Friday, April 24, 2009
Your Turn
This week, FW and I had a very long discussion about inventions and what were the most life changing of all inventions. We basically limited our discussion to the past 50 years or so and agreed upon The Pill and The Internet as the two biggest ones. I also argued for drive through liquor stores, but we couldn't agree on that. I say that anytime you don't actually have to get out of your car to buy something is a good thing. Look at fast food places. Who actually goes in anymore? Anyway, you don't have to limit yourself to the past 50 years, and you don't have to limit yourself to life changing inventions. You could simply say what is the one invention you cannot live without.
BOOKS!!
ReplyDeleteI agree with QS--books, absolutely.
ReplyDeleteMr. Clean Magic Erasers....beer
ReplyDeleteThe Internet. But I guess electricity is a huge thing. And the alphabets! And the book printing machine...and.. hmm, you get it.
ReplyDeleteThe ipod.
ReplyDeleteagree, the ipod changed the way people get their music and listen to it. I know I cant live without mine! I currently have the Ipod Touch at the top of my wishlist.
ReplyDeleteTiffany, those Mr. Clean Erasers are a seriously great invention. It is a must have with young children. I also second books. Whenever I feel down or sad all I have to do is pick up Outlander...
ReplyDeleteI still say the pocket rocket is the greatest invention since... well everything else that came before. Look it up girls, it's well worth it.
ReplyDeleteCrunch Wrap Supreme!
ReplyDeleteLiterally, man made insulin.
ReplyDeleteObjectively, anything resulting from the invention of the printing press.
the washing machine!
ReplyDeletecell phones
ReplyDeletetampax!
ReplyDeleteThe Internet, MP3 player, cordless phone, microwave oven, remote control, digital radio, cd recording, blogging, laser surgery,video recording, for starters.
ReplyDeleteWhen were mammograms and MRI's invented? If it was less than 50 years ago I'll add them to my list.
This is an unending list for me and a very good topic.
breast implants!
ReplyDeletee-mail
ReplyDeleteyes,you're right the cell phone,Unbalanced! TV! people mag!
ReplyDeleteInternal combustion engine
ReplyDeleteI like tampons, but I'd be really mad if I had to give up my rabbit. I love it and it loves me! Lol.
ReplyDeleteMy apologies to those of you who will be squicked out by my answer, but whenever I'm asked the "what would you bring to a desert island" question, my answer is always easy: Midol (or similar very effective painkiller). I don't think anything is as hard as surviving with excruciating pain, and nothing feels as good as having it relieved. (Buddhism has this great concept called the "untoothache," which is about appreciating that your life isn't as bad as you may think it is. I'm using it right now to avoid envying FW too much. :) )
ReplyDeleteOther than that, definitely the printing press.
the corkscrew....and sex toys!
ReplyDeletenot necessarily in that order ;)
^^
ReplyDeleteoh, and not together of course...
frig and air conditioning.
ReplyDeleteTivo!!!!
ReplyDeleteThe printing press.
ReplyDeleteThe Hair Straightening Iron- I know I could think of something more powerful but this thing has the power to transfor me from Shirley Temple into a goddess!
ReplyDeleteMerrick .. get one!! They are WONDERFUL .. basically you can have you cell and use the touch to surf the net free. Work -wise .. it is indispensable. Or .. so I hear .. bought one for someone for their birthday and it was a huge hit as a work tool for a new business owner who is on the road a lot.
ReplyDeleteFor me .. I cannot live without my laptop. I write on it, listen to music with it, purchase music with it, purchase books with it, read news on it from newspapers around the country and around world, I learn languages on it, I have relationships on it, I buy my food on it, pay my bills on it, manage my money on it ...definitely my laptop.
A very close second would be the tampon .. Damn if those Egyptians weren't brilliant!! I could praise them invention-wise for damn near everything they ever did!
Sex toy and laptop are tied for me. Specifically the kind that go in the bathtub.
ReplyDeleteMooshki, I completely agree with you. Having had some pretty bad experiences with physical pain (mostly tooth) myself, i have to say that there is nothing better than feeling that pain go away......LOVE midol. :)
ReplyDeletetampons. sorry, but it's true.
ReplyDeleteWil, I know how wonderful they are, my son has one and whenever he is over, all i do is play with it. I kinda hinted, no, I straight old told my kids I want one for Mother's Day...:)
ReplyDeleteShamWow!
