5 greatest life-changing inventions since 1900?... (1 Viewer)

[Sami Kallio]

I don't think that should be a side question, it should the top 1 life-changing invention IMHO.

 

[Francois Caron]

Sounds good. I was thinking of insulin myself.

 

[MarkHastings]

but couldn't you argue that the telephone, TV, and computers are also luxury items to a certain degree?

I guess "Life Changing" is too subjective in that respect. For me, all of the above are life changing, but I'm sure there are others who could care less.

Without A/C, a lot of companies would not be able to perform in the summer. Just look at the 100 degree temps we've had in this area. A lot of places would have to shut down. In fact, in my company, if a 70 (or lower) temp is not maintained, the faciility would not be able to function. I'm sure a ton of other technology companies are in the same boat.

Imagine not having internet service on a hot day because your service providers computer just fried due to overheating. Without A/C, a lot of technology would fry.

 

[BrettGallman]

Ha! Very good point.

Sometimes we forget that even though things are luxaries, they certainly are life-changing.

I mean, yeah, there's no doubt that we could survive without television or the internet, but no one can deny that they have changed life considerably.

 

[Rommel_L]

penicillin
refrigeration
plastics
electricity (ac)
automobile

 

[ChristopherDAC]

When my grandfather was growing up in Van Buren, Arkansas [just outside Fort Smith, which itself is the navel of nowhere], during the period of the First World War, there was a glass factory in the area. It only operated during the winter, because during the summer the furnaces would make the whole place literally too hot for human life.

 

[MarkHastings]

It's "The Chicken or the Egg" - Is A/C "life changing" because of what it is, or because of the fact that it helps support items that have changed our lives?

At first A/C was a luxury, but now that it's been incorporated into our everyday lives, it has allowed us to incorporate these 'life changing' products that we normally wouldn't have without A/C.

I mean, as explained, Technology...How popular would the home computer (or home theater, or any other massive technology product that spews heat) be if we didn't have a means of temperature controlling our homes in the first place.

 

[BrianB]

For you. Most of the world doesn't have air conditioning - even most of the Western world. For parts of the USA, sure, it's almost essential, but don't generalise across the whole world because Dallas needs A/C.

 

[Sami Kallio]

I agree. AC is quite good here in Dallas but not necessary. People would just choose to live in other places with more suitable weather.

 

[BrianW]

Here's my list:

1. Hair Club for Men
2. Bikini
3. Dodge Viper
4. Hourly motel rates
5. 5-minute pregnancy test kit

Medical Innovation: Viagra


What, twenty eight responses, and nobody's mentioned Viagra?

What's the world coming to?

------------------------------

Okay, seriously:

1. Transistor
2. Integrated Circuit
3. Television
4. Communications Satellite
5. Nuclear Technology (for better or worse)

Medical Innovation: Antibiotics and Vaccines (with non-invasive imaging technology a close second)

It's difficult to imagine an invention in the last century that has had more impact on human existence than the transistor. (But the bikini is still one of my favorites. )

 

[Citizen87645]

Maybe it's propaganda, but air conditioning ain't nothin' to sniff at: http://www.eweek.org/site/news/Features/staycool.shtml

Especially in regards to this:

 

[Max Leung]

Silica

 

[Joe Szott]

The AK-47.

It's a sad commentary on human nature, but that is probably the most prolific invention of the past century. Just turn on the international news and watch non-white people around the world demonstrate it's importance to their lives.

 

[dany]

Computer
Velcro
Zipper
ABS
Assembly line
DNA

 

[todd s]

-TV
-Boob enlargement
-Music videos
-Tee-pee for my bunghole
-Boob enlargement

My list by Beavis
http://www.fortunecity.com/lavender/...rnholio_tp.wav

 

[MarkHastings]

Thanks for the link.

I definitely still stand by my conviction that it has changed the lives of MANY!


and while most will disagree with the cell phone, talk to those who have had car trouble in the middle of nowhere, during the middle of the night. They may not be necessary, but they have changed our lives.

 

[Raasean Asaad]

When you absolutely positively got to kill every........

 

[Citizen87645]

No problem. I remember air conditioning coming up as a trivia question on a radio show and realized I had taken the technology for granted.

 

[BrianB]

Definitely not propaganda. The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) and the Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute (ARI) said so.

 

[Citizen87645]

Propaganda's the best I could do on short notice .