What do you think was the 20th Century's greatest invention?

Question

I'll allow some cheating (a few years before or after the 1900's). Was it the television? Telephone (mass-produced and used)? Radio? Nuclear bomb? Internet? PC? Cell phone? Airplanes? Space shuttle/rockets? Medical innovations (i.e. pacemakers, transplants, MRI's, etc.)? Mass-produced automobiles (i.e. Ford Model T)? Anything else I may have left out?

There's no doubt that the 20th century was revolutionary! As a quick follow up, feel free to share your thoughts on what this century's greatest invention might be.

Answer 1

On February 22, 2000, Neil Armstrong spoke on behalf of the National Academy of Engineering and our nation's professional engineering societies to present the top 20 Engineering achievements of the 20th century.

"The winner, the top-rated engineering improvement to the life of Earthlings in this century: electrification.

The majority of the top 20 achievements would not have been possible without electricity. Electrification changed the country's economic development and gave the rural population the same opportunities and amenities as people in the cities.

Electricity provides the power for small appliances in the home, for the computers and control rooms that route power and telecommunications, for the machinery that produces capital goods and consumer products. If anything shines as an example of how engineering has changed the world during the 20th century, it is clearly the power that we use in homes and businesses."

This from the first man to set foot on the moon. (space travel didn't make the top 10)

For the complete list, check out the link below.

Answer 2

Radio. Though it's older cousin wireless telegraphy preceeds it by 15 years back to about 1893, radio is the greatest 20th century invention. Without it there would have been no TV, no computers, no electronics of any kind as all of these depend on inventions that were made for radio. That also cuts out pacemakers, bionic ears etc.

Even long railway trains with locomotives in the middle would have been almost impossible without radio control of the middle ones from the leading one.

Aviation on anything more than a tiny scale would have been impossible. Obviously space probes and Moon missions would also have been impossible.

Most medical innovations of the past 50 or so years depend on the use of chemical and physical instruments that use electronic amplifiers that derive directly from radio experience. (Actually almost all medical innovations are pale creatures beside those made by the Romans and people even before them - sewers and clean water supplies.)

The telephone was a 19th century invention and though it was useful around a city, it was not until the introduction of radio - derived amplifiers that it could be used over long distances.

Answer 3

Well its hard to say exactly, because I think a snowball effect of computers to the personal computer and all the little technologies rolled up in them, and now the Internet, is really the greatest invention. I think by far we will be impacted, both postively and negatively, by the Internet more than anything else that came out of the 20th century, but of course that wouldn't be possible without the PC and the chipsets and processors and all that.

Answer 4

All new things are nice, but the nicest to the most people in the most intimate way is just the clothes you put on your back.
So I thing the best things of the 20th century are 1) Sunblock 2) moisture wicking fabric like cool-max and thinsulate and polyester blend shirts and tossing out the courderoy I had to wear in the 50's for denim and shoes that don't delaminate.
Comfort outshines all the rest.

Answer 5

Penicillin (and subsequent antibiotics) would top my list, followed by water purification systems (like reverse osmosis -- 1940s), then genetic engineering of plants to make them more resistant to drought and disease, to feed millions more (starving) people.

These 3 items are the things that benefitted the whole of mankind the most, IMO.

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Answer 6

Probably the computer as it's still developing in ways that maximise change in lives of the greatest number

Answer 7

Einstein's theory of general relativity, and then quantum mechanics. Everything in the universe ultimately comes down to physics. Without an understanding of the laws that govern our universe, nothing could have been invented.

Answer 8

The neutron bomb. Nothing like leaving all the buildings standing and eliminating the people.

The doomsday devise, if i can't have it nobody will.

Answer 9

The integrated circuit to me by far. I can think of very few things in use today that are not tied to them in some way.

Answer 10

IPOD MP3 Players