ReplyDeleteSo many to choose from, but the one thing I cannot live without is my cell phone.
ReplyDeleteBut obviously, the biggest invention in the history of the planet would have to be the nuclear bomb.
Penicillin.
ReplyDeleteIn for the email comments at the mo.
ReplyDelete12:46, I didn't know they made laptops that could go in the bathtub! Cool!
ReplyDeleteAnti-depressants!
ReplyDeleteTIVO
ReplyDeleteNot just the iPod, but mp3 format and the internet...it's made music SOOO much more accessible. half the music I listen to I can't even get it regular record stores.
ReplyDeleteGotta agree with the tampon suggestion too.
ReplyDeleteAnd, in a related note, what Mooshki said about pain relief. And it's related to tampons cuz, well, suffice to say that when ibuprofen was invented in the 80s, it literally changed my life, if you know what I mean.
toast
ReplyDeletecommercial jet aviation
ReplyDeletePolio vaccine...
ReplyDeletefrom a longtime lurker
Mr Clean wiping pads WARNING!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI used to think they were awesome as well, until I watched a Canadian show called 'Marketplace'. Some of the 'magic ingredients' include Formeldahyde (sp?), amongst many other toxic shit. They are SERIOUSLY dangerous & it's blasphemy that they are still on store shelves. NOTHINg safe works that well or has that special 'texture'
Sorry to rant, but that show was a mind blower.
Living in the desert, air conditioning is numero uno. I don't know how the early settlers did it when they took the old plank road to what they must have thought was hell on earth.
ReplyDeleteATM Card
ReplyDeleteToilet paper.
ReplyDeleteAnd I suppose feminine supplies go along with it...
My hair dryer. If I'm having a bad hair day, EVERYONE suffers, lol.
ReplyDeleteNaproxen and chocolate.
ReplyDeletesome frivolous but fav inventions:
ReplyDeletezippers, bathtubs, Advil, wine, blue jeans, fast food, high thread count sheets, cashmere, Belgian beer, dictionaries, ice cream etc. etc.
and Mad Libs! LOL
but i agree that the nuclear bomb is probably one of the most life changing inventions ever....
ATM.
ReplyDeleteTampons.
Anti-depressants.
Hot water heaters.
I remember back in the '70's when the first pocket calculator came out. It was such a HUGE deal. My dad and uncle went to a store just to LOOK at it. It had very basic functions and was very expensive. I remember dinner party discussions on the ramifications to future generations. Until then, tables and charts and slide rulers were the norm for higher mathmatical calculations. It was the first higher technological item available to the common man.
ReplyDeleteI Love my Laptop, mp3, and cell phone! i that order!! I don't want to live without these items.
ReplyDelete&
I'm Very happy we have the pill, friges/freezers, and sex toys hahah!!!
Washing machine, refrigerator, dishwasher, and vacuum cleaner all freed women from full-time housework, and pushed them into the workplace.
ReplyDelete@ mygeorgie
ReplyDeleteMarketplace rocks!!
;)
air conditioner....vacuum cleaner.....clumping kitty litter....diet soda.....MP3 players....seat belts.....as much as I hate them - health insurance companies (I guess not technically an invention, but I am damn glad they are around sometimes!)......digital cameras....compact discs......deodorant......Excedrin.
ReplyDeleteJet airplanes, epidurals, c-sections(my sister just had a baby and I have a feeling both her and the baby would not have survived without an emergency c-section), remote controls.
ReplyDeleteControl-top pantyhose...Qtips...tweezers and Vicks menthol plug-ins.
ReplyDeleteIt would be a tie between the typewriter ( now the laptop I suppose but I would go for an old school IBM any day ) and the today sponge. The former speaks for itself and as for the latter? None of the yucky birthcontrol hormones AND you can do the deed during your lady time and it acts as a literal flow stopper.
ReplyDeleteMiss, the "spongeworthy" episode was one of my favorite Seinfelds.
ReplyDeleteDidn't have time to read through these all yet, so apologies if these are a repeat of someone else's genius:
ReplyDelete1) The Rabbit - and no I'm not talking about the fuzzy, hop-y animal.
2) Also, condoms and birth control - could you imagine where we'd be now without those? Ugh ...
internal combustion engine, anything by N. Tesla, laptop, cell phone, wheels on luggage,
ReplyDeleteRe: Mr. Clean Magic Eraser
ReplyDeleteSnopes.com article debunking Mr. Clean Magic Eraser scare.
