Inventions
June 27, 2011 (Monday)
The History Channel recently aired a program entitled, “101 gadgets that changed the world.” It was a two-hour special which ranked the inventions. In spite of the fact that those who put this together were considered to be experts in their technological fields, many who have seen the list disagree with it. I would have been surprised if that were not the case, not only because it is a subjective list by its very nature, but also because the last 200 years have been so full of new inventions and ideas that picking out the most important is a monumental task about which there is bound to be disagreement.
I won’t enter that argument by expressing my own thoughts about which inventions are the most important, but I can say that I think I actually have, or have had, in one way or another, at least one of almost every gadget on the list, which is another way of saying that technology has directly affected me. And I would think, the same is true of you.
One of the most interesting observations made on the program had to do with the personal appearance of the presidents of our country. Since World War I, all have been clean-shaved; before then, from Lincoln through Taft (except for Andrew Johnson) all had beards or mustaches. The History Channel program attributed that fact to the invention of the safety razor. The razors and blades were distributed to soldiers during WWI so that they could shave every day and safely wear gas masks. When the soldiers returned home after the war, they maintained the habit of shaving each day. For whatever reason, the presidents have been influenced by the trend. Many men, however, prefer to maintain beards, mustaches, etc., as we all know. I plan to try it again one of these days.
The magazine, Popular Mechanics, played a major role in selecting the gadgets for the list. You can read their report and see all the gadgets by clicking here. (Click on “view thumbnails” under the first picture and see the 101 list).
What about you? Which gadget do you think has been the most important and influential? In your view, which invention didn’t make the list, but should have?