Poles who changed the world

This week we’ve decided to step away from translations, and give you an insight into Poland’s rich heritage. To start things off, we thought we’d introduce you to some of the famous Poles who’ve helped to save millions of lives.

The Bulletproof Vest

Much like the Irish and many other nationalities, Poles have traveled the world and established roots in nearly every country. This is exactly what happened to Kazimierz Żegleń, a catholic priest. He went off in search of greener pastures and ended up travelling to America back in 1890. His long journey not only paid off professionally as his flock grew to over 40,000, but also hobby wise. When he wasn’t busy baptizing etc., Żegleń started spending his spare time trying to find something bulletproof to fill a vest with. After trying to use everything including hair, moss, and even week old donuts, he finally found that silk did the job. As crazy as it sounds, his silk vest was worn by a friend during a protest. Low and behold, after 8 shots, his friend was still alive and kicking!

The Mine Detector

Have you ever been worried that you’d have your leg blown off while walking in the woods? Ok, we know it’s not really much of an issue anymore is it, but just imagine you were back fighting in world war two. Mines were a big problem for soldiers, which inspired Polish officer Józef Kosacki to create the mine detector. His basic design was used by armies worldwide for over 50 years, only retiring back in the 1991 Gulf War.

Marie Sklodowska Curie

Pretty much everyone has heard of Marie Curie. But did you know she’s Polish? She was born in Warsaw and later moved to Paris to finish her studies in her mid-twenties. She was the first woman to receive a Nobel prize, and only the second person to ever have won twice. It’s quite hard to sum up all of her amazing achievements in a just few lines, but one of them has to be developing the theory of radioactivity. She also discovered polonium and radium, and developed the first mobile radiography units to provide X-ray services to field hospitals.