Saturday, April 24, 2010

Blog #19 - Top 3 Most Important Inventions in the Past 200 Years

For the past couple of days, we have been talking about the most influential inventions and concepts that have changed human life for the better or worse, initially in our short lives, and then we expanded it to the past 200 years (of course, the Snuggie is right up there in the Top 1 Million Inventions of the Decade).


There were a lot of great ideas listed during the brainstorming sessions.  They included, but were not limited to:

 - antibiotics, painkillers, refrigerators, televisions, telephones, harnessing the use of electricity, light bulb, airplanes, computers, calculators, air conditioning (I think that's in my selfish top 3), duct tape (someone insisted on putting it on the board), the car, steam engine, gasoline engine, light saber, and many others. 

Your job in this blog is to think of how your life and your parents' and grandparents' lives would have been amazingly different w/o the top three inventions that you have chosen.  Ask your parents and / or grandparents, aunts, uncles or other family members for perspective on technology, b/c we have a hard time looking past the few years we've lived in.  Right now, I don't know how I've lived w/o cell phones, but I obviously had for over 20+ years.  Now, try finding a pay phone.  But my personal favorite invention in the past 200 yrs (mainly b/c I'm not a huge fan of going outside in the middle of the night when ya gotta go) is:


The flushing toilet, right along w/ toilet paper.  It has made life so much more comfortable.  You can laugh, but think of having a pit toilet in your back yard, and having to go there in the middle of the night.  In the winter. I know, the girls, you would hold it, but the boys.... you're gross.   

Here's a website where you can rank your own top ten list of inventions: http://www.the-top-tens.com/lists/top-ten-inventions-in-the-last-200-years.asp
Top medical breakthroughs - http://zayamsbury.net/top-medical-breakthroughs-of-the-past-200-years/index.html


Due Tuesday, 150 words total.

List your top 3 most influential inventions in America and explain why for each.  Finding some reasons why and then citing them w/ online sources wouldn't be a bad idea. 

45 comments:

Unknown said...

Blog 19
The top three inventions in the past 200 years are the car the telephone and the computer. I think that the car was one of the best inventions because it’s the easiest and most reliable way to get from place to place. If you think about you use a car almost every day. Without cars everyday life would be a lot harder we would have to find other means of transportation like a bike or walking. We would probably be in a state of better health but I think a car is a good reliable element of transportation.
The telephone is another important invention because we use that in everyday life as well. Without the telephone we would still be using letters to communicate with people and that could take days. It would be very inconvenient and if there is an emergency there is no good way to let someone know.
And finally, the computer. It’s a great tool I’m even using it know. I bet there are millions of people using the computer at this very moment; the computer is so great for so many different things including the military and medical fields.

Jason Markowitz

Anonymous said...

Brett Bernhardt
My top three influential inventions in America is the invention of the car, the telephone and the computer. First let's talk about the car, without the it we could not ship our goods to the rest of the country. Faster transportation was a way to deliver medicine, get people where they needed go (saving time) and automobiles were a way families could go across the country. Also, automobiles created thousands of jobs. Without the telephone communication was very slow when informing people on business, health, and emergency needs. Now you rarely see someone without a cell phone making communication instantly. My last invention, is the computer. We have come a long way since it first was invented. With the big machines and using punch cards to now microchips, CD's, flash drives ,and the internet, computers are one of the fastest growing technologies to date. All three of these inventions have helped conduct World Wide Business quickly and efficiently.

Anonymous said...

BRAD SLOAN-5th
I think that there are many great inventions in the past 200 years. The top three for me are email, weapons of mass destruction, and medical drugs. Email is important because it play a big role in keeping in touch and contacting people who you need to reach. People all around the world use this every day. Weapons of mass destruction are important because with out them we would be weaker then our enemies. This would lead to us possibly be non existent anymore. Last medical drugs are important to keep us alive and disease free.

Peter Shimshock said...

The number one invention would have to be a shower with clean, hot water. I cannot stand anything that smells bad. In fact, I almost puke when I smell something bad. I mean, what if somebody was mud wrestling or something one day, and they came to school the next day covered in mud because they didn’t have a shower? The next invention on this list is the traffic light. With the high speed cars and crazy people on the road today, I would have to say that many people would be dead, and many families scheduling funerals. This may sound extreme, but I feel like populations could potentially be taken down to about 50%. The third and final item for this list would have to be the flushable toilet. This is because they seem to be mass produced; therefore we can have multiple toilets in the house. Without multiple toilets, there would be some fights going on in the house. Plus, I don’t want to have to go into a pit which smells daily, with a stench so bad that air freshener won’t cover it.

Anonymous said...