1:25 - epidurals are truly heaven sent! Just ask my husband! Had it for my first son and the birth was blissful; unfortunately i was too late arriving at the hospital for my second boy (something about my mum wanting to put her make up on before we left as it was 4am...) so missed out.... wow, the difference was incredible (wow it hurt!)
ReplyDeleteAnyway, i digress - i also couldn't live without books, a microwave, my mobile phone, tampons (i prefer the applicator ones)public transport (i don't drive), aeroplanes, the internet, screw top wine bottles and baby buggies!!!!
Also, the incredible medical inventions and breakthroughs as well.. i was born at 23weeks back in 1982 and due to the amazing doctors who cared for me i'm alive (they told my parents i wouldn't make it to lunchtime) also, i'm blind in my left eye and am losing the sight in my right due to a degenerative condition (due to my prematurity) but because of the amazing medical discoveries and breakthroughs i'm on drugs for the rest of my life which help to postpone the inevitable for as long possible.... Now THAT'S what i call life changing!
chemotherapy
ReplyDeleteThe internet. Because it's made my life a bit more bearable.
ReplyDeleteFour things I would have a VERY hard time living without: indoor plumbing, books, prescription medication, and chocolate. I could live w/out any of them (or all four) for a short time (such as camping); but long-term? I would REALLY miss:
ReplyDelete* the potty (just flush away!)
* being able to shower/bathe to get clean (just turn the knob, as much water as you want w/out having to carry it from point A to point B)
* being able to escape into a book
* having to deal with my allergies & asthma on a daily basis, full-blast
* experiencing the bliss of chocolate...just because :)
Those of you who think the tampon is the greatest invention ever need to move on and start using the Diva Cup. You will never have to shove a bunch of chemically treated cotton and paper up your cooch again. I swear. You will never go back.
ReplyDeleteFor me, it's a toss up between the chap stick and any portable music player such as the iPod.
Theres a lot of drive through liquor stores where I live lol Come live in Dallas!!
ReplyDeleteHmm, for me, the printing press. I wouldn't have my shelves stocked with so many books so quickly had it not been for that!
klonopin
ReplyDeleteMooshki I have never seen that episode but as soon as I send this comment I'm googling it!
ReplyDeleteI'm going to stray a bit here and go with something that I sooooo desperately want but won't allow myself to buy for fear of becoming a hermit:
ReplyDeleteThe Kindle from Amazon. If you don't know what it is, you MUST check it out....
okay after watching the clip I feel life just became a little bit brighter. :D " Are you going to do something about those sideburns? " !!!
ReplyDeleteIf we're talking about the past 50 years, I would say the nuclear bomb. It's not meant to be political, it's just that it's effects are the most far reaching. For the invention that you cannot live without, disinfectant (soap) is first and foremost. Definately has to be the best invention ever.
ReplyDeleteMedication and heart lung machine. For pure pleasure, the TV and video games.
ReplyDeleteanesthesia
ReplyDeleteand not to dog anyone else's prime invention, but the rabbit? really? over cell phones or airplanes or eyeglasses? what's wrong with fingers?
The microwave oven! If someone had told me when I was a kid that one day I would come home and cook dinner by jabbing my finger a few times at a flat panel, I would have thought they were nuts. The microwave is proof that God loves us. That and alcohol.
ReplyDeleteFor pure pleasure...the internet. Someday I want to see a 3-D hollowdeck like they had on Star Trek. I would probably never come out of it.
Baking soda. That's all ya need for all you Magic Eraser people out there. All you "no poo" people know what I mean too, and it isn't about poo. Really.
ReplyDeleteFometeral for my asthma. Literally a lifesaver, has altered my universe in a way I didn't know was possible.
Ablation. Mooshki, if yer done yer birthin', go ask your doctor about it.
Pizza and NyQuil. That's your night right there. Ahhhh.
ReplyDeleteMr Clean wiping pads WARNING!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteTHANKYOU! The Canadian Cancer Society listed it as one of the known cancer causes. You can still use it but should ALWAYS use with gloves and NOT around kids or pets.
Snopes or not, I think i'm going with my government agency on this.
the internet, rizla silver rolling papers and tivo.
ReplyDeleteMy Chi hair straightening iron literally changed my frizzy-haired life.
