We are so accustomed to the inventions of the last century, that we pretty much take them for granted. We get up in the morning, turn on the lights, brew some coffee, and turn on the TV for the morning news. We check our e-mail, and our phone messages, get into the car, and maybe, drive to the airport, to fly off to a meeting, or a vacation destination. Today, we couldn’t imagine a world without all these conveniences, yet these are all relatively new. Our great grandparents didn’t have it this easy.
1. We take electricity pretty much for granted today. In fact, it isn’t until we lose power from a storm that we realize how many things in our daily lives depends on this wonderful invention. And yet, it has only been in practical use for a relatively short period of time in the history of the world. Of course, the concept of electricity has been around for thousands of years, but it took Edison, and Tesla, to bring us the form that we take advantage of today.
2. When we think of the automobile and its creation, we think of Henry Ford. While Ford didn’t invent the car, he did create the first assembly line that produced a car that was affordable enough for the average man. The automobile set the world free to travel, independently, beyond their limited space.
3. Wilbur and Orville Wright took the ideas of inventors for thousands of years, and came up with an actual flying machine that changed the course of the world. It brought people closer together, supplied goods and services to every part of the world, and lead to the exploration of space.
4. Alexander Graham Bell would never have believed that his invention, designed for communication between people in local areas, would have reached the capabilities it has now. We have come a long way from the old wooden crank phone that hung on the kitchen wall. One of the most used of our modern day technologies, we have become so dependent on it that we carry one with us wherever we go.
5. Radio and TV have been priceless in connecting the world, entertaining, and educating mankind. Before radio, news was several days old before it was received through the newspaper, and before TV, the only way that people could see what was happening in the rest of the world, was through the newsreels at the movie theater. Today, we take “real time” news for granted, and we rely on it.
5. Computers and the internet have become a part of everyone’s life. Anyone who remembers pecking out an article or homework on a typewriter, knows the value of the computer, and none of us can imagine not having instant access to the knowledge of the world through the internet.
While improvements and new technologies are expanding on a daily basis, without these basic inventions, none of what we take for granted today would have been possible.
