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March 31st, 2007, 07:35 GMT · By Lucian Dorneanu

Top 10 Greatest Inventions Ever

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What does "greatest" mean?

Probably the best definition would be the "most defining of who we are today", something that dramatically changed the life of all humanity, and I will be referring only to inventions and not to discoveries such as the fire or the wheel.

10 - The Telescope - It proved for the first time that the Earth is nothing more than a round piece of rock in the giant pond of space and not the center of anything, much less the universe. many people didn't agree then, and they still don't agree now.

9 - The Computer - Many people have the deepest, richest, most diverse, and rewarding relationship with their computer. It plays games with them, tells them jokes, plays music to them, it does the taxes, and sometimes it' even used to work.

8 - The Television - Wherever a TV is on, it draws attention like no other piece of furniture. It can be source of amusement, knowledge, or, if misused, of violence and almost self-inflicted psychiatric disorders

7 - The Automobile - Once cars were invented, roads were improved. Once roads were improved, cities developed suburbs and expanded, because people could now live in the country, yet work in
the city. Furthermore, as cars grew popular, the oil industry boomed. Oil became a key to power and wealth, and one of the major factors for political and economic conflicts in many parts of the world.

6 - The Use of Electricity - Electricity was never really invented. It existed all along, but humans only invented the means of generating this force and distributing it to individual buildings. The invention was made by Edison, who siglehandedly turned electricity into a commercial application and his Pearl Street station was the world's first electric power station. Now, anyone throughout most of the world can tap into the grid to power everything from light bulbs to computers. Actually, the human beings could be considered as feeding on electricity, besides organic products.

5 - The Telephone - many people imagined a form of telephony, even long before it was actually invented. This wonder of modern technology allows anyone to talk to anyone anywhere at any given moment, even without physically seing the person, or even knowing ho he/she is.

4 - Antibiotics - Most people actually died of infectious diseases, a few centuries ago. The plague that broke out in 1347, killed almost half of Europe's population in nearly two years. When diseases such as smallpox reached North America, they reduced the indigenous population by about 90 percent within a century. As late as 1800, the leading cause of death in the western hemisphere was tuberculosis. Almost no one ever died of old age back in the day, probably the main reason why elders were revered.

3 - The Printing Press - This may seem unimportant, but it truly is. Gutenberg's press, with its movable type, started the idea of publishing oral knowledge or multiplying exissting, hand-written books. This may actually be the reason why so many people turned their backs on Christianity, putting a Bible in the hands of anybody who wanted one. The Church no longer possessed the absolute truth, and thus the independently thinking individual emerged as the key unit of society. In the longer term, publishing universalized literacy.

2 - The Mechanical Clock - Time was actually a measure of events before the timepiece was invented, the main one being the Sun crossing the sky. No universal time actually existed, only a local one. That meant that once you agreed to meet someone at sunset, you had to clearly state where that was, because the Sun is always setting somewhere. And of course, what clocks made possible, they soon made necessary. In a clock-driven world, most of us are now either "on time," "ahead of schedule," or "running late."

1 - The Toilet - You can half all you can, but then try this experiment. Try to imagine New York, Paris or Tokyo without toilets. It's impossible. The modern city were made possible by man's ability to bring clean water in densely populated spaces and to remove the waste. Without toilets and plumbing any tall building would be impossible. Remove apartment buildings, office towers, and dense city centers from your picture of the world and you have to change the whole rest of your picture too, because the implications keep rippling.

Of course, this top isn't an absolute one, and anyone could argue its classification, but, in fact, it all comes down to how important is this or that invention to a specific individual, and how it influences his way of perceiving the world.

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READER COMMENTS:


Comment #1 by: attilaedin on 09 Apr 2007, 07:56 UTC reply to this comment

Best of luck on your new projects, guys, and thanks so much for all the great work!

RM to iPod
http://www.rm-converter.net


Comment #2 by: Corey Webber on 22 May 2008, 15:34 UTC reply to this comment

I would replace the toilet with Calculus as the most important invention ever. You can't have most of the things on your list let alone truly understand them without Calculus.


Comment #3 by: Junaid on 26 Jun 2008, 21:07 UTC reply to this comment

I think that no 1 is the invention of wheel instead of toilets cuz you could also do this work in woods behind the hiding of bushes as the man living in caves did

Comment #3.1 by: nana mkize on 13 Oct 2009, 10:53 GMT

I totally aggree, I believe that the wheel is the greatest invention of all time.

Comment #3.2 by: Tazz on 08 Apr 2010, 21:58 GMT

but there is no bushes in cities ! :D

Comment #3.3 by: THEDUDE on 01 Dec 2010, 02:00 GMT

Well the Mayans never truly invented the wheel(they never used it for anything more than children's toys) and they were pretty technologically advanced considering their time period.


