The Best Inventions Ever

We had a major leak in our main indoor water line on Saturday night, which meant that we had to turn off the water overnight and for most of the day on Sunday, until Bill had time to tackle his least favorite pastime--plumbing. He had fixed that particular pipe once before, so it didn't take him long to repair the leak on Sunday afternoon, after he rounded up the supplies he needed.

Before we shut off the water, we had filled some pitchers with water, and we turned the water on again, just long enough to take some quick showers, but I realized, in a hurry, just how fortunate we are to have mostly reliable, hot and cold running water. After making do with pitchers of cold water for a few hours, I would definitely rank indoor plumbing as one of the greatest inventions of all time.

That incident started me thinking about the basic amenities, as well as the luxuries, we all take for granted here in the US. 

The question is, how far back do we go to find the best inventions ever? With that in mind, I've compiled a list of 10 basic inventions, things that have been around for a very long time, that we just can't live without:

• The wheel, of course.
• Basic tools, such as hammers, saws, and hand drills, as well as shovels, hoes, and plows.
• The ability to make a fire for warmth, light, and cooking.
• Wells that provide clean drinking water.
• The spinning wheel and loom, to make fabric for clothing.
• The alphabet, along with a system of writing and the tools needed to write.
• Stone tablets and scrolls, which lead to paper and books.
• Herbal remedies, that became the first medicines used to treat illness and injury.
• Pottery for dishes and pots.
• Glass for windows.

People subsisted with those few necessities, along with some I've surely forgotten, for thousands of years. Oh, there were a few early, advanced civilizations that incorporated indoor plumbing and complex irrigation systems into their lifestyles, but plumbing wasn't a common amenity for most of the world until the nineteenth or even twentieth century.

Those two centuries probably produced more new inventions that our ancestors could ever imagine. Here's my list of 10 significant innovations from the last few centuries:

• Widespread indoor plumbing!
• The printing press.
• The cotton gin, and other improved farm machinery.
• The Franklin stove, which lead to even better stoves, and eliminated the need for fireplaces.
• The steam engine, followed by mechanical engines of all kinds.
• The light bulb, and electricity, in general.
• The telegraph, closely followed by the telephone. 
• The camera, followed by the movie camera, phonograph recordings, radio, and television.
• Cars, and the assembly lines that revolutionized industry everywhere.
• Airplanes, jets, and rockets.

Whew! Our world has certainly changed a lot in a relatively short time. More recently, advanced medical practices, and the use of modern appliances, such as washing machines and refrigerators, vacuum cleaners and microwave ovens, have made our lives much easier. But nothing can compare with the invention of computer technology, which has completely transformed the way we educate and communicate. 

You might think I've forgotten about cell phones, but what are they, really? Just mini, personal computers, that enable us to communicate via talk, text, and social media, take pictures and make "movies," read news articles and full length books, find our way to any location, and research any topic imaginable.

It's hard for us to imagine what further innovations the future will hold. It seems like there is nothing left that can possibly top computers. But I suppose that's what people once thought about plumbing, and maybe even the wheel.