues through an artisanal shop. 

3. Revuelto Gramajo

Long before the chic brunch spots got fancy with avocado toast and shakshuka, there was revuelto gramajo. This humble hash dish features a base of shoestring (or julienne) potatoes, ham, and eggs, with optional additions such as peas, mushrooms, and stir-fried vegetables. The common theory is that Colonel Artemio Gramajo, aide-de-camp to President Julio Roca, invented the dish in the 1880s by combining whatever ingredients were available, either at a field post or a hotel kitchen.  

Fast, filling, and immensely adaptable, revuelto gramajo has been a bodegon staple and ideal hangover quick-fix for years. It’s also making a return to the menus of top city restaurants, complete with gourmet makeovers. Among great places to sample it include the bar notable Los Galgos, the Michelin-recommended Mengano and classic parrilla Fervor. 

4. Fugazetta Pizza

Somewhere between a pizza, focaccia and stodgy cheese dream is the fugazetta, a true legend of Buenos Aires’ pizza scene. It’s a variation of the fugazza, an onion-topped pizza brought to Argentina by Italians craving calories and comfort food. It was invented in La Boca in the early 1900s by Juan Banchero, a descendant of a family of Genovese bakers. Rescuing a dry focaccia, he sliced it in half, loaded it with cheese and layered it with onions. 

Foreigners have often, pompously stuck their noses up at Argentine pizza, but no culinary journey is complete without digging into this cultural icon. After all, the fugazetta isn’t just a pizza, it’s a snapshot of Italian immigration, neighborhood innovation and the city’s love for bold, unapologetic flavors. And Banchero’s original La Boca pizzeria still thrives today, as do branches on Avenida Corrientes and in Miami.

Bonus: Check out the city’s Best Old School Pizzerias and some awesome International / Non-Argentine Pizza

5. Lager Beer’s Patagonian Puzzle

For years, lager was considered a Bavarian creation, dating back to the 1400s with monks storing brews in alpine caves. But in 2011, researchers uncovered evidence that brewed up debate. Traces of lager yeast DNA were found in 1,000-year-old ceramic pots deep in Patagonia. This suggested that South Americans were fermenting long before Europeans. 

In another twist, samples of saccharomyces eubayanus, which is the missing parent of lager yeast, was found growing on a beech tree on Cerro Otto, Barlioche. It was a 99.5% match to the hybrid yeast used today. While Argentines probably didn’t invent lager itself, it might have played a silent role in its microbial backstory. Something to ponder next time you crack open a Quilmes or sip through the country’s booming craft beer scene. 

Sporting Innovations

1. El Gol Olímpico (Olympic Goal)

If you’re a football fan and have spent time in Argentina, you’ll have heard whispers of the iconic gol olímpico (Olympic goal). Put simply, it’s scoring directly from a corner kick, something Angel Di Maria has made a trademark but still eludes Lionel Messi. Rewind to October 1924 and Argentine winger Cesáreo Onzari is credited as being the first to pull this off. Remarkably, it came just four months after FIFA legalized the play.

Onzari’s corner went straight in during the 15th minute in front of around 52,000 fans at the Sportivo Barracas stadium. Some say it was wind assisted, others claimed a foul, but the referee let it stand. So what about the name? Argentina was playing a friendly against Uruguay, a nation fresh off winning gold at the 1924 Paris Summer Olympics. Thus the gol olímpico was born, a cheeky nod to Argentina getting one over their neighbor and rival.

Bonus: How to See a Football Match in Buenos Aires  

2. The Gran Willy Tennis Shot

It might be one of the flashiest (and most technically difficult) shots in tennis, but the Gran Willy (aka Tweener) didn’t come from a Nike ad or Grand Slam final. Rather, this between-the-legs shot played while running away from the net, was revolutionized in the 1970s by Argentine clay-court king Guillermo Vilas. He first pulled it off during an exhibition match in Buenos Aires against French player Wanaro N'Godrella. The crowd went wild, N’Godrella was left bamboozled, and a legend was born.

 While American player Whitney Reed tried a similar shot in the 1960s, Vilas turned it into a signature move. His inspiration? A whisky commercial featuring polo star Juan Carlos Harriott striking the ball between his horse’s legs. Vilas tried it and it was christened Gran Willy, his nickname. Some years later, Gariela Sabatini, another Argentine tennis hero, adopted the shot with pundits calling hers the Sabitweeni.