The Greatest Invention of Mankind - Or it's time for me to take a break!

[Gliderjohn]

Hear. That's what happens when one cuts back on the bourbon.
GliderJohn

[oldbike54]

Hear. That's what happens when one cuts back on the bourbon.
GliderJohn

 Just figured it was that Apple computer you are using John 

 Dusty

[Gliderjohn]

Quote from Dusty:

Just figured it was that Apple computer you are using John 

Yep. Poor excuse anyway. 
GliderJohn

[Orange Guzzi]

I have a really odd one.  Turpentine.  Ancient medicine.  With out it, the world explorers would not have made it as far as they did.  Parasites, bacteria's and sore muscles hate it.  Why did Grandma's house smell like Vicks menthol?  Turpentine.  Drug companies hate it. 

Second would be aspirin. 

Third, round things/the wheel. 

Forth, levers.

Last, time.  Never enough of it. 

[Orange Guzzi]

How do you use that Tampax ?

My friend taped them on the left side of his CBX where the cylinder meets the crankcase to absorb fluids. 

[Triple Jim]

That's all true.   Here in Central Virginia, people used Maytag washers powered by 1/2 horsepower pedal-started gasoline engines, but still heated the water by hand.

There was no gas distribution system in most rural areas, and no delivery of LPG or anything similar, so outside the cities where gas was already "laid on" for lighting and stoves, no one used or had even heard of gas refrigerators.    The Amish still buy kerosene-powered refrigerators, but they're barely practical ....

Also, only the rich could afford refrigeration in the early days of course.  Dad lived in DC, and although there was electricity and both electric and gas refrigeration there in the 20s and 30s, his household still got ice deliveries to keep food cold.  Ten tons of coal kept the house warm-ish for a winter.  I live in much more modern times.  5 cords of wood keep this place warm-ish.   

[Kentktk]

Just figured it was that Apple computer you are using John 

 Dusty

But it was an Apple computer that found the mistake

[Phang]

Divorce:)

divorce came after women invented marriage

it's a by-product of a bad invention, can't call that a great invention 

[cloudbase]

Birth control.

Yep.  It would be hard to find anything that had a greater effect on global society.

[Muley]

How do you use that Tampax ?

Well, you backed me into a corner so here's the answer.  Before "feminine hygiene products" a woman was quite literally "on the rag".  That made her life miserable and by trickle down principles (no pun intended) it made man's life miserable too.  Therefore, tampax and the like has made everyone's life much better

[Wayne Orwig]

How do you use that Tampax ?

Soak it in gasoline. Toss it in a pile of logs. Starts a fire right up..  Of course.   Even include a string to dip it into the gas tank on the Guzzi.

My understanding is that one of the largest life saving inventions was central heating.
Refrigeration is right up there I'm sure.

[Gliderjohn]

Good to see you posting Wayne.
GliderJohn

[pete mcgee]

Flushing toilets and the sewerage system required for them.
A great advance in public health.
Anyone remember the old "dunny", outside toilet, crap in a can, hope you didn't get bitten on the arse by a spider in the dark and the clanging of the dunny cans when they were changed every week.

[Triple Jim]

Anyone remember the old "dunny", outside toilet, crap in a can, hope you didn't get bitten on the arse by a spider in the dark and the clanging of the dunny cans when they were changed every week.

When I was a little kid we'd spend weekends at our mountain property in PA.  There was an old farm house without running water, and an outhouse.  I've very familiar with both using the outhouse and a chamber pot on a winter night.  You certainly have a point about the slightly more modern plumbing we use today being better.

[LowRyter]

I've been told that Einstein was fond of the zipper.

[Sasquatch Jim]

 That's because he understood the higher math required use it.

[ScepticalScotty]

Writing, and quite a while later, the printing press. Algebra. Calculus. Penicillin. Harrisons Marine Watch.

[LowRyter]

written language and mathematics. 

[oldbike54]

 There are mathematicians who believe that math wasn't invented but rather discovered .

 Dusty

[Ncdan]

Soak it in gasoline. Toss it in a pile of logs. Starts a fire right up..  Of course.   Even include a string to dip it into the gas tank on the Guzzi.

My understanding is that one of the largest life saving inventions was central heating.
Refrigeration is right up there I'm sure.

Soak them in BUCK SCENT and hang them in trees near your deer stand. Works great.

[wrbix]

Free (tax supported) Public Education - although it's often hard to tell

[Triple Jim]

Free (tax supported) Public Education - although it's often hard to tell

Many sources say that the literacy rates in New  England were their highest before public school attendance became compulsory.

[wrbix]

Many sources say that the literacy rates in New  England were their highest before public school attendance became compulsory.

"Many sources say"? - oh come on, that sounds all too familiar of late.

[oldbike54]

Many sources say that the literacy rates in New  England were their highest before public school attendance became compulsory.

 Uh , it is a little more complicated than that Jim .

 Dusty

[Triple Jim]

I know it's more complicated than that.  I've done some searching and found various numbers and estimates for the subject, and know I don't have the full story.  Nevertheless, if you search around a bit, you can find some non-harebrained information that supports this.  I'm very open to real data that shows it's wrong.

[Darren Williams]

There are mathematicians who believe that math wasn't invented but rather discovered .

 Dusty

I've always thought of math as a language to express those natural principles.

[oldbike54]

I know it's more complicated than that.  I've done some searching and found various numbers and estimates for the subject, and know I don't have the full story.  Nevertheless, if you search around a bit, you can find some non-harebrained information that supports this.  I'm very open to real data that shows it's wrong.

 Mostly it depends on how public education is defined , and when it actually began .

 Dusty

[Steph]

I think whatever triggered the industrial revolution should be right up there. Before that, people lived very peasant like lives.

[Penderic]

It's time to take a break! 



Now come fly with me!        https://safeshare.tv/x/cIyVNoY3_L4#v 

[old head]

Calculus and modern mathematics.

it enabled mankind to understand physics, and allow us to tame the natural world.

Old Head