Comment #4 by: Napolian on 30 Sep 2008, 21:24 UTC reply to this comment

I think that this list is brilliant.

Comment #4.1 by: kris on 10 Dec 2010, 11:40 GMT

Yeah you're right!


Comment #5 by: Tahlia on 13 Oct 2008, 00:31 UTC reply to this comment

I believe that electricity should be nearer to the top. Electricity does so much for us, and without it, our lives would be upsode down...
Some of the itms on the list WOULDN'T work without electricty, for example the television or computer.

Comment #5.1 by: asgar on 06 Sep 2011, 07:59 GMT

then what do u have to say about those villages in INDIA which dont have electricity .... surely electricity has done a lot to us but ... we cannot beleive that how those people are living .. i beleive toilet is the best ever invention
u can contact me through my e mail id surely we can discuss this okay i am on fb


Comment #6 by: Raze on 07 Apr 2009, 19:28 UTC reply to this comment

Good list. Though I think the phone should be more cherished


Comment #7 by: Rubina Ali on 28 Apr 2009, 09:06 UTC reply to this comment

I theing toilet is not a great invention, eventhough without toilet could have found lots of option like portable buckets could have used.. but why didn't mention about Aircrafts, Ships? Without this how could have transport tons of things as well as human beings in few hours country to country


Comment #8 by: devonski on 19 May 2009, 18:31 UTC reply to this comment

i think that electricity should be at the top because it is used for every single thing we do and i also think that the television is not that big of a deal because we have tornado sirens and stuff to remind us when there is a problem and our computers even keep us updated on all that stuff


Comment #9 by: devonski on 20 May 2009, 18:07 UTC reply to this comment

i sont think that clocks are that important because everything seemed to go fine with time back when they didint have any clocks and the many culturs of the world had thing to tell time like sun dials and also greek calenders so they always knew what time it was and without mechanical clocks i would still be on time to things and everything.


Comment #10 by: Gaurav on 25 May 2009, 02:35 UTC reply to this comment

To me, wheel and generation of electricity are two of the most important inventions ever...without which we wouldn't have been living the life the way we are today...after that the order can be the automobile, airplane, computer, cell phone, internet and TV. Cellphones has been a great invention...see how everyone is in touch now!..it has changed the way of living..!


Comment #11 by: Gaurav Kumar on 25 May 2009, 02:47 UTC reply to this comment

I think the most imp and best inventions are those which has been related to our lives for decades and impact everyone's lives most deeply...so my order of list would be electricity generation, currency, automobile, computer, cellphone, tv, clock, satellite, printing press and threading machine. Just imagine how so many human beings have been impacted by above inventions!


Comment #12 by: taco on 01 Jul 2009, 02:23 UTC reply to this comment

Uh...why aren't condomns aren't on the list?


Comment #13 by: Adam on 02 Jul 2009, 11:51 UTC reply to this comment

Nicola Tesla had more to do with the Birth of Electricity as we know it, seeing as he was the pioneer for the AC Currents we now use. Edison was a company owner who took the credit for the work done by the engineers below him. However, history seems to delete those who truely could have made a diffrence to the planet. The only thing that wins over is Greed and Money. Tesla was discredited (Money was never important to him). I never learned about him at School (Why?). There is Seriously something wrong with our Species... I for one truely hope that we perish before we've got the chance to destroy the most unique thing we'll ever know. We've even got the audacity to call it 'our' Planet.

Ps. I think you'll find the greatest invention was the stone tool.

Comment #13.1 by: Lika on 03 Nov 2010, 01:54 GMT

AGREE 101%:)
Why is Tesla so neglected?


Comment #14 by: Pete on 04 Jul 2009, 16:26 UTC reply to this comment

fire?? it lead way to electricity which lead way to the tv and computer and telephone. it allowed cavemen to cook food, preventing diseases from raw meat. it kept ppl warm. and all u have to do is burn all that waste and no need for toilets (not really, that would never work). I think the importance of fire is forgotten bcuz it is such a natural thing.

Comment #14.1 by: fernando on 05 Aug 2009, 05:35 GMT

fire wasnt an invention it was a discovery... whenever cavemen found something on fire they would keep it burning by placing leafs and branches. they didnt just know that hitting two flint stones would make fire


Comment #15 by: MJ on 18 Jul 2009, 04:01 UTC reply to this comment

I don't think those are the greatest inventions, ya of coarse they improve life today but i think the greatest invention was flight.


Comment #16 by: Ramez Laham on 09 Sep 2009, 11:07 UTC reply to this comment

The Plow is the most important Invention ever.