Molly Sovran,

1. My top 3 most influential inventions are the telephone, the car and the light bulb. I say these things because not only me, but a lot of people use these things in their everyday life. My cousins live in South Carolina. Without the telephone I would barley have a way to interact with them, and really stay in touch with my family. We use the phone so many times a day, and imagine never using your phone. What if you were lost and had no way of reaching anyone? The phone comes in handy because it helps you reach the person you need to help you. My sister has medical issues. I used to see her have seizures once a week, and without the telephone to reach the hospital or the EMS I believe she wouldn’t be here today. Another invention would be the car. Without the car your 16th birthday wouldn’t really be that exciting. You wouldn’t get your license and you wouldn’t wake up in the morning to see your brand new car with a huge bow on it, sitting in the driveway. That’s every 16 year olds dream. The car gets us from point A to point B, and without the help of the car it would be hard. Can u imagine waling into a room and not turn on the light switch? I know that would be pretty weird, being in the dark all the time, not being able to see at night. It’s tough, and electricity has its ups and downs but overall it’s an amazing thing because the light bulb itself has saved a lot of people. Maybe not in a medical way, but in a sense that lights have saved people. Saved them from many things that could happen in the dark.

Jack Arvai said...

The three most important inventions in the last 200 years are the seatbelt, all the antibiotics, and all of the computers. The seatbelt is an important invention because it saves a countless number of lives every year, every month, and every day. Without the seatbelt, there would be a lot more car crash related deaths, because the main safety mechanism would be gone. It even saves lives in aircrafts and watercrafts. All the antibiotics are important inventions because they can stop what used to be deadly viruses in their tracks, reducing deaths, and saving lives. All of the forms of computers are important inventions too because they help us advance and be more sophisticated, while saving lives, making them easier, and sometimes more fun. Computers save lives by cutting out most of human error in hospitals, making it easier to handle more people, with better care. It makes life more fun by giving you something to do when you are bored, or just to reconnect with lost friends.

Jack Arvai 4th hour

Anonymous said...

KENNETH O'HANLON

I believe that the three inventions in the last 200 years that were the most influential in America would have to be the light bulb, the automobile, and the cell phone respectively. The light bulb probably is one of the most unnoticed inventions but it possibly has the greatest influence on human life. Light bulbs are used in practically every aspect of human life, if you were to walk down a hallway at school, there are lights above you that allow you to see, the fire exits are powered by lights and even the fire alarm signals are powered by light bulbs. Light bulbs are in televisions, computers, automobiles, houses, and airplanes. I believe that the automobile ranks second in the top three most influential inventions because it has completely revolutionized the way Americans transport materials, goods, and even other humans. Humans have become unrealistically reliant on the automobile as the #1 mode for transportation, not only for short distances but also interstate. Many companies and products have been created due to the automobile (i.e. highway repairmen). Automobiles also act as a source for transporting mass quantities of goods for companies between states in America. Last but not least, the cell phone has had an amazing impact on humans in the last ten to twenty years. When my parents were children they told me that whenever they needed to confirm anything with their parents it was in a face to face conversation, now cell phones have practically replaced that conversation. Cell phones also help people to plan and keep track of their lives with a built in calendar and they help the individual to frequently communicate socially with their peers.

Anonymous said...

Philip Johnson
5th Hour

I think the three most influential inventions in America have been airplanes, the computer and mobile phones. Without airplanes, people would not be able to easily and quickly explore many places around the world and transferring goods across seas would take far too long. Planes are safe, quick ways to transport people and all types of goods that are made overseas. Computers are very valuable and vital today because they are a great source of communication and information. Without computers, it would be very difficult to keep in contact with distant people and know what is going on around the world. There are also a lot of databases like Google on the computer that provide knowledge right inside people’s homes. Mobile phones make quick, emergency communication possible and help people stay in contact with one another. Without mobile phones and computers, the only way to communicate would be letters which take a lot longer and aren’t as convenient.



Holla?

Anonymous said...

Lianna Schmidt


To me the top three most influential inventions in America are antibiotics, electricity and indoor plumbing. I think anti-biotics are very important and influence in America because the death rate would go up significantly without them. Without anti-biotic infections would maim and kill many people. There would also be a cost to lost work time and to family income. I believe that indoor plumbing is very influential and beneficial to America because without it we would have great sanitation, environmental, and health problems. I think indoor plumbing makes daily living more comfortable to the individual and beneficial to society. Electricity is very influential to America because without it we would not be able to function as the modern society we now enjoy. For example, we would not be able to have electric lights. We would not have electric appliances. We wouldn’t have telecommunications, or advanced hospitals. Our whole world would be different today if not for the men who created these inventions.

Unknown said...

My choices for the most influential inventions are the utilizing of electricity, air conditioning/heating and indoor plumbing. I picked electricity because without that more than half the new inventions of today wouldn’t even exist or work. Even the most influential inventions after it, like the light bulb, wouldn’t work. I can’t even imagine what we would do without it. We would be doing everything by firelight and everything would take so much longer to do. We would need to learn to live all over again if it was suddenly taken away from us. I picked air conditioning and heating systems because without them we would need to be heated by fire and cooled by the wind and that’s not always an easy task. We would still be like our ancestors living by the fire and sleeping under warm wool blankets. I picked indoor plumbing because, like stated in the blog, we would all be using an out house or a hole in the ground. We wouldn’t be as clean and would probably only take a bath once a week or month or so. We couldn’t cook as easily and it would be a hassle to just have drinking water or to wash our hands.

Anonymous said...

Steve Attard

I believe that the I Pod is a great invention. The walkmen was one of the first versions of portable music but it was hard because you had to change the cd whenever you wanted a different band but the I Pod you just download and go.