ReplyDelete@ elsiefire:
ReplyDeleteablation as in radio frequency? before i was dx correctly, they did that on my back. it was interesting, and of course, didn't work, since they were treating the wrong thing.
having worked w/ computers before there really was such a thing, i'd have to say the web/internet.
no kill animal shelters, community property, microchips, LED lights, tampons? how about plain old pads? my grandmother told me about having to use rags and a soak bucket.
women's shelters. women's rights. gay marriage.
there's so much in my life time alone, i'm amazed every day.
and moosh, i'm still waiting for the perfect pain medication. AND the legalization of pot. or whatever the kids are calling it now days. :)
The flush toilet and eye glasses.
ReplyDeleteTi-83 Graphing Calculator...I suck at math.
ReplyDeletehow did i forget space exploration and the moon landing?
ReplyDeleteI think this is the biggest hint that Lauren G is FW since she was in the movie Flash of Genius.
ReplyDeletere:"The Printing Press"
ReplyDeleteTHAT is absolutely theeee coolest invention. If it weren't for Johannes Gutenberg inventing this baby we would all still be relying on the Pope & his peeps to tell us what to do & think. It was actually one of the foremost reasons for the Protestant revolt and blah, blah, blah. Re=printed Bibles & books gave POWER TO THE PO PEOPLE!!
(I remember this shit from grade 9 art.....25 years ago:O)
I'd give Mr. Gutenberg the best BJ he ever had, as a big 'ole 'Thank You' if he was around :)
ELECTRICITY!!!!!
ReplyDeleteThe Internet because it lets me work from home. Without it, I would have to get up early and put dress clothes on to work.
ReplyDelete"what's wrong with fingers?"
ReplyDeleteOh man, you have NO IDEA what you're missing. Xandria.com. Seriously.
Thanks for the suggestion, Elsie, but I'm not quite ready to give up the possibility of popping out a Mini-Mooshki yet.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteBiggest impact on my life from kind of recent inventions are 1) internet and 2) medical advancements including asthma meds and Naproxen.
ReplyDeleteLadies - Naproxen is a miracle drug for getting rid of cramps. Before I discovered it, I missed lots of important life events, including exams. It's related to the Tylenol so be careful with alcohol and this drug.
Books Asolutely!
ReplyDeleteTelevision & internet
Toilet Paper... Would you want to live without it?
The Internet
ReplyDeleteThe Pill
Online pharmacies/antibiotics
Frozen White Castle Cheezeburgers
*I'd say drive-thru liquor stores, but I don't live in Texas. Thank the FSM.*
Oooh - and Mr. Clean Magic Erasers....those things clean ANYTHING1!!11!
ReplyDeleteThere's too many! I'm going to agree with most already posted and just choose a few of the non-essentials but important to me:
ReplyDeleteTV, DVR, books, internet and condoms! Latex condoms, non-latex condoms that prevent disease - condoms, condoms, condoms! I cannot use ANY other type of BC so it's condoms for me! No babies and no disease! And Plan B in case the horrific awful breakage of condom happens. However, I put the condoms on my partner and make sure they are on correctly (why yes, I am paranoid as all hell, why do you ask?). Condoms FTW!
And for all you "tampon" people....if you just keep taking the Pill with no breaks, you won't have a period. And it's not harmful - so say all my gyno's over the past 20 or so years. Just use a low-dose pill.
ReplyDeleteSwedens maternety and paternety benefits. 380 days off (per child, the father has to use 3 month of them) with 80% of your pay to dispose how you like until the kid is 12. Both parent get 10 full days with pay off work right after birth. Forbidden by law to fire a parent on leave. And you only pay 5% of the actuall cost for daycare. No one have to shoose between their baby and career.
ReplyDeleteIn my world, the most important invention was me.
ReplyDeleteTIVO!
ReplyDeleteI really think the most important one was disinfectant, second would be the Rabbit.
ReplyDeleteI really think the most important one was disinfectant, second would be the Rabbit.
ReplyDeleteAh, Charlie, how I love socialism.
ReplyDeleteIn socialogy class we were talking about feminisim and how it should be something everyone believes in and strives for,.... that aside what we were talking about was how great BIRTHCONTROL PILLS are and how for the first time in History women did not have to be there sexually as men's birthing vessals. The pill gave woman freedom of choice and that is why hands down THE pill is the fucking best invention period. That and penuisilin. And i love the printing press and airplanes to travel the world and to spread the word which helped bring people information and new experiances and thus truely liberated people.
ReplyDeleteGoing with tampons ftw.
ReplyDelete