The Greatest Invention of All Time Is........

What's the greatest invention of all time? According to Donnie Darko in the movie of the same name it's antiseptic. Not even close. Most scholars would point to Gutenberg and the printing press, arguing that all other inventions would either not have been made at all or would have come along much later if not for the written word. My argument is that plenty of great inventions took place before Gutenberg's invention, not to mention that any invention that results in the mass production of books by Rectal Noun and Michael Crichton can't possibly even be considered as one of the greatest inventions of all time. No, my choice for the greatest invention of all time is the refrigerator.

Or, to be more specific, refrigeration. Think about it for a moment. If we didn't have modern day refrigeration, everyone would have to either still grow their own food or live within spoiling distance of a grocer. People in Kansas would never know what Mahi Mahi tastes like and while that may not be a bad thing, it's still better than reading Rectal Noun or Michael Crichton. Well, actually, I guess even eating unrefrigerated three day old Mahi Mahi would be preferable to reading Rectal Noun or Michael Crichton. The very fabric of modern day society would be torn asunder if not for refrigeration. Think about what refrigeration really means: without it, you'd actually have to come home from work-where, I might add your lunch choices would be severely constrained-and, no matter how tired you were, actually prepare and cook dinner. Microwave ovens would be pretty much obsolete since they are typically used for reheating refrigerated food or defrosting frozen food. Consider how different your life would if there was no such thing as refrigeration. Forget about fast food, it wouldn't exist. Nor would most of your favorite sit-down restaurants. You would literally be forced to cook 90% of your meals yourself.

What would you rather live without, the stuff in your freezer or your computer?

Credit: Timothy Sexton

Copyright: Timothy Sexton 2007