diy solar

diy solar

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

Don B. Cilly said:
You don't know where it was?
Well anyway, here in summer I have hot water for the shower for free, it goes from the well to the (black) tank, from there through some 20 metres of black irrigation pipe laying in the sun, and from there to the pump. Even in winter it's not too cold when the sun is out.
-
Click to expand...
You asked what Latitude and I don't know. I was six years old.
I think It was upstate NY, like a 4 hour drive from NY city in the 1960s. It was farm land and he had horses and cows.
 
Heck, touch tone phones are a modern invention… the phone itself invented just 24 years before the turn of the century, so I’m sure for most it was a 20th century addition to their home…
IP phones on the internet making long distance charges a thing of the past…
Countertop cooking devices, bread maker, crockpot, George Forman grill, hot plate, induction cooking, blenders, and the countertop electric mixer… I’m sure plenty of cooking equipment was invented or perfected in the 20th century
 
Supervstech said:
Heck, touch tone phones are a modern invention… the phone itself invented just 24 years before the turn of the century, so I’m sure for most it was a 20th century addition to their home…
IP phones on the internet making long distance charges a thing of the past…
Countertop cooking devices, bread maker, crockpot, George Forman grill, hot plate, induction cooking, blenders, and the countertop electric mixer… I’m sure plenty of cooking equipment was invented or perfected in the 20th century
Click to expand...
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.
 
Last edited:
Well, NYC is just over 40° north, we're just over 39°. Not much difference.
A black pipe would have give you warm showers, in summer ;·)
Not much of an invention, black irrigation pipe, true, but incredibly effective for the price (dirt cheap :·)
-
 
robby said:
You asked what Latitude and I don't know. I was six years old.
I think It was upstate NY, like a 4 hour drive from NY city in the 1960s. It was farm land and he had horses and cows.
Click to expand...
You could look at Louggle Earth archives. Use the "Decade Rewind" feature. ?
There were probably only a few cars traveling that distance back then.
 

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

guess I have to wait 6 years before I say sliced bread
If you wonder why I'd say it, you've never seen my wife handle a knife.
I'm surprised she still has all her fingers
 
We don't all use them but we have all experienced the impact of the invention of the standardized shipping container (1957). That simple invention led to a revolution in international shipping because shipping costs plummeted. Without the massive price drop in shipping, we would all be paying a lot more for everything we buy.

On the flip side: Without the shipping container, we would not be so dependent on Chinese manufacturing.
 
We are in the information age. Modern computer, and search algorithm to present the relevant data. Without that, modern society grinds to a halt.

Quantum Mechanics. A lot of high tech is based on it.
 
Z i p p e r .

Name comes from 1923 galoshes brand with a new one-handed fastener where the idea really caught on....
 
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. :ROFLMAO:
 
kundip said:
How many plys?
Click to expand...

RV toilet paper certainly hasn't been of the best inventions.
grumpy.gif
 
svetz said:
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.
Click to expand...
A Pink Floyd Tour…with the light show…
 
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.
 
Last edited:
svetz said:
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.
Click to expand...
Would have to say Antibiotics.
 
robby said:
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.
Click to expand...
Well shit we said the same thing except I didn’t finish reading the thread before I posted.
 
Supervstech said:
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…
Click to expand...
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.
 
robby said:
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.
Click to expand...
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.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

OffGridForGood
A four year plan in stages going PV off grid:
Replies
12
Views
1K
GloryRays
G

diy solar

diy solar
Back
Top