Comment #17 by: alexandra on 17 Nov 2009, 07:45 UTC reply to this comment

i think that electriciy is the best invention cause with out it would affect a lot of people cause it powers medical devises that save peoples lives

Comment #17.1 by: mahi on 16 Dec 2010, 13:02 GMT

yeah electricity is the greatest invention ever and without which nothing is possible in the present day world


Comment #18 by: Mr. C on 25 Nov 2009, 14:26 UTC reply to this comment

We take the toilet for granted..... but think about a 30 story building with 250 units - 2 bathrooms each with portable buckets as toilets. Imagine you taking the elevator with neighbors holding that same bucket, taking it down to the "recycle room".
NOT POSSIBLE TO IMAGINE.

Yes, the toilet was a top incention on my list. :)


Comment #19 by: JB on 09 Jan 2010, 04:29 UTC reply to this comment

I think the printing press is a very undervalued invention. It is what lead to the quick and efficient distribution of ideas, so it indirectly contributed to many other discoveries, inventions, and movements.

However, this article has a blatant error: in terms of Christianity, the printing press lead more to the REFORMATION - it is not "why so many people turned their backs on Christianity" (which is an extremely unclear generalization). With translated copies of the bible readily accessible, people like Luther realized the corruption of the Catholic church and sought to purify the church.


Comment #20 by: shaila on 03 Feb 2010, 20:30 UTC reply to this comment

i tink dhat dhat is a great list. bt everyone is rite wen kuhz alot of things cud be put into a list. so many tings wen impact yhur life. like the refrigerator, idk like choke stuff. wat are some othr rhings that impacted us?

Comment #20.1 by: cynical on 26 Jan 2011, 10:39 GMT

is this real?

Comment #20.2 by: Me on 28 Mar 2011, 20:11 GMT

Yeah, I agree like there really should be more on the list, It should be more like 50 things.


Comment #21 by: tz on 18 Mar 2010, 06:05 UTC reply to this comment

Number 6 on your 10 best inventions is wrong. Edison did not invent distributing electricity to homes and long distances, it was actually Nikola Tesla, which he invented alternative current which wee all use today, edison invented direct current, which did not work over long distance.


Comment #22 by: Swed on 07 May 2010, 22:32 UTC reply to this comment

The greatest invention of all time is penicilan, then its the wheel, then telephone, then television, then internet, then laser, then flight, then automobile, then telescope, then viagra


Comment #23 by: doggysaywhat on 18 Aug 2010, 23:29 UTC reply to this comment

Where's written language?


Comment #24 by: BillyBob on 08 Sep 2010, 19:27 UTC reply to this comment

Contrary to popular belief, Thomas Alva Edison didn't "invent" the light bulb, but rather he improved upon a 50-year-old idea. In 1809, Humphry Davy, an English chemist, invented the first electric light. In 1878, Sir Joseph Wilson Swan, an English physicist, was the first person to invent a practical and longer-lasting electic lightbulb (13.5 hours) with a carbon fiber filament. In 1879, Thomas Alva Edison invented a carbon filament that burned for forty hours.


Comment #25 by: gk on 17 Sep 2010, 15:49 UTC reply to this comment

The wheel duh


Comment #26 by: henry on 24 Sep 2010, 23:21 UTC reply to this comment

i really believe that you are right. ze toilet is ze greatest invention ever!!!!!!!!!!!


Comment #27 by: Xhasin on 14 Oct 2010, 11:37 UTC reply to this comment

Judging by the quality of comments here, the spell checker never made it onto anyone's top 10.


Comment #28 by: Big mack on 28 Oct 2010, 02:05 UTC reply to this comment

Im with doggysaywhat - written language at the top followed by the hole - no hole no wheel.


Comment #29 by: rishi on 29 Nov 2010, 12:53 UTC reply to this comment

i thnk tat tis s a wonderful list about the inventions except d toilet.....the wheel n fire shud b given more preference than the toilet,,,,,,,,,,


Comment #30 by: THEDUDE on 01 Dec 2010, 02:02 UTC reply to this comment

I think the greatest invention ever was language


Comment #31 by: Timmy on 23 Dec 2010, 14:58 UTC reply to this comment

What about paper? Or the compass? Or Arabic numerals/base 10 system/zero?

These are all a little less complex in and of themselves but unlocked knowledge and the ability to share it to an amazing extent. Even if you consider the latter two as discoveries of sorts they still required humans to develop the apparatus and conventions to use them.

Your most glaring omission is money, however, not necessarily paper money, but the concept of representative exchange of an agreed upon object who's value is arbitrarily decided. This allows trade and is what fueled the discovery and creation of so much of the world today. It easily slots in to the top 4 items

Also would you all stop talking about the wheel? It's excluded from consideration in the introduction paragraph. Shut up about it. Also newton considered calculus a discovery. Given that he was it's discoverer I think this has to be considered valid and as such excludes calculus from consideration as well


Comment #32 by: nickname on 07 Jan 2011, 15:16 UTC reply to this comment

The best invention ever is Google.


