serryjw
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Sat Jan-22-05 06:34 PM
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The MOST important invention of mankind |
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A&E asked this about 7 years ago. It was a special and many people debated it for weeks. I was (no ego involved!) the only one whom answered correctly with the number one choice.......I beleive its shines above all else....And your choice..If you remember the show.....don't spoil it for everyone else.
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Dookus
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Sat Jan-22-05 06:35 PM
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1. I read an article a few years ago |
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claiming the transistor was the greatest invention.
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onecent
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Sat Jan-22-05 06:37 PM
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Birthmark
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Sat Jan-22-05 06:37 PM
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Cronus Protagonist
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Sat Jan-22-05 06:38 PM
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serryjw
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Sat Jan-22-05 06:44 PM
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8. Language is not an invention BUT |
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You are on the right track........expand your thoughts.
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NC_Nurse
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Sat Jan-22-05 06:38 PM
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Remember that old saying? :D
Penicillin, the first antibiotic?
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spooked
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Sat Jan-22-05 06:41 PM
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or could it be the computer?
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politicat
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Sat Jan-22-05 06:43 PM
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mseltzer
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Sat Jan-22-05 06:44 PM
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yurbud
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Sat Jan-22-05 06:44 PM
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biggest advance in info sharing and boon to democracy.
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recovering democrat
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Sat Jan-22-05 06:45 PM
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11. I remember the show and the answer |
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and I firmly agreed with the number one choice at the time.
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Kire
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Sat Jan-22-05 06:46 PM
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12. If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him. |
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Death only closes a man's reputation and determines it as good or bad.
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Deja Q
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Sat Jan-22-05 06:46 PM
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Goldeneye
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Sat Jan-22-05 06:48 PM
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troubleinwinter
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Sat Jan-22-05 06:48 PM
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15. I'd say the Gutenberg press. |
serryjw
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Sat Jan-22-05 06:51 PM
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16. Congrads......You win the prize......at least my respect! |
ChairOne
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Sat Jan-22-05 07:48 PM
Response to Reply #16 |
24. That's a "duh"..... nothing else is remotely close.... |
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Edited on Sat Jan-22-05 07:50 PM by ChairOne
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troubleinwinter
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Sat Jan-22-05 08:05 PM
Response to Reply #16 |
29. Well, it was the invention that made |
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'knowlege' more widely available to the "masses". The biggest advancement in communication of ideas and information.
Many of the other ideas on this thread are "developements" (like language or farming), rather than "invention".
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Lautremont
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Sat Jan-22-05 06:59 PM
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17. I believe it's been upstaged since then by... |
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that two-wheeled electric buggy thing that certain intrepid postmen use. I can't remember the name of it - oh yeah, the Segway - but it was deemed the world's most important invention at the time.
I would disagree, but popular opinion is popular opinion.
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Booster
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Sat Jan-22-05 08:53 PM
Response to Reply #17 |
38. Until they attach a little wagon to the Segway, it will never sell. |
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How's a woman supposed to carry home the groceries. Besides that, I'd love to have one.
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Ready4Change
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Sat Jan-22-05 07:05 PM
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18. Scientific Method? Or is that not "hardwarey" enough? |
Drifter
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Sat Jan-22-05 07:16 PM
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19. It's gotta be the pocket fisherman |
bvar22
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Sat Jan-22-05 07:25 PM
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20. Gosh! I kinda thought it was.... |
charlyvi
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Sat Jan-22-05 07:27 PM
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serryjw
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Sat Jan-22-05 07:35 PM
Response to Reply #21 |
23. Why are you surprised? |
AngryAmish
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Sat Jan-22-05 07:31 PM
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bleedingheart
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Sat Jan-22-05 07:53 PM
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25. The beginning of farming and domestication |
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allowed men and women the ability to plan ahead for their basic needs and freed up time for them to think of other ideas/inventions.
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OxQQme
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Sat Jan-22-05 08:05 PM
Response to Reply #25 |
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wasn't an 'invention'. The oldest know printing presses were cynidrical rollers that were embossed and left an impression in soft clay and handwriting was done with a stylus. Those clay tablets tell a history that seems to be un-acceptable today. Of 'gods and goddesses' who came down from the heavens and brought us all that we now call knowledge. Draining the flood waters from the Fertile Crescent by the use of canals and subsequent cultivation was shown to 'us' by 'them' as recorded. Poo-poo at yer own risk. History is written by the conquerers. How many here believe in ET imtervention?
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AtTheEndOfTheDay
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Sat Jan-22-05 08:00 PM
Response to Original message |
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and the AC induction motor courtesy Nikola Tesla. Under rated genius who did far more for humanity than over rated Edison could dream. Tesla makes life as we know it possible.