V neck mens T - shirts are a great invention to me because its a way to express yourself with clothing as a man because most guys just wear normal crew neck t-shirts and thats boring.

The pad lock is a good invention because its a way for you to store your person things and no body can get to is but you and you know it will stay save as long as you're the only person that knows the code or has the key to the lock.

Ben Hafen said...

Ben Hafen, 5th Hour
The three most influential inventions...? You sure do come up with some...interesting...blog topics, Mr. Wickersham.

Be ye warned: the following three entries are in no particular order whatsoever.

1. The flushing toilet. As Mr. Wickersham said, we men can get...gross...if we have to hold it in for too long. Fortunately, I have not personally had issues with this recently. The possibility is still there, however. Having to go in an outhouse is bad enough, with the weather issues and insect life and whatnot, but one of the main points of this is the flushing. If we weren't able to flush, it would just be like having an outhouse inside, or like the infamous chamber pots of ye olden dayes. If not for the flushing mechanism, we could very well be like the London of the time of the Plague, dumping our personal business out of our second story windows and into the city streets below. I don't think I need to tell you how bad that would be. Along with the flushing toilet are the slightly lesser toilet paper and plunger.

2. Chemotherapy. As someone whose life has been hit hard by cancer and leukemia, this is a pretty big one. Don't get me wrong--I don't have cancer or leukemia, but I've had two friends with leukemia, plus an uncle with cancer. One friend and the uncle passed away at least four years ago; it's really not something I enjoy talking about. However, sometimes, it's something that needs to be mentioned. Pretty much anything that's being done in the world of medical science and pharmaceuticals regarding these fatal conditions are pretty important--not just to me, but for everyone else whose lives have been affected by this. If something can be done to alleviate the pain and put off the symptoms, I am all for it. By the end of my lifetime, though, I am hoping to see some relatively large advancements in the treatment and the study of cancer, leukemia, and other similar conditions.

3. The internet. YES. Who--apart from the Amish--doesn't use it in some way or another in their daily lives? The internet, as explained to us by Mr. Wickersham on Thursday, was originally developed by a handful of federal agencies as a method of saving, storing, and communicating information as a sort of "back-up" in case some major computer systems crashed. Despite some horrific deviations from its original intent of information gathering/sharing (i.e. pornography and the likes), and some not-really-bad-at-all deviations (i.e. social networking), the internet has proved itself to be quite the handy little tool in our times. It has also developed quite a bit in terms of accessibility and easy-to-use-ness (I can't remember the word...), at first requiring the use of a telephone to check the little things we take advantage of every day, such as checking our e-mail.

Leah Cohen said...

The top most influential inventions in America is the MRI machine, internet, and the phone.

MRI- without the MRI we wouldn't be able to catch blood clots, brain damage, broken bones etc. If you really think about it, if it weren’t for the MRI machine, many people wouldn't be here today. We use the MRI machine to catch early infections and diseases so we can take care of them before its to late.

Internet- The internet does so many things. You can find information for a paper, search random facts, and learn more about what’s going on in the world every day. Yes, the internet makes life easier for us, but it also helps spread important information faster. For examples: bad weather, our health,(things we should watch out for), and what country's need our help.

Phone- The phone doesn’t only help us stay in touch with our long distant family and friends but it helps us with: calling 911 when we need it fast, informing people about a sick member in the family, and it helps save money and time. If the phone wasn’t invented, we would have to send letter when we needed to talk to someone that lived far away. If we had to do that, we would have to worry about: the letter not getting there, someone reading the letter (if it was important information), and it taking a long time to get a response if the information in the letter needed to be answered in a certain period of time.

If these three things hadn’t been invented, the world would be very different in a negative way.

Leah Cohen, 4th hour

Anonymous said...

Blog 19
Maddie feys
5th Hour

My top 3 inventions is the
-DNA fingerprinting
-Antibiotics
-Automatic Weapons w/ safety and such.

DNA fingerprinting, without DNA fingerprinting it would make forensic work much harder to find the killer, social psychopath, tersest, you know the bad guys if they had a finger print from the scene they wouldn’t be able to processes it without it and they wouldn’t have it to help them and make the forensic work 10 times harder than it is already.
Antibiotics, without Antibiotics people would be dying daily(well more then usual) without it no one would have cures and everyone would be sick there be no flu shot there would be no research for cancer any other disguise. It be very dangerous here for us without Antibiotics and vaccines.
Automatic Weapons w/ safety and such. Would make our evaluation in weaponry and war vehicles be the same as 200 years ago or more it could be us still throwing rock at each other for territory for all we know without the evolution of weaponry are wars and fights wouldn’t do much and even with automatic weaponry the safety is still important. Without it you could be accidently shooting off your friends head or shoulder or knee. Like you do with a camera when you accidently hit the "take a picture button" and take a picture of the floor.
These inventions are very important and always will be the evolution of these products will keep eveltionizing and become bigger or smaller and better.

Evan Daykin said...

#3: Jet Engine: The jet engine is a type of engine that uses newton's third law to propel things forward at very high speeds, specifically airplanes. they have made it possible for people to take going halfway around the world in a matter of hours for granted. It has turned something that was once amazing into something that is not unusual in any way, not to mention revolutionizing warfare and weapons delivery.

