Valerie Hunter Gordon died earlier this week at the age of 94 in the small Highland town of Beauly.

She may not have been a household name but, like many other mothers in the mid-20th century, she had problems with regular towel nappies.

Her solution? To invent a disposable alternative.

The granddaughter of another inventor, Sebastian Ziani de Ferranti, she also created the sanitary towels for women, which earned her far more royalties.

Despite being born in Derbyshire, the latter creation was initiated after Mrs Gordon travelled north of the border, adding her to the long list of famous inventions Scotland gave the world.

While it may be well known that televisions, telephones and penicillin came from Scots inventors, here are some other inventions you might not realise began closer to home.

More and more of us may be using Contactless payments now but between the upgrade in technology and the age of cash and cheques came the cash machine and personal identification number.

In the 1960s, a young Glaswegian engineer by the name of James Goodfellow came up with the idea of a coded card and number to access money at the weekend when customers' bank branches were often closed.

He received an OBE ten years ago and recently hailed the "eureka moment" on its 50th anniversary.

James Braid grew up in Kinross as the youngest of seven children and went on to study as a surgeon at Edinburgh University, observing many an operation.

His studies and attendance at public demonstrations led him to discover the condition of hypnotism in its purely physical form (without the help of magnetism).

Hypnosis has gone on to help many medical practitioners as well as those suffering from fears and phobias.

It has of course also lead to another form of entertainment, with Derren Brown among the most famous performers.

Once seen as a work of science fiction, the tractor beam became a notion of science fact as little as three years ago.

Researchers at St Andrews University made the breakthrough, after working on the project since the 1990s, that will ensure their names live long (and prosper) in the memories of their peers.

Away from science jokes and television references, it is hoped the NHS could make use of the tractor beam as a more efficient cancer therapy.

Football was invented in Scotland - we all know that. And managers around the world are kept contained in their own special areas around the substitutes bench at the side of the pitch, refraining from going in the stand among the fans or hassling the referee further on the park.

But did you know the very first stadium in the world to feature a dugout was Pittodrie, home of Aberdeen FC?

The Dandy Dons' coach at the time, Donald Colman, wanted somewhere more suitable to communicate with his players.

His idea became so commonplace it was even introduced into the laws of the game by Fifa (who named it a technical area), with various specifications of the maximum size allowed.

A home appliance you maybe take for granted was originally created in the 18th century by Edinburgh-born physician, chemist and agriculturalist William Cullen.

It was Glasgow where he made the basis of what we now know as a fridge but it wouldn't be fully commercialised and available in homes for another 150 years.

This was partially because of the progress made with freezers.

Cullen and his sons also went on to found the Royal Society of Edinburgh which stands to this day on George Street.

Another home appliance you can be thankful for and another case where the original invention was followed by the better mass-production friendly modifications.

Alan MacMasters' original machine was a step forward from any toaster which did not use electricity but a special combination of metals that were heated.

Then, around 25 years later, Charles Strite took this concept and invented the automatic pop-up toaster which has become commonplace today (and not just for bread).

Whether the toilet is inside or out, the notion of not being able to flush after finishing is unthinkable, even if you have been there a while with a newspaper.

Next time you take a seat you can thank Alexander Cumming who, in 1775, invented the S-trap.

It has become one of the basic components of piping that takes away the contents of the bowl while still keeping out any sewer air.

It is one of a number of alphabet shaped bends that can be used in modern loos. Cumming was also a founding member of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.

The Rose of Rose's Lime Cordial is one Lauchlan Rose, who made attempts to preserve citrus juice in the late 19th century and set up his first factory to mass produce it for the market in Leith.

According to Coca-Cola, which now owns the brand, he invented the world's first concentrated fruit drink as his preservation method took out the alcohol.

Although that and the many other brands and drinks it has gone on to inspire are commonly used as a mixers for numerous alcoholic drinks these days.