UK company Tesco Mobile polled 4,000 Brits, aged 18-65, to see what they thought were the most important inventions of all time. The results might surprise you…
According to the final list, the almighty iPhone, deemed the 8th most important invention of all time, is almost as significant as Penicillin, and more essential to human existence than flushing toilets, cars, and space travel. Wow.
Don’t get me wrong, there are almost as many iPhones as there are employees here at the SV HQ - the few Blackberry users keep to themselves to avoid ridicule. Kidding! But seriously, 8th place?!
The Internet nabbed the number four spot and Google, eBay, and Facebook all made the list. Makes sense - how else would we find, buy, and show off the other 97 items without ever leaving our beds? Beds, incidentally, are number 42.
The group deemed Wellington boots (rain boots) to be 85th – go Wellies! While no one likes soggy feet, we still don't know how they beat spell check.
We’re not entirely sure what “nappies” are, but apparently they’re the 62nd most important invention EVER. If they’re talking Zzz’s, we’re in agreement.
Binoculars made the cut at number 78, which we can only assume means there were quite a few bird watchers in the study. That, or there are a lot of peeping Toms out there. Eeek!
Push-up bras (a likely fave of those binocular fans) and Post-it notes were regarded as vital, but conspicuously absent from the list are the printing press, chemotherapy, vaccinations, the cotton gin, recycling, anesthesia and soap. Never fear – with the iPhone at number 8, there should be an app for each of those shortly.
Check out the full list below and see what else made the hot 100.
What would you name as your top three? Tell us in the comments.
100 GREATEST INVENTIONS
1. Wheel
2. Aeroplane
3. Light bulb
4. Internet
5. PCs (why not Macs?!)
6. Telephone
7. Penicillin
8. iPhone
9. Flushing toilet
10. Combustion engine
11. Contraceptive pill
12. Washing machine
13. Central heating
14. Fridge
15. Pain killers
16. Steam engine
17. Freezer
18. Camera
19. Cars
20. Spectacles
21. Mobile phones
22. Toilet paper
23. Hoover (vacuum)
24. Trains
25. Google
26. Microwave
27. Email
28. The pen
29. Hot water
30. Shoe
31. Compass
32. Ibuprofen
33. Toothbrush
34. Hair straighteners
35. Laptops
36. Knife and fork
37. Scissors
38. Paper
39. Space travel
40. Kettle
41. Calculator
42. Bed
43. Remote control
44. Roof
45. Air conditioning
46. SAT NAV (GPS)
47. Wi-Fi
48. Cats-eyes (your guess is as good as ours)
49. Matches
50. Power steering
51. Tumble dryer
52. Bicycle
53. Sky+ (like TiVo)
54. Tea bags
55. Umbrella
56. iPod
57. Taps (faucets)
58. Crash helmet
59. Wristwatch
60. eBay
61. DVD player
62. Nappies (diapers… we think)
63. Ladder
64. Sun tan lotion
65. Lawnmower
66. Make-up
67. Chairs
68. Sunglasses
69. The game of football (soccer)
70. Sliced bread
71. Sofa
72. Razor blades
73. Screwdriver
74. Motorways
75. Head/ear phones
76. Towels
77. Push-up bra
78. Binoculars
79. WD40
80. Mascara
81. Hair dryer
82. Facebook
83. Escalator
84. Hair dye
85. Wellington boots
86. Spell check
87. Calendars
88. Cheese grater
89. Buses
90. Post-it notes
91. Gloves
92. Satellite discs
93. Pedestrian crossing
94. Baby's dummy (pacifier)
95. Curtains
96. Bottle opener
97. Food blender
98. Dustpan and brush
99. Desks
100. Clothes peg
im an athletic trainer & mann, that stuff has millions of uses!