#2: The modern personal computer-From the first personal computer (commodore) that could hold less memory than a single picture, let alone any sort of GUI to the super fast gaming computers today, Personal computers have saved tons of paper, time, and kept people entertained for 30 years, and will continue to do so into the foreseeable future.


#1: Antibiotics- These medicines that target and kill bacterial infections. There is an antibiotic for just about any bacterial infection known to man. Since the discovery of penicillin in 1928, the world’s population has grown by 4.5 billion people, compared to the mostly steady 0.5-2 billion in the 2.5 million years previous to its invention.

Anonymous said...

Nick Valentine
1. The combustion engine was my number one most important invention in the past 200 years. It is rated number one because it is the source of power for all of our main forms of transportation. Cars, buses, planes and so many more all use a combustion engine. They allow us to travel from place to place extremely fast without using any real effort.
2. Computers made it as number two on my list. They allow us to research on the internet more effectively and quicker than in a library. They allow us to communicate across the globe instantly. Word Processors allow you to type your work neatly and allow you to fix mistakes quicker, neater then type writers.
3. The light bulb made it third on my list. It makes it possible to do work or other activities after the sun has gone down. It has made things safer, for example on cars it allows you to see at night so you don’t crash.

Jenny R. said...

The three inventions that I find most important or influential are finding a way to use electricity, indoor plumbing, and antibiotics. Electricity has enabled us to connect to and communicate with others in ways that couldn’t even be imagined beforehand. Without electricity we would have no phones, computers, television, video games, or iPods. These are all used today to entertain and inform. Now with the internet, information and people are there at the push of a button. With phones, you can call to make plans, get help in an emergency, or just say hey. Without electricity, we wouldn’t even have electric lights; we’d have to rely on gas lamps or the sun. Indoor plumbing is another big invention. Flush toilets are just plain amazing. Who wants to go outside and crouch over a hole to go to the bathroom? And hot showers are wonderful. Instead of going to the well or water pump or river to get water to wash up and freeze from how chilly it is you just turn a handle and hot water comes rushing out. Great stuff. Antibiotics have made infections treatable. Before people knew about bacteria and how it caused infection, things were more unsanitary, particularly in hospitals. Even when they cleaned up, infection was still possible but can now be fought with antibiotics to kill all those little bacteria. These inventions are vital to modern life and have greatly added to our comfort and safety.

Anonymous said...

Asha Brown 5th hour

The top three inventions would have to be the refrigerator, airplane, and the cell phone.
1. The refrigerator is one of the top inventions because it helps keep your food fresh. Also the more recent refrigerators have an ice machine which makes it easier to get ice, instead of getting cold water and putting it in an ice tray and freezing it. The refrigerator has also made it easier for meat to stay tasty for a long period of time.
2. The airplane is also another great invention because it makes travel quickly and not as much as a hassle from going from one place to another. Road trips are long and annoying. A more fun and simple way to travel is by airplane, which can turn a 15 hour road trip to about a 5 hour flight.

3. The most important and greatest invention listed above is the cell phone. The cell phone makes communication easier. If you need to tell or ask your parents something and you know they are in a meeting or you are in class you can send a text message. Also the cell phone can be used during emergencies when you are not by a house phone.

Anonymous said...

Audrey Landgraff, 4th hour
4.26.10

1. Vaccinations: these are advances in medical intelligence that has saved millions of lives. Years ago, if you got a cold you would die, and you always has chances of getting life threatening diseases like small pox, and whooping cough. But now you can get vaccinations at birth that will prevent these.
2. Camera: the picture camera allows us to document not only important moments in history for future generations, but is vital in criminal studies, scientific documentation, and society. If we didn’t have cameras to document things, all we would have to go off of would be pictures, and you can never be sure if those are accurate.
3. Computer: this is, literally the world at your finger tips. At the touch of a button you can do so many thing, go on the internet and search pictures of anything, create stories or papers or pictures and printing them off perfectly, play games, and watch TV. The advances in computer technology in the past few years have been endless. And not only for your entertainment, but they have made enormous leaps in medical, and military fields. Without computers, we would still be in the dark.

Donovan said...

Donovan Hertz
The best inventions in the past 200 years are by far the telephone, car and toilet. Without these things our lives would not be the same. They would also be very hard to live in, a lot more work and a lot more time to travel messages or to travel or walk. My number one is the telephone. Without that we would have to send letters to everyone and that takes a lot longer than pressing a few numbers on a phone and then talking to someone on the spot. Second is the car. Without that we would travel so much slower and we would not be able to do as many things as we do. Well would all have to ride bikes or ride horses. And horses stink so I would not ride them. My third best invention is the toilet. Without that our lives would stink, everywhere would be unsanitary and there would not be any place where anyone could do anything without having a chance of getting sick.

Anonymous said...

