was discussing this with my family on turkey day. what do you think is the best invention made in (or widely adopted) in the 1900s?

i originally thought plastics, but in the end think the transistor probably has had the biggest impact on our daily lives.

11/26/2009 2:03:16 PM

Fleshlight.

11/26/2009 2:07:43 PM

The automobile and/or the internet

11/26/2009 2:10:54 PM

John Turturro

11/26/2009 2:13:03 PM

the internet. hands down...

11/26/2009 2:22:14 PM

penicillin (i guess that counts more as a discovery, but meh)

the internet

[Edited on November 26, 2009 at 2:26 PM. Reason : .]

11/26/2009 2:24:43 PM

mass transit in general

because without it

i couldn't order crap off the internet and have it show up in 2 days

[Edited on November 26, 2009 at 2:38 PM. Reason : off]

11/26/2009 2:29:09 PM

The intarwebs.

11/26/2009 2:29:17 PM

microprocessor

11/26/2009 3:01:46 PM

lectricity

synthetic opium

smokeless gunpowder

minority rule

11/26/2009 3:18:48 PM

automatic transmission

[Edited on November 26, 2009 at 3:20 PM. Reason : i thought about putting penicillin too!]

[Edited on November 26, 2009 at 3:21 PM. Reason : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antibiotic#History_of_antibiotics link to prove it!]

11/26/2009 3:20:25 PM

i'm gonna go with the internet. i feel like it has had an influence far greater than anything else from the 20th i can think of except possibly the atom bomb. but then again i haven't really thought about it.

11/26/2009 5:08:12 PM

i would say the computer before the internet

airplanes are high in my rankings as well, along with television

11/26/2009 5:12:21 PM

wait a minute. assuming he was "invented", can we say Will Smith?

11/26/2009 5:30:06 PM

the laser

Quote :

"When lasers were invented in 1960, they were called "a solution looking for a problem".[23] Since then, they have become ubiquitous, finding utility in thousands of highly varied applications in every section of modern society, including consumer electronics, information technology, science, medicine, industry, law enforcement, entertainment, and the military. The first application of lasers visible in the daily lives of the general population was the supermarket barcode scanner, introduced in 1974. The laserdisc player, introduced in 1978, was the first successful consumer product to include a laser, but the compact disc player was the first laser-equipped device to become truly common in consumers' homes, beginning in 1982, followed shortly by laser printers. Some of the other applications include: * Medicine: Bloodless surgery, laser healing, surgical treatment, kidney stone treatment, eye treatment, dentistry * Industry: Cutting, welding, material heat treatment, marking parts * Defense: Marking targets, guiding munitions, missile defence, electro-optical countermeasures (EOCM), alternative to radar, blinding enemy troops. * Research: Spectroscopy, laser ablation, laser annealing, laser scattering, laser interferometry, LIDAR, laser capture microdissection * Product development/commercial: laser printers, CDs, barcode scanners, thermometers, laser pointers, holograms, bubblegrams. * Laser lighting displays: Laser light shows * Laser skin procedures such as acne treatment, cellulite reduction, and hair removal. "

11/26/2009 5:45:16 PM

The Kegerator

11/26/2009 6:10:04 PM

http://www.thewolfweb.com

11/26/2009 9:12:10 PM

the transistor

11/26/2009 9:13:53 PM

crispix

11/26/2009 9:57:01 PM

Quote :

"wait a minute. assuming he was "invented", can we say Will Smith?"

holy shit, I just spit my wine everywhere

11/26/2009 9:59:12 PM

Quote :

"mass transit in general because without it i couldn't order crap off the internet and have it show up in 2 days"

I wouldn't call a semi-truck driving across state lines as 'mass transit'


I'd say the internet has done wonders to make the world a smaller place.

11/27/2009 12:40:20 AM

my shipments arrive via space train

11/27/2009 10:06:08 AM

condom

11/27/2009 10:09:47 AM

bop-it, the power pad, or those long cigarette holders distinguished bitches in the 50's used to smoke from. gak might be up there as well.

11/27/2009 11:19:24 AM

Quote :

"Fleshlight. "

11/27/2009 11:48:40 AM

FUCK A TRANSISTOR

11/27/2009 1:19:34 PM

http://inventors.about.com/od/timelines/a/twentieth.htm

here is a list

11/27/2009 1:23:00 PM

the transistor

easily

11/27/2009 2:51:27 PM

refrigeration

11/27/2009 2:56:21 PM

Internet

11/27/2009 2:58:14 PM

^ you know, not trying to be too argumentative, but the reason some people are putting the transistor is because it made a lot of these other things possible

computers (small computers, DON'T FUCK WITH ME)

the microprocessor

the interweb

crispix

will smith

11/27/2009 3:00:17 PM

^ditto for the laser

11/27/2009 3:36:03 PM

fire

11/27/2009 8:55:45 PM