What single invention do you believe best contributes to the high standard of living in the US?

Question

Something developed by an engineer... 040907 6:03

Incredible answers ! Funny to well thought out - too hard to choose, so leaving it up to the Community!
=)
Ok, Yahoo Community - What single invention helped the US best ?

Answer 1

Since this question is limited to the current standard of living in the US, I would have to limit the inventions that came about in the last 200+ years and have the largest far reaching impact. Limited to that I would think the invention of alternating current by Nickola Tesla around the turn of the century would have to be #1. Without easily transportable cheap electric power and the versatility of Alternating Current, most standard modern conveniences would never been invented. If you don’t think so, just think what it would be like if your computer was just an empty box on your desk and your cell phone had a cord attaching it to a wall. There would be no microwave ovens, radio, or television. Electrical power would be very expensive and most of the nation would be without it. Direct Current (DC) can only be transmitted a couple of miles from the generation point, not thousands of miles like AC power.

Answer 2

Not just for the U.S., but everyone in the world, it is hands down the printing press. Without a printing press there would be no reformation, no mass media, everyone would still be illiterate, and the scientifc revolution would most likely not take place.

Think about this: When Mendal pretty much came up with the idea of genetics, it almost went undiscovered. It would not be untill the early 20th century that the importance of his ideas would be realized when someone found his work published when they wanted to do similar experiments. Now imagined if all of this had taken place before the printing press. It would have lost. Just think of all the great discoveries the Greeks and Romans could have made if they had only possesed some means of recording data and distributing it to large audiences.

Some people think the halt of science before the dark ages was due to Christianity; this is only a half truth. Science was already declining well before Christianity came about. The problem was that the Greeks and Romans did not have any way of (efficiently) transmitting knowledge they aquired so later generations could build upon it: no peer reviewed journals, no reports to publish, even when they could write it down, so few people could read.

Without the printing press we would still be living in a feudal society repressed by the Catholic Church.

Answer 3

There are 5 inventions in history that I consider great in the sense that they opened up the door for hundereds of related inventions and each one made the next possible as well:

Fire (made metallurgy, cooking, masonry possible)
Steam Power (made almost every single mechanical device from 1754-1900 possible).
Electricity (duh)
Transistor (allowed complicated electronics to exist)
Microchip (duh again).

So you'd have to say that the microchip is number 1 for impact on today's life. Think how many things you own or use daily that have one (computers, ipod, cars, TVs, cell phones, etc).

Answer 4

I don't think you can pin it all on a single invention. So much of he high standard of living in the U.S. has to do with things like our huge supply of natural resources and relative geographical isolation from much of the world that for most of our history helped protect us from attacks.

Answer 5

The alternating current electric generator

Answer 6

air conditioning which was invented by Willis Haviland Carrier

Answer 7

Capitalism!!!

Answer 8

the poverty line (and the millions of americans who live below it)

just cos some have a high standard of living, doesnt mean you all do

Answer 9

The printing press -seriously where would we be without printed books, newspapers etc.

Answer 10

I should imagine the combustion (both external and internal) engine.