Amazing New Tool for Physicians, the Stethescope

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 20^th and 21^st 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 19^th 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.”

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