Comment #33 by: mandymoo on 07 Feb 2011, 05:16 UTC reply to this comment

what about soap???? with out it the worlds population would not nearly be as big


Comment #34 by: gfd on 10 Feb 2011, 23:29 UTC reply to this comment

what is going on???


Comment #35 by: Pauley88 on 02 Mar 2011, 14:36 UTC reply to this comment

What about the camera? I think its one of the best and it constantly amazes me.


Comment #36 by: bryan on 08 Mar 2011, 21:29 UTC reply to this comment

i think money is the greatest invention because without money none of this would have been invented because people invent stuff for money right?


Comment #37 by: moses on 18 Mar 2011, 17:07 UTC reply to this comment

i like all this


Comment #38 by: RandomCitizen12 on 25 Mar 2011, 17:04 UTC reply to this comment

What about the Bow and Arrow? I mean, it helped us to hunt better after all.


Comment #39 by: boo on 08 Apr 2011, 00:03 UTC reply to this comment

that is silly the internet should be on that list.


Comment #40 by: moges on 11 Apr 2011, 13:44 UTC reply to this comment

computer must be no. 1


Comment #41 by: bobity bobbitt on 13 Apr 2011, 04:56 UTC reply to this comment

glass


Comment #42 by: Vem on 13 Apr 2011, 09:52 UTC reply to this comment

I need to say only one name.

NIKOLA TESLA

How could he not be mentioned? It was he who lit the world, and gave us most of todays conveniences. Just google him in and wonder why he isn't more known!!


Comment #43 by: Anon on 22 Apr 2011, 06:01 UTC reply to this comment

How did the steam engine not make it on this list?


Comment #44 by: HANSSSEL on 25 Apr 2011, 14:31 UTC reply to this comment

i think the electricity should be the greatest invetion ever. without it. we wouldnt have most of the stuff we have now.haha


Comment #45 by: hurg on 10 May 2011, 22:56 UTC reply to this comment

thanks I needed it for my work


Comment #46 by: Billy on 16 May 2011, 01:12 UTC reply to this comment

actually,
10.cloth
9.shoes
8.electricity
7.telephone
6.jeans
5.clock
4. engine
3. computer
2. toilet
1. the Wheel.

common sense!


Comment #47 by: TomTom on 20 Jul 2011, 21:57 UTC reply to this comment

One machine was left out and that was the Mac introduced in 1984. I went, I saw, I touched it. Before it there was only green or amber letters on a black screen. Now we had Desktop Publishing, creativity, and multimedia for everyone. My computing world changed forever the instant I laid hands on it. Apple always leads the way and in doing so, is the most copy-catted system around, but still the best.


Comment #48 by: billy on 08 Aug 2011, 22:04 UTC reply to this comment

Planes, & the internet?


Comment #49 by: olly on 10 Sep 2011, 14:39 UTC reply to this comment

antibiotics, they save lives, and probably saved many inventors lives too....


Comment #50 by: rabea on 15 Sep 2011, 11:30 UTC reply to this comment

agree with the writer 100%


Comment #51 by: Mick on 20 Sep 2011, 09:46 UTC reply to this comment

What about the wheel ?


Comment #52 by: Ibrahim on 25 Sep 2011, 23:52 UTC reply to this comment

My brothers,

Certainly fire was not an invention, it was a discovery... and the wheel was very important till now. generation of electricity even needed it to be generating ! and it was need for so many machines as well as transportations and more and more...

But believe me you will hear as soon as possible from the European Patent Office, about The Greatest Invention ever an Invention will save our Planet, and will dramatically change the life of all humanity by an alternative free green energy. Patent no. (EP1980745) (water wheel)
for any question and details contact:(Ibrahim.h.Ibrahim@live.com)


Comment #53 by: JACK on 11 Oct 2011, 09:23 UTC reply to this comment

I think that the turnip is the greatest invention of all time, because it's cute


Comment #54 by: Francesko on 25 Oct 2011, 20:48 UTC reply to this comment

I like the invention for computer because i like computer games Far Cry 2,Call Of Duty Black Ops,Ghost Recorn ,Age Of Impier 3


Comment #55 by: Boom Boom on 25 Oct 2011, 20:52 UTC reply to this comment

I like the inventions because are very intersting


Comment #56 by: beckyjarvis93 on 27 Oct 2011, 23:03 UTC reply to this comment

Number 1, toilet? I disagree! It's gotta be the internet.


Comment #57 by: lala on 08 Nov 2011, 03:41 UTC reply to this comment

i think the wheel is greatest


Comment #58 by: Moe on 16 Dec 2011, 04:04 UTC reply to this comment

:-the micro chip:- this microchip is the size of a fly

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