I am constantly amazed at the new
technologies that appear seemingly every day.
IPods, I pads, computers and smart phones. I can’t keep up with all the new and
remarkable tools and forms of entertainment that have been introduced.
Although fabulous inventions have arisen
during our lifetime, before the late 20th and 21st
centuries, there were incredible inventions that changed the world. Inventions 50, 100, 200 years ago made life
easier, helped us to live longer lives, nearly wiped out some diseases and
more.
In the 1600’s, the first barometer was
introduced. Anton Van Leeuwenhoek was the first to see and describe
bacteria with a microscope during this time period as well. These events eventually led to the ability to predict
changes in the weather and gave physicians a better way to diagnose and treat
diseases.
C. Hopffer patented the first fire
extinguisher in 1722, and two years later the first mercury thermometer was
invented by Gabriel Fahrenheit. I’m sure
the people back then considered these to be pretty amazing.
We are practically addicted to our cell
phones today, but when the first patent for an electric telegraph was filed in
1774, how important do you think that was in history? I personally am grateful that Ben Franklin
invented bi-focal eyeglasses in 1780.
Smallpox was a huge problem worldwide before
1796 when Edward Jenner created a vaccine for it. Many of today’s high-tech “toys” are
available, because the battery was invented in the late 1700’s.
When we watch programs on our HD TV’s and
send pictures with our phones, we should all be grateful to Joseph
Nicéphore Niépce for being the first person to take a photograph (It took eight
hours).
How did doctors even practice before the stethoscope
was invented in 1819? Between 1827 and 1830,
the first typewriter was created and the sewing machine a short time later.
Can you imagine working in an office without the
stapler that was invented in 1841? And how
“fun” it must have been to have a tooth pulled before Dr. William Morton began
using anesthesia in the middle of the 19th century. Fortunately, that was closely followed by the
creation of antiseptics.
Our cell phones may be amazing, but would they have
even existed had Alexander Graham Bell not invented the phone to begin with? The first moving pictures arrived on the
scene in 1877, the same year Thomas Edison invented the phonograph.
I don’t even want to think what it was like before the
first form of toilet paper was invented.
And how many other incredible inventions came to be because Heinrich
Hertz invented radar in 1887?
Science, technology
and inventions progressed at an accelerated rate during the 20th century, more
so than any other century. During the
first decades of that century, airplanes, automobiles and the radio dazzled the
population with wonder.
Of course, I’ve
barely touched on the thousands of other inventions throughout history without
which our lives might be very different today.
The next time you are in awe of all the electronics we use today, think
what life would have been like without the many scientific discoveries and inventions
that came about long before anyone coined the words “high-tech.”