Christina Lieder

There have been many helpful inventions in America throughout the years. I think the 3 most helpful inventions are the computer, hygiene upgrades, and the telephone.
As for hygiene upgrades, such as the toilet, shower, and the toothbrush have been extremely helpful. Before the shower was invented in mid evil times, people would die of poor hygiene and live less then half the length our lives are. I couldn't imagine living without flushable toilet. Our earth would be really dirty and stinky.
I think computers were a really important invention because it helps people with knowledge, sources, entertainment, shopping, medical help, and much more. It's an easier way for people to do things much faster then they usually would. I like it most cause it's how i spend most of my day on Facebook and games you can find online.
I also think the telephone was a great invention. It is a great, fast, easy way of communication. You used to send letters which would take really long periods of time. It's really helpful for emergencies. Those are in my opinion the top 3 most helpful inventions.

Stephanie Lester said...

My top 3 influential inventions in America would be the Refrigerator/ Freezer, Audio Cassette Player, and the Vacuum. The Refrigerator/ Freezer are one of my top 3 because if we didn’t have them, food would either be moldy, or we would have to throw milk and non-perishables away about as soon as we buy it. The fridge is more useful than just keeping food in, it’s also used for keeping batteries. Well that’s what I put in there. Another one of my top 3 is the Audio Cassette Player because with out it we wouldn’t have had radios, or CD’s, or iPods. I need my music and so do many others, b/c right at this moment I am listening to music. Music is useful b/c it can calm people down, cheer them up about a bad break up, or get people through tough times. The last but not least of my top 3 would be the vacuum. Without the vacuum, or any other cleaning supplies for that matter, the Earth would be gross and disgusting. I know I wouldn’t want to live in a world that has dirt, feces, or bad and dangerous germs/bacteria roaming around. People would be sick all the time, and if it’s possible, die from disgusting things around them.

Brad Miller said...

One of the most important inventions in the last 250 years has to be the traffic light. In all of its simplicity and form, it has saved millions of lives from the death trap we called our road system. Without traffic lights on our streets, there would be massive chaos on my major streets everyday and there would probably be more than 500 times more automobile accidents than there are today. Another important invention is the PC, or personnel computer, or can be taken further to the original computer program made by Bill Gates called MS-DOS. This program allowed family operated computer to run some sort of operating system that would allow the family to have very basic usage of a computer(compared to our computer now that is). The light bulb is also one of the greatest inventions in the last 250 years because it finally allowed us to use electricity in a containable object, in which we could direct where our electricity will be used at. This also created an unlimited, sort of, source of light.

Anonymous said...

Cassidy Cyr
4.26.10
4th hour

My pick of the top 3 inventions are…
1. Contact Lenses: I feel that they provide a better sense of vision compared to glasses. As a contact wearer I feel that they look better and feel more normal through the day. Through the years they have helped improve the vision of many people not comfortable to wear glasses. They have gone from hard lenses to soft lenses that most wearers have now.
2. Seat belt: The seat belt is the main saver of most automobile accidents. It provides safety for adults, adolescents, and children. It is one of the most important inventions, I feel, because it has been proven to save many lives of many people.
3. Mammograms: The medical technology advances such as mammograms have come an extremely long way in the past years and have been able to provide very useful information. My Aunt and Grandma were both diagnosed with breast cancer and have had mammograms to monitor the cancer through it and the stages of remission. It is a very useful method to provide prevention to many people with the abilities to receive it. Annual mammogram is a tool for early detection of breast cancer and provides early treatment to prevent it from spreading.

Andrew Hausman said...

The three most important and influential inventions of the last 200 years, in my opinion, are:
3. Combustion Engine
The combustion engine powers all forms of transportation, from cars to trains to airplanes to boats to rockets. Though the earliest origins of the combustion engine date back to ancient China, its usage became widely spread in the past 200 years, especially for its main purpose in the present, transport. The combustion engine powered the first reliable methods of transportation not requiring the effort of a living thing or chance. Previously, either humans or animals, such as horses, needed to exert energy in order for humans to move, or people needed to rely on variable factors, such as the wind. With the power of the combustion engine, people can travel greater distances in less time more efficiently.
2. Harnessing of Electricity
The most important benefit of electricity is all the other devices it powers including computers (which the Internet – and email - runs on), lights (including traffic lights), medical devices used for discoveries including that of antibiotics, industrial processes that produce almost all of the world’s goods, machinery, most landline telephones, refrigerators, televisions, furnaces, air conditioners, microwaves, ovens, clocks, alarm and emergency warning systems, sound systems, microphones, portable devices (charging), and many others.
Without electricity, almost none of these great inventions could have never existed. However, people can still survive without electricity, as evidenced by the Amish, campers, and power outages. The same cannot be said about the greatest invention of the previous 200 years.
1. Sanitation Systems/Indoor Plumbing
Indoor plumbing and sanitation systems not only provide comfort, but also improve health and survival.
In the early 19th century, the life expectancy for humans was much lower than it is today, mainly due to the prevalence of lethal diseases. This was a result of the widespread lack of clean drinking water and the absence of a method of disposal for human waste. When plumbing systems were installed that provided proper waste disposal and access to water safe for consumption, the rate of disease drastically decreased, allowing the population to increase and people to live longer.

Andrew Hausman
4th Hour

Anonymous said...

