Man's Greatest Invention

In all of the history of the world mankind has developed some truly fantastic inventions. Of course many people will talk about the wheel. Others will talk about the internal combustion engine. Arguments can be made that the telephone was an invention that truly changed the world or perhaps the Marconi Wireless which lead to radio. Of course radio lead to television and that is certainly an invention that has greatly changed the world. Finally, of course the computer has probably revolutionized the world more than anything else and the computer led to the invention of the Internet although we may have Al Gore to thank for that.

Throughout history there are minor inventions that I think we all take for granted that would make life so much more difficult if they hadn't been invented. Look at the lowly ballpoint pen. What if we were still dipping quills into ink and writing that way? No one would ever be able to read a single thing I would write. I can barely make ballpoint pen writing legible. God forbid if I had to take calligraphy in school when I could barely pass handwriting. So, the ballpoint pen has to be a great invention when you consider it.

There are those who believe more recent inventions are such that people should not be allowed to live without them. I have boisterous disagreements with friends who think no one should live without a TiVo. Personally I cannot imagine having that much to do that I can't watch a television show when it's actually supposed to be on. Should I go sit out on the porch when "Heroes" is on just so I can watch it on TiVO later? Weren't commercials made for flipping from one show to another? My father and I have mastered this art and we are quite proud of it, dammit. There are friends who also feel it is impossible to live without a GPS device. Of course considering how expensive the damn things on I'd rather just have an atlas or maybe hire a hooker to sit next to me with a map and to whisper directions sexily in my ear.