This week’s topic is interesting, because you can look at it kind of two ways (or at least *I* looked at it two different ways) – general inventions that have benefited humankind, and specific inventions that have come along in my lifetime and revolutionized things. I couldn’t decide which was the best approach, so I did two separate lists. I know, I know, but I’m between conference calls at work and have some time to kill…
Top 10 Inventions for Humanity EVER
1. Running Water/Water Purification – this is what stopped the plague and a whole host of other gnarley things that used to kill us. It’s not good to bathe in the water you drink – who knew?!!
2. Printing Press – brought education to the masses
3. Communication – from letters (what we now call “snail mail”), to telegrams to phones, and now email, SMS & chat – being able to “talk” to people who are not in the same room with us is such an amazing benefit, and something we often take for granted
4. Vaccinations/Medicines – picks up where running water leaves off in terms of warding off the bad stuff (though this obviously has some drawbacks, especially when it’s over-used – just ask the super-bacteria)
5. BIRTH CONTROL – enough said
6. Transportation – no “global village” without planes, trains & automobiles
7. Air Conditioning – I live in the South, this HAS to be on my list!
8. Microwaves, Toaster Ovens & Gas Grills – pretty self-explanatory
9. Washing Machines – amazing how much changes when it doesn’t take an entire day to do a single load of laundry
10. Internet – duh!
Top 10 Inventions for Leslie in Her Lifetime
1. Internet – initially it was just email, and oh how it has grown! Everything from automatically syncing calendars so I know when all my new nieces/nephews’ birthdays are, to automatic banking and bill-paying so I know how much $ I have and don’t have to worry about remembering payments on the day they’re due, to Wikipedia so when my husband and I argue about the year a song or TV show came out we don’t have to speculate we can just FIND OUT, to online shopping and that new Amazon program where you get free 2-day shipping so I can wait until the last minute to buy gifts and not get stuck paying more on shipping than on the item itself, to blogs & Facebook, to medical websites & online news from all over the world, to W countdown calendars – this invention has affected all aspects of my life. Most people’s lives actually (see above). In case you can’t tell from my massive run-on effusing, I’m a big fan!
2. Target – great hours, quality merchandise, cheap prices, and right down the street! Not to mention they make the best bras ever.
3. iPod – changed music for me forever; I have my ENTIRE music collection (14,000+ songs and still going strong) on one little device that I can listen to anywhere. Not to mention it makes doing “mix tapes” a lot easier!!!
4. TiVo – completely revolutionized the way people can watch TV (and made us personally more likely to watch MORE TV, but that’s another story); no more needing to be home at a certain time to watch a show, no more struggling to set the damn VCR to program if we were going to be gone, no more choosing between two favorite shows that come on at the same time on different channels, and most of all … no more commercials! Oh, and the ability to do my own instant replays – very cool.
5. Pay at the pump gas stations – again, fairly self-explanatory
6. Hair color – so my hair can stay it’s “real” color, even as I get older
7. Digital answering machines (and the ability to automatically forward ALL calls to them) – no more phone calls at inappropriate hours, and no telemarketers at all … bliss!
8. High quality, small, durable digital cameras – capturing life’s gory details became a lot easier, and my children’s scrapbooks are grateful!
9. Dimmer switches on lights – actually, maybe this should be on Craig’s list! They’re great for entertaining, too, though – change the whole mood of a room in a second.
10. Automatic doors on cars – I thought it was the dumbest thing ever when I first got the new van, but I had no idea how actually useful it is to be able to push a little button and have the door open all by itself…
Okay, now I’m on a roll and thought of a few more … those little things you stick into the ends of corn on the cob so you don’t have to get your fingers all greasy – AWESOME! And GPS … for people like me who are “geographically challenged”, they are a lifesaver – I don’t have to have ANY clue where I am (which is convenient, since often I don’t) … IT KNOWS, and can tell me how to get where I’m going. Wow!
All right, I should stop now and get back to work…
They’re great for entertaining, too, though – change the whole mood of a room in a second.