Declan Gibbons
Blog Number 19
I feel top three inventions in the past two hundred years are electricity, clocks, and refrigerator’s. By, electricity I mean harnessing it so you can use it in ways that are useful. I feel electricity is the most important invention because without electricity a whole chain of very important inventions are not invented. Also things that we take for granted wouldn’t be available. If there was a hurricane or tornado people wouldn’t know about it until it came and killed everyone. Electricity also keeps businesses going at a fast rate. I feel that refrigerators are the second most important invention. I feel this because “you are what you eat”. If you have spoiled and rotten food to eat every day then you would live a pretty sick life. I feel clocks are the third most important invention, because time regulates everything. Clocks tell you the exact time, before people just used the sun to pretty much estimate the time. Because of clocks people know exactly what time their favorite shows come on and what time they end. That’s why I feel the harnessing of electricity, clocks, and refrigerators are the three most important inventions in the last two hundred years.

Emily said...

Emily 4th Hour

I think that the three most influential inventions in America in the last 200 years are a flushing toilet, the internet, and the car. The toilet is so important because I wouldn’t want to have to go outside in an outhouse, let alone a nasty pit in the backyard. If we didn’t have the toilets then everything would smell disgusting and uncleanly. The internet is so important because it gives us information and gives us ways to stay connected with people. I wouldn’t be able to live without my computer. Cars play a huge role in my life and everyone I know. I need cars to get to hockey practice and soccer games. My parents need them to get to work, and for me to get to school. If we didn’t have cars I’m not sure how our country would go on. To me these are the most influential. There are still other things that I find important but these are just three.

Unknown said...

Andrew Alder
Mr. Wickersham
The 3 most important inventions of the past 200 years
The three most important inventions in the past 200 years are plumbing, computer, and antibiotics. I know that pluming was very important to every society. The plumbing system not only takes filth away from our homes and cities, but also brings in clean fresh water from our lakes and streams. Computers are a obvious one because everything runs on a computer big or small, good or wrong computers are used for everything. In our home or controlling weapons of mass destruction computers run our lives and control everything. People who fear a machine uprising ageist the creator be wand that you are too late. The machine has won we are slave to it. Antibiotics are so important to preserving life everywhere in the world. Some cannot afford it others can and for those who can the life expectancy has risen greatly in the past 100 years or so. All of these things have made huge steps forward in the past few years now is it for better or worse.

Anonymous said...

CHASE "Green Goblin" Turner

I think that the top three inventions of the past two hundred years would be, the car, the computer, and the cell phone. These were all great inventions because they help us with our daily lives. For example with the car we can get to places faster and for example and ambulance could help save people’s lives. The invention of the computer was also a great invention because it helps store information from the past. It also saves human labor and it’s much more organized. The invention of the cellular mobile device was a very important invention of modern society. Because it helps us communicate from wherever you want in the world with whomever you want, unless you have AT&T then you don’t have service everywhere like you would with Verizon Wireless. In my opinion those three inventions are the three most important inventions in the past two hundred years.

Anonymous said...

M. Allen
5th Hour

1. The light bulb has helped many people navigate through dark areas, provided heat, saved children from the dark, and acted as an icon for someone hatching a great idea on many animated series’ such as SpongeBob. The light bulb improved the efficiency and time span of many night time jobs such as mining and law enforcement.
2. Traffic Lights are also a very important invention to improve effectiveness of people. Without traffic lights, we (and many other nations) would have to risk someone else’s life by placing him or her in the middle of an intersection, and hoping that person can effectively (and safely), direct traffic.
3. The telephone would definitely make the top three inventions in my book. Telephones improved communication from a waiting response on a telegram to an active conversation. Not to mention, all of the technological advancements that resulted in new means of communication via cellular phone, such as texting.

Erick Dagenais said...

Erick Dagenais
5th hour

In my opinion, the three most important inventions in the last 200 years are antibiotics, computers, and telephones. These three inventions are used every single day and many wouldn’t be able to go on without them.
Antibiotics are life saving devices that are being improved as time passes. Whenever you feel sick and have a virus/disease, you can get better most of the time with the use of antibiotics. They save lives every day and are always changing to fit the needs of people.
There are few days I go without using a computer at least once. People use them at school, for work, in factories, and many have their own personal computer at home. They are used to transfer information though using the internet, for example. Many businesses use them to store data and to perform calculations. Finally, they can be used as a pastime, when you have nothing left to do.
Telephones are very important. They are the main form of communication without being near the person you are talking to. They can be used to tell others important information, or just to ask someone if they’d like to hang out. They are being improved every year, especially with the new 3G system, SIM cards and texting.
This is why I think these three inventions are the most important in the past 200 years.

Anonymous said...

Tom Power
The Three most influential inventions in America in my opinion are an iPod the car and the computer. I-pod is one because almost everyone has an iPod and they use it on a regular basis it is a need of me at least to listen to Music. The Car is one of my choices because close to every family in the United States of America has a car it is a need of everyone to have a car. The Computer is one because without it I would not be abil to right this blog a I would fail all of my Homework in your class

Anonymous said...

The first thing that i think was an influential invention was the creation of antibiotics. I said antibiotics because if it wasn’t for that a lot of people would probably be dead right now. Antibiotics stop a lot of colds and diseases from getting settled in your body. For example strep throat that’s the worst feeling in the world until I got my antibiotics because I was feeling better than less than a day and a half.

