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British "Top 100 Inventions" List

usedto

usedto

Lunatic Member
Can't say I agree with the order........as a matter of fact, I don't know if they're all "inventions".:scratch2:

Lance Batchelor of Tesco Mobile, which polled 4,000 Brits, said: “All of the inventions in the list changed the world for ever. It’s amazing to see how much the iPhone is valued.”


100 GREATEST INVENTIONS


1. Wheel
2. Aeroplane
3. Light bulb
4. Internet
5. PC
6. Telephone
7. Penicillin
8. iPhone
9. Flushing toilet
10. Combustion engine
11. Contraceptive pill
12. Washing machine
13. Central heating
14. Fridge
15. Painkillers
16. Steam engine
17. Freezer
18. Camera
19. Cars
20. Spectacles
21. Mobile phones
22. Toilet paper
23. Vacuum cleaner
24. Train
25. Google
26. Microwave
27. Email
28. Pen
29. Hot water
30. Shoes
31. Compass
32. Ibuprofen
33. Toothbrush
34. Hair straighteners
35. Laptop
36. Knife and fork
37. Scissors
38. Paper
39. Space travel
40. Kettle
41. Calculator
42. Bed
43. Remote control
44. Roof
45. Air conditioning
46. Sat-nav
47. Wi-Fi
48. Cats-eyes
49. Matches
50. Power steering
51. Tumble dryer
52. Bicycle
53. Sky+
54. Tea bag
55. Umbrella
56. iPod
57. Taps
58. Crash helmet
59. Wristwatch
60. eBay
61. DVD player
62. Nappy
63. Ladder
64. Sun-tan lotion
65. Lawnmower
66. Make-up
67. Chair
68. Sunglasses
69. The sport of football
70. Sliced bread
71. Sofa
72. Razor blade
73. Screwdriver
74. Motorway
75. Head/earphones
76. Towel
77. Push-up bra
78. Binoculars
79. WD40
80. Mascara
81. Hair dryer
82. Facebook
83. Escalator
84. Hair dye
85. Wellington boots
86. Spellcheck
87. Calendars
88. Cheese grater
89. Bus
90. Post-it note
91. Gloves
92. Satellite dish
93. Pedestrian crossing
94. Baby’s dummy
95. Curtains
96. Bottle opener
97. Food blender
98. Dustpan and brush
99. Desk
100. Clothes peg
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One "invention," at least in the US, that barely gets any notice on lists like these is the interstate highways system. I think the interstates did more than anything else to homogenize US culture and stamp out a lot of local flavor. Another category that I don't see on the list is stuff having to do with agriculture. I'm no expert but the technology that has driven farming into a huge corporate industry and away from small family enterprises has had huge impacts on the world, some good and some bad.
 
JonL said:
One "invention," at least in the US, that barely gets any notice on lists like these is the interstate highways system. I think the interstates did more than anything else to homogenize US culture and stamp out a lot of local flavor.
Click to expand...

Yes, the Interstates are great; they get all the "I just wanna get there" people off the scenic back-roads, leaving them all to me :thmbsp:

And I would've liked to see the car placed higher on the list; not above the wheel, obviously :tongue:, but out of all the stuff I have available to me, I love my truck the most; being able to hop in, road atlas in hand (GPSs are fer wimps that can't read a road map :D), watching the miles roll over on the odometer... in the words of John Goodman in the movie Raising Arizona, "I love to drive."

...Now, if only gas wasn't so damn expensive (and I had a job >.>)...
 
JonL said:
One "invention," at least in the US, that barely gets any notice on lists like these is the interstate highways system. I think the interstates did more than anything else to homogenize US culture and stamp out a lot of local flavor. Another category that I don't see on the list is stuff having to do with agriculture. I'm no expert but the technology that has driven farming into a huge corporate industry and away from small family enterprises has had huge impacts on the world, some good and some bad.
Click to expand...

The highway system here was inspired by the German Autobahn, as you no doubt know, but I agree, it did have a huge impact on American culture. Very often overlooked. They ain't glamorous, but we would no doubt notice if they disappeared overnight. :D
 
Once you get past 25 the list starts filling with crap fast. But with most folks in the dark about world history, what can we expect? Cotton gin, printing press, THE PLOW!!!! Hell no, sun-tan lotion, hair straightener and cheese grater were WAY more world changing inventions than those i listed! But even in such a narrow window of perspective, why isn't #77 rated higher than it is? :D
 
AND yet the Printing press which is considered one of the most important inventions of all time is not even on this silly list. Please.
 
So is #54 referring to the tea delivery system or the sex act? I could see it going either way...

-Derek
 
What, dynamites not on the list? Without it all those interstate hiways and train routes would have taken forever to build.
 
That list is quite a damning and embarrassing precis of "4,000 Brits" intellect and education.
But is it an accurate sample, or is it only reflective of the mind-set of Tesco Mobile clients?
 
steerpike2 said:
That list is quite a damning and embarrassing precis of "4,000 Brits" intellect and education.
But is it an accurate sample, or is it only reflective of the mind-set of Tesco Mobile clients?
Click to expand...
They make issues in the US from polls taken from a lesser cross-section than that.
 
What, no duct tape?

How about fire, aqueducts, and indoor plumbing while we're at it. ..not to mention electricity.
 
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