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alfredo
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Sat Jan-22-05 08:04 PM
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The remote is a close second.
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yella_dawg
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Sat Jan-22-05 08:10 PM
Response to Reply #27 |
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The bong is waaay cooler than the remote.
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meisje
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Sat Jan-22-05 08:14 PM
Response to Reply #31 |
34. What about a remote bong, You could smoke it like a flute |
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and change the channel at the same time. Maybe that's too complicated?
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yella_dawg
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Sat Jan-22-05 08:17 PM
Response to Reply #34 |
35. This requires extensive research... |
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I'll get back to you in a few years.......
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alfredo
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Sat Jan-22-05 10:59 PM
Response to Reply #31 |
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have a bong and no remote, it can be a very difficult evening.
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yella_dawg
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Sun Jan-23-05 12:32 AM
Response to Reply #41 |
50. If you use a bong correctly, |
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eventually, you just don't care about the remote. Hell, you don't even remember the remote.
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alfredo
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Sun Jan-23-05 01:53 AM
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jayfish
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Sat Jan-22-05 08:09 PM
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30. Water Desalinization. -NT- |
ben_packard
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Sat Jan-22-05 08:11 PM
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32. Gotta be printing/pressing? |
Stop_the_War
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Sat Jan-22-05 08:11 PM
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33. Writing is the most important invention |
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Edited on Sat Jan-22-05 08:12 PM by Stop_the_War
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mcscajun
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Sat Jan-22-05 08:43 PM
Response to Reply #33 |
36. I'll second that one! |
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If it weren't for writing, you can forget Gutenberg and literature and the Internet.
Of course, there's a soft spot in my heart forever for the folks who brought us Air Conditioning. Maybe not the most important invention EVER, but certainly the most important of the 20th Century.
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senegal1
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Sat Jan-22-05 08:50 PM
Response to Reply #36 |
37. But the second most important one is duck tape. |
mcscajun
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Sat Jan-22-05 09:23 PM
Response to Reply #37 |
40. Agreed. Duct Tape is vital! |
rustydog
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Sat Jan-22-05 09:02 PM
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39. The on-off switch on a TV |
Just Me
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Sat Jan-22-05 11:11 PM
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sweetheart
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Sat Jan-22-05 11:18 PM
Response to Original message |
43. The legal entity and the rule of law |
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This would include a non-monarchy nation state, a limited company and a legal citizen. As much as you might call these vapour, they are critical underpinnings to everything in modern society.
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jdj
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Sat Jan-22-05 11:20 PM
Response to Original message |
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absolutely number one.
Primitive tribes almost always go topless.
Only when women put on shirts did men actually get their minds off breasts and get up and do something.
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Steely_Dan
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Sat Jan-22-05 11:56 PM
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jmowreader
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Sat Jan-22-05 11:34 PM
Response to Original message |
45. Gutenberg's invention wasn't the "printing press" |
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Gutenberg invented movable type.
People had been printing with presses for many years before Gutenberg showed up, but the process was kinda laborious--you had to take a block of wood and carve every single letter into it, then hang the plate on your wine press (that's what they used) and ink it.
Gutenberg's innovation was making little blocks, each carrying one letter, and setting them into the form to create the page. Now you only needed one set of type to print anything you wanted.
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Steely_Dan
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Sat Jan-22-05 11:58 PM
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...that the first "wheel" was actually a piece of jewelry? Kinds makes you think...
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yella_dawg
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Sun Jan-23-05 12:34 AM
Response to Reply #47 |
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are a girl's best friend?? Who knew?
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porkrind
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Sun Jan-23-05 12:14 AM
Response to Original message |
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helped us change from hunter-gatherers, and allowed us more free time and specialization. The rest was history. (get it. history! Damn I'm funny. :) )
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porkrind
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Sun Jan-23-05 12:15 AM
Response to Reply #48 |
49. Oops, maybe language is the most important invention. |
The Velveteen Ocelot
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Sun Jan-23-05 12:33 AM
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51. It's a toss-up between duct tape and WD-40. |
DrWeird
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Sun Jan-23-05 02:00 AM
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54. Odd that they'd pick on obsolete invention. |
Spider Jerusalem
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Sun Jan-23-05 02:09 AM
Response to Original message |
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Edited on Sun Jan-23-05 02:10 AM by Spider Jerusalem
Which gave rise to the industrial age, enabled widespread use of machines capable of doing the work of many men, led to the "modern" world, etc...
And the printing press/moveable type, of course...
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