The second thing is the toilet oh thank god for the toilet. That is probably the best thing that ever happened to this world. I just couldn’t afford to sit on a bucket in my backyard that probably smelt worst than a porter potty.

Last but not least the cell phone what would the world be without that. I think I can answer that question nothing. You would never know if your family is in danger or nothing. Another reason is that you wouldn’t be able to get in touch with your love ones you would never be able to check up on them at school or nothing. That’s what I think is the top 3 influential invention have been in the last 200 years.

Kyle Erwin

Anonymous said...

The most influential invention in the past 200 years is definitely internet. The Internet Protocol, the standard communications protocol used by every computer on the Internet. “Never before in human history has such a valuable resource been available to so many people at such little cost. You are incredibly lucky” claims http://www.livinginternet.com.



Following behind the internet are Antibiotics. With the help of antibiotics, the life span in the United States has drastically increased. In the early 1900’s you would have been expected to live to about 30-40 years. Today your life expectancy has almost doubled to 78 years and is still increasing. Scientists expect it to be up to 100 years within the 2 centuries.



Another great invention is the Satellite. The Satellite helps save millions of lives from natural disasters each year. They can predict hurricanes and alert people in the path, and tell them to evacuate quicker. They can reduce the deaths of a natural disaster by more than 75%!

Alan P.

Anonymous said...

The three things i picked are hospitals electricty and television
i think hospitals are and important invention because if we didnt have hospitals or drs then alot of the people wouldnt get treatment so in that case they wouldnt survive. Also i think its a good invention because hospitals you can usually count on to help you survive any case that you are ill. Its always good to have those kinds of things for survival.
If we didnt have these kinds of inventions then the world would be different or bad in many ways such as not surviving or not getting some kind of treatment to help people get better.
I also picked electricity such as lights if we didnt have lights then we wouldnt be able to do most of the things we do today. I think its a good invention because at night you need some kind of light to read, do work, make food, and those kinds of things. Also phones phones is a good invention because its a great way to contact people, and having microwaves and stoves to cook and refrigerator/freezer to keep our food fresh.
Last thing that i found was a good invention was television if we didnt have television then we wouldnt really know whats going on such as weather or any kind of news.
I thought that these were important inventions now days.

Grace F.

Anonymous said...

The first invention that i can think that made a big difference in our way of life is the cell phone. My mom grew up without a cell phone and it was hard to reach people because the only way you could reach people was if they were at home. Also, if your car broke down, you would have to find the nearest pay phone. Another influential invention was the ipod. Years ago they only had walkman's and they were very large and you could only play one tape at a time. Now you can download hundreds of songs onto an ipod that can be the size of an eraser. Another invention is the refrigerator. It was known years ago as the "icebox"...they called it this because a man would drop off a block of ice and they would put that in the box and that's how they kept their food cold. When the ice would melt, they would have to get another block to replace it.

Mack

Ophelie Ovize said...

I think the phone, airplanes and the light bulb are the most influential inventions for America. Phones are now practically an everyday routine. Phones are found everywhere, and now people even have self manual phones; cell phones. They are practical to communicate with people far away rather than sending them mail that they will receive in a far too long period. Airplanes are as well a practical everyday use, but for traveling. If you look up in the sky, you can usually see something besides birds. We can see planes that are for cargo or human transport. It also helps in the military force. Planes are very quick, instead of having a long drive of 10 or so hours, a planes narrows the time to about an hour and a half. The light bulb as small as it is in our living materials, it’s still there. You can find it in airplanes and phones too. They are basically all around you and make your life much easier to live.

Anonymous said...

I think the top three most important inventions in the last 200 years would be the mobile phone, the computer, and medical equipment/antibiotics.

The mobile phone is a very important invention because it give you a way to contact anyone at the touch of a button. Not only is this a fun invention it is also very important one, for example in an emergency - dialing 9-1-1. Remember party lines? Thankfully, now we are able to have a private phone line so no one disrupts your phone call. Many people in the U.S are starting to get rid of their land lines and use only their mobile phones too. Of course, like all other inventions the mobile phone has a long way to go (more than 50% of all people have never made nor received a telephone call).


The computer(with internet) is important while finding news, researching a paper, and keeping in touch with friends right across the street or halfway across the world! Newspapers, such as The Detroit Free Press, only come a few days a week. Fortunately, we can access news from the internet by the touch of a button. Back in the days, in order to research a paper you would have to go to the library. Now information is much more accessible and it takes much less time to find information. The only trick is not believing everything you read!


Lastly, medical equipment and antibiotics are extremely important. Thanks to highly developed equipment - such as MRIs, Cat Scans, X-rays, mammograms, etc. - many lives are saved! Of course the tests and scans only detect something that's not right, after you need antibiotics to help cure any issues. Without this many families would be experiencing heartbreak.

Kaylee

Anonymous said...

I think that the three most important inventions of the last two hundred years are the telephone, automobile and the duct tape.

