What are your favorite modern inventions or conveniences?
Asked by
JLeslie (
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)
September 28th, 2009
There are some recent inventions, technology, and conveniences I cannot imagine being without. Items I am very grateful for, and literally changed my life once I discovered them. Of course there are obvious ones like the internet, cell phones, fax machines; but, what about the ones that are not so obvious that we tend to take for granted. Items and services I would sorely miss if it was no longer available.
Here are mine:
Pay at the pump gas
DVR
Tampons
Honeycrisp apples
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@JLeslie The one that enables me to talk to you here.
Word Processors.
Dish Washers.
Oh, I wish I had a dishwasher. But I did live with an outhouse, and I can tell you, indoor plumbing is a wonderful thing.
Above all, I say I enjoy internet more than anything.
Paperbacks – way better than bulky hard bounds, scrolls, parchments and what have you.
Hands down my iPhone. I had one of the fist video ipods and loved that I could watch movies, listen to music and also use it as a hard drive, Then came the ipod touch since I was linked to Verizon. Then the iphone with video and a better camera. Wow is there anything I can’t use this thing for? And then I realize its my freaking phone. Just plain genius.
Clearly the Snuggie is the greatest achievement in modern day conveniences.
In all seriousness though, I probably couldn’t function without my i pod, and my paperback copy of Pride and Prejudice.
the computer invented by konrad zuse
With winter coming on, heated car seats, steering wheel & my remote starter. And everything else mentioned above.
I LOVED having a heated steering wheel! That I would add to my list. So few cars have that option. In my opinion it is better than heated seats.
iPod touches of course. And Internet.
The noodle strainer. How would we enjoy noodles without it? Nobody thinks about it, but it is really something that we couldn’t live our normal modern lives without.
i hate it when i strain my noodle
Plumbing with hot water – imagine life without it. Refrigeration. The printing press. The ability to record music in its many guises.
@JLeslie I agree on the seats/steering wheel thing. I think I used the heated seats only a couple of times, but I sure did use that wheel option! It’s wonderful.
Rear window defrosters. My favorite invention, ever. Dishwashers are a close second.
The ShamWow, of course! It’s made in Germany, after all.
Microwave oven (for reheating, if nothing else)
iPod (puts a sizeable music collection in your pocket)
Keurig (k-cup) coffee maker (darn near perfect coffee, quick, easy, no mess)
See ya….Gary/wtf
antibiotics.
popsicles with icecream in the center.
I love my digital camera, the law of averages says you are going to get at least a couple of fantastic photos if you shoot hundreds. I could never afford that with film.
My laptop, I can carry my entire life around with me. I never have to wonder about anything, the answer is right there.
Digital watch with a stop watch, I use it to time my runs, to time eggs on the stove. I don’t know how I ever lived without it.
My handheld GPS, I love that little thing. I used to worry that I would get lost when I go bush walking or riding, now i can always find my way home.
I can’t think of anymore at the moment.
GPS! GA! I don’t know why I didn’t think of that first.
….....Google, Google Desktop, statins, pre-packaged lettuce,nicorettes, HDTV,DVD, 5.1/7.1, perma-prest,pdf’s,.......CT and PET scanners, laparoscopic surgery, continuous gradient eyeglasses,flash drives, the LHC…..
Air conditioning.
I really hate to sweat.
Flush Toilets and Hot showers; tampons and the IUD
Heat and Air conditioning; window screens to keep the buggers out;
Simmons ComforPedic foam mattress;
Cars; with 6-speed turbos, sunroofs, and heated seats;
Keen hiking boots and sandals;
Gel contact lenses for astigmatism;
LipFusion XL; buf-puf; those new plastic mascara applicator brushes;
Drive-through window at Dunkin Donuts, all the easier to acquire my morning lattes;
Receiver-in-the-canal hearing aids and other gadgets/tools of my trade;
The telephone, the computer, the internet, the iPod, and ultimately: the iPhone.
iPhone
remote control
ATM
“Modern” is a relative term. I’ll take 1990 as the beginning of the modern era.
1) Programmed fuel injection for cars, particularly after 1996, when the OBDII standard was announced. If I have a problem with the car, all I have to to is jack into the computer to figure out what it is. And I don’t have any problems with the car.
2) Dual control shift/brake levers for bikes. Still got my 1st generation Dura-Ace 8-speed levers on my 1990 Klein Quantum, and they work beautifully.
3) Digital photography.
4) MP3s
THINGS I COULD DO WITHOUT
1) Cellular telephones. Yes, they were invented before 1990, but they didn’t get really obnoxious until recently.
2) Hi-definition TV. Nothing on at my house but NickJr. and Sesame Street, anyway.
3) email. See definition for #1,
4) Social networking websites. Worst blow to productivity since the invention of the water cooler.
The printing press – Gutenberg
More modern innovation – my blackberry storm…but I need a 2nd job to pay our phone bill.
peanutbutter – G. Washington Carver
Of course, the internet invented by Al Gore. He, He…
As a graduate student: USB drives…and online journals.
As someone who is afraid of germs: indoor plumbing and germ-x.
When I was a bachelor in college: 24 hr coin laundry.
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