Best Invention in the last 100 years that you use a lot

[OpenNRG]

Computer

 

[Zoomyn]

Z i p p e r .

Name comes from 1923 galoshes brand with a new one-handed fastener where the idea really caught on....

 

[kundip]

Things that didn't exist 100 years ago?
I think you might be surprised.

 

[EastTexCowboy]

So many world changing inventions were built on the foundation of previous inventions or technology, which makes it difficult to pinpoint the "best". I'd have to say the one that has affected the most people in a major way was the internet. I suspect if DARPA back in 1989 had had any clue how their work was going to evolve there would have been a LOT more government regulation in place. I don't know if it was the BEST invention, because I see a lot of negative results, but in general the good seems to outweigh the bad.

Second place? Maybe the hydraulic auger - I hate digging post holes by hand.

 

[Rednecktek]

On the flip side: Without the shipping container, we would not be so dependent on Chinese manufacturing.

Without shipping containers I would have nothing to do on the boat. ?

 

[kundip]

Toilet paper

How many plys?

 

[HRTKD]

How many plys?

RV toilet paper certainly hasn't been of the best inventions.

 

[JRH]

Saw @rmaddy's post and thought, dang... that could be a thread of its own. So you know...here it is.

What do you think the top few are and why are they the best? Is it space travel? The transistor? Plastic? The TV? How about stuff out of the space program (e.g., microwave ovens, Adult diapers)? Keep in mind the time limit, for example, air travel, the telephone, and electric cars are more than 100 years old now.

Here are the things that probably affect me the most:

1. drip-coffee - Gets the day moving
2. solar panels - Can power the world without destroying it
3. electric powertools - getting it done faster and easier means I can do more
4. Spincast Fishing Reel - How else are you going to relax and have an excuse to drink beer?
5. Computers and the Internet - Brings entertainment, knowledge, and an exchange of ideas (even if it is just to argue).

Hard to imagine a hundred years ago these things didn't exist.

A Pink Floyd Tour…with the light show…

 

[robby]

Air Conditioning was Invented 120 Years ago so it does not qualify.
Almost every Electronic Device listed from LED lights to Computers are made up of Transistors which were invented in 1947.
So the Transistor is by far the most important Electronic device invented in the last 100 years.
If you have never had an Infection then your lucky. If you have then consider the fact that most likely your alive today because of the discovery of Penicillin.
Antibiotics are one of the main reasons why the Average Human Lifespan has gone up so much. Vaccines would also be a huge factor but they were invented more than 200 years ago.

 

[Nobodybusiness]

Saw @rmaddy's post and thought, dang... that could be a thread of its own. So you know...here it is.

What do you think the top few are and why are they the best? Is it space travel? The transistor? Plastic? The TV? How about stuff out of the space program (e.g., microwave ovens, Adult diapers)? Keep in mind the time limit, for example, air travel, the telephone, and electric cars are more than 100 years old now.

Here are the things that probably affect me the most:

1. drip-coffee - Gets the day moving
2. solar panels - Can power the world without destroying it
3. electric powertools - getting it done faster and easier means I can do more
4. Spincast Fishing Reel - How else are you going to relax and have an excuse to drink beer?
5. Computers and the Internet - Brings entertainment, knowledge, and an exchange of ideas (even if it is just to argue).

Hard to imagine a hundred years ago these things didn't exist.

Would have to say Antibiotics.

 

[Nobodybusiness]

Air Conditioning was Invented 120 Years ago so it does not qualify.
Almost every Electronic Device listed from LED lights to Computers are made up of Transistors which were invented in 1947.
So the Transistor is by far the most important Electronic device invented in the last 100 years.
If you have never had an Infection then your lucky. If you have then consider that most likely your alive because of the discovery of Penicillin. Antibiotics are one of the main reasons why the Average Human Lifespan has gone up so much. Vaccines would also be a huge factor but they were invented more than 200 years ago.

Well shit we said the same thing except I didn’t finish reading the thread before I posted.

 

[Nobodybusiness]

Heh, in he early 90’s there was a cdrom that had streets of the USA on it, I carried an inverter, and a laptop, and used that, then later added the gps dongle on the dashboard. Had a section where you could show the Satelite data very cool, I miss that, but love the convenience of the phone gps…

That’s wild because I did the same thing.

I had a laptop with a PCMCIA GPS card that I ran with street atlas.

I thought it was cool as shit.

Selective availability was still on GPS at the time but it still gave you a pretty accurate location.

Enough you could drive places you had never been without a map.

 

[Nobodybusiness]

I remember in the early 70s on Christmas Day we would call one of my uncles and his family who lived in England.
I remember my older sister manning the wrist watch and giving each of us a 5 second count down before our 30 second allotment was up.
We each had about 30 seconds on the phone with them. Last to talk was my Dad and just a second or two before 3 minutes was up my Father would cut the call. I don't remember what the Call Charge was exactly but I remember hearing the cost of the call and thinking OMG that is a lot of money, well a lot by a kids standards.

Geez even inter Lata calls were expensive back then.

I remember my dad calling his sister in another town 20 miles away.

Was like .15 a minute or something in the 70s.

They used to have a Lata map in the beginning of the phone book to show you what exchanges cost per minute.

 

[Nobodybusiness]

You could look at Louggle Earth archives. Use the "Decade Rewind" feature. ?
There were probably only a few cars traveling that distance back then.

Hot tub time machine eh?

 

[629658]

Bidet seat

 

[Ampster]

So the Transistor is by far the most important Electronic device invented in the last 100 years.

I would agree. The simple transistor has evolved into integrated circuits that control my interaction with the world and how I operate my home and drive my cars. My EVs are often described as software platforms and I am told they contain thousands of transistors that make my travel efficient and safe. I built some vacuum tube Heathkits in the fifties and took a tupijg class in the sixities and still seem to be able to almost type this message in the dark/,.

 

[robby]

I am told they contain thousands of transistors that make my travel efficient and safe. I built some vacuum tube Heathkits in the fifties and took a tupijg class in the sixities and still seem to be able to almost type this message in the dark/,.

The figure is more mind blowing than you realize. Just one of the the two main processors contains several Billion Transistors.

Oh yeah Heathkit was a blast back in the old days. So much of their Ham Radio gear is still in use today.
I saw an SB-200 Amp for sale on eBay a few years ago, it was still sealed in the Box in kit form and someone bough it for about $3500. You can pick up used ones for about $500 dollars but it seems like some older guy really wanted to get back to his youthful days and build the kit again or maybe he just wanted it for a show piece!

 

[robby]

Geez even inter Lata calls were expensive back then.

I remember my dad calling his sister in another town 20 miles away.

Was like .15 a minute or something in the 70s.

They used to have a Lata map in the beginning of the phone book to show you what exchanges cost per minute.

Can you imagine how much Money AT&T use to make back then!
They had a complete monopoly on every phone call people made and they charged through the teeth for every minute of those calls.

 

[Nobodybusiness]

Can you imagine how much Money AT&T use to make back then!
They had a complete monopoly on every phone call people made back then and they charged through the teeth for every minute of a phone call.

Yup. Probably why they broke them up.

I remember those Green ATT then baby Bell vans all Over the place.

 

[robby]

Yup. Probably why they broke them up.

I remember those Green ATT then baby Bell vans all Over the place.

I remember having to go through an operator in order to make long distance calls. Also those annoying rotary dial phones.
The annoying part was when your finger slipped out of the hole before you rotated it to the metal stop. One slip and you had to dial the whole number again.