I think that the telephone is important because without it it would take weeks or even months to send a message across the ocean. It has made it much easier to communicate at any time of the day. With a phone you can call anywhere in the world whether it’s down the street or across the world in a few seconds by pushing a few buttons. They have made the world a much smaller place.

I also think the automobile is a very helpful invention. I think it is because without them it would take days to travel what now only takes a few hours. Without cars people would still be riding a horse and buggy.

Finally I think duct tape is the third most important invention. It isn’t as popular as the first two but duct tape is used all the time for small things that help make life easier. Although many people would disagree some proof on the strength and versatility of duct tape can be found on Mythbusters’ duct tape special.
Michael N.

Anonymous said...

Zach Boinais
4th hour

The top ten inventions in the past 200 years are the car, the telephone, and the computer. I think the car is important because it is one of the easiest ways to move around on land. Also, they bring many jobs to people. For example the designers, the car part makers, the people that work in factories, and the list goes on. The telephone is an important invention because, before the telephone you didn't really have instant communication. It had to be written in letters, or it was in a telegram that had to be deciphered. The telephone allows use to connect with people all around the world almost instantly. Finally, the computer. Its a wonderful tool for many reasons. It is helped people make medical and scientific break through and its led to easier communication and an easier way to keep all your work together and neat.

Anonymous said...

The light bulb is the most important invention of all time. So many daily activities that we just naturally take for granted would not be possible without the light bulb. Driving during nighttime, walking through your house, using a flashlight in a dark forest, etc., would all be impossible if not for the light bulb. And just to make its case ever more solid, laboratories that current important discoveries are made in have to be lit somehow. Thanks Thomas Edison.

The computer is also an extremely important invention. So many important things are made capable because of computers. A person’s entire medical history can all be logged on a computer, and thousands of important documents and literature pieces can all be stored in one place.

Antibiotics have saved an unfathomable amount of lives over time, and some of those lives saved could have been the lives of famous inventors, so when you think about it, all great inventions can be traced back to antibiotics. Without them, the world as we know it would be completely different. Populations would be much lower, large groups of people may NEVER congregate for fear of getting sick, and sickness would be almost a daily ritual. It would be awful.

Calvin Greer

Aaron Lewis said...

Aaron Lewis 5th hour
I think the three most influential inventions of America are computers, phones, and airplanes.
I feel that computers have influenced America in ways we don’t even know. Without computers I wouldn’t be able to write this blog or get easy access to information. Computers also keep us updated with the news and our television shows. People use computers for business and recreational purposes. They make work easier and getting directions to places easier and more accurate than if we didn’t have computers. That’s why computers are an important invention.
I think phones are an important invention because it is an easier way to talk to someone than if you were to send a letter. Phones can now much more than just call people they can send pictures and music to people. Phones make it easier to say some thing and are faster than if we didn’t have them. That is why Phones are an important invention.
Airplanes are an important invention because they help us travel far distances in a short amount of time. Airplanes are also the number one safest way to travel. They are faster and easier to travel by than any other way of transportation in America that is why it is an important invention.

Samuel Kepes said...

Samuel
Wickersham
4th


I think the top 3 inventions of the last century are the car, the personal computer, and the idea of vaccines. The car is a very important invention. It is the most used method of transportation in the country, and is something most people use every day. Today there are over 143,781,000 cars in America. That’s roughly 0.23 working cars/ 1 person. The car is also an important invention, because without it, public transportation would be impossible to use, with all the people in the world trying to catch the subway to work and then home every day. The personal computer is another great invention. Computers have helped us do everything from the simplest math problems, to finding instructions on how to drive across the country. With the personal computer today, we can instantly see what are friends have been up to, check the local weather, buy a pair of new shoes, and watch a funny video, all with a simple key stroke and click of a button. Vaccines are a third important invention. With Vaccines we can prevent our young from getting sick. Sometimes we are even able to stop major epidemics, because many people are already immune to dieses.

Anonymous said...

I think the top three most important inventions in the last 200 years would have to be the internet, the car and indoor plumbing. I think that the internet changed the world. There is now so much information we can access at the click of a button. I also think it can lead us into more advanced technology to come. So I’d have to say that the internet was a big revolution in technology.

The car is one of the best inventions because it revolutionized the way we travel from place to place. I can’t imagine life without a car. With a car we can get to places faster and its way more efficient than walking or riding a horse.



I think indoor plumbing was important because if we didn’t have it people would breakout with dieses and pesticides and other nasty illnesses and everything would smell really bad too. So this is why I think that indoor plumbing and a car and the internet were the top three inventions of past 200 years.
.... -Karly Montgomery'

Anonymous said...

BRAD SLOAN-5th
I think that there are many great inventions in the past 200 years. I am only going to list my top three. One of the top three for me is email. Email is important because it play a big role in keeping in touch and contacting people who you need to reach. It is one of the worlds very important and most used things. People all around the world use this every day. Weapons of mass destruction are another. Weapons of mass destruction are important because with out them we would be weaker then our enemies. This would lead to us possibly be non existent anymore. Medical drugs is my third most important invention. Medical drugs are important to keep us alive and disease free. If we didn't have them, we would not be healthy and probably would all die very fast. This could cause the end of existence. These are my top three most important items of the past 200 years.