Inventions that changed your life

[J_Dee]

A site I post at recently wrote a nice retrospective on the VCR and home video. My family got a VCR in '84, when I was six, and it and the movie/video game rental stores were absolute staples of our life until around the late '90s. I'm one of the last generations who can't remember a time when missing something on television actually meant missing it.

The internet followed in '96 and my social life took a hit that it never fully recovered from. :/

Anyway, what inventions that have come about in your lifetime have most affected you?

 

[WildcatFan1982]

1. Flowbee
2. Slap Chop

 

[gollumcat]

GPS
digital music

 

[catlanta33]

There's one that has for sure affected all of us and it was created in a lab in Wuhan, China.

 

[funKYcat75]

Already mentioned, but:

GPS - Remember maps? Triptiks from AAA? Getting lost? Having pretty much no idea how far you really are while driving somewhere? Our kids will never experience that. Downside being a lot of them are not bothering to learn routes to anywhere.

SmartPhone/Speed dial - no more phone books. No remembering phone numbers. The information of the world literally in the palm of your hand.

Caller ID - goes without saying.

 

[DSmith21]

The combination of the internet and digitized information (books/documents, music, movies, etc.). So much is now available instantly. This has also nearly wiped old ways of getting that information (printed books, encyclopedias, cassettes/cds, dvds and more).

 

[catlanta33]

For me, anything that saves me time is usually highest on the list. If I backed it out, I'd say the invention of the microprocessor since it proceeds the other inventions that utilize them.

 

[_Mav_]

The original "Green Easton" baseball bat. At 34" and 30 oz, that big-barreled sonofabitch was f#cking awesome.

 

[John Henry]

Air Conditioning

Born and raised in Florida. When I was born Florida had less than 3 million residents and was a Deep South state.

Bingo, AC became common and the population has increased to 21 million plus and growing every day,

 

[funKYcat75]

Air Conditioning

Born and raised in Florida. When I was born Florida had less than 3 million residents and was a Deep South state.

Bingo, AC became common and the population has increased to 21 million plus and growing every day,

Agreed. Probably one of the most important inventions ever, even though it was invented a little bit before my time.

 

[Cleisthenes]

Yoga pants. I had no idea of how many women out there were doable. I am shocked daily. Woman that you would never have considered you're like "hell yeah I'd hit that."

 

[Gassy_Knowls]

Mouthwash

 

[Ukbrassowtipin]

Already mentioned, but:

GPS - Remember maps? Triptiks from AAA? Getting lost? Having pretty much no idea how far you really are while driving somewhere? Our kids will never experience that. Downside being a lot of them are not bothering to learn routes to anywhere.

SmartPhone/Speed dial - no more phone books. No remembering phone numbers. The information of the world literally in the palm of your hand.

Caller ID - goes without saying.

Funny thing I was I a gas station the other day and a guy that was 30-40ish asked directions to an autopart store. Then went back out and got in a BMW.

I was thinking you can type this in your phone you know.

 

[Glenn's Take]

The wheel.

 

[Fact_Checker]

• Touch Screen Phone with high speed internet
• Big headed drivers
• Solid core golf balls

 

[TortElvisII]

The spork

 

[Get Buckets]

Catpaw

 

[tls]

Television

 

[BigSexyCat]

Internet & Smart Phones...those inventions changed the world in my lifetime. Without smartphones Facebook & Twitter would have stayed at a Myspace level in terms of use, not enough has been made of that. IMO the world prior to social media was much much better.

 

[vhcat70]

ballpoint pen
transistor radio
color TV
miniskirt
microwave oven
electronic calculator
xerox
pc's
internet
mobiles

 

[BigTimeBecks3500]

GPS is a big one - not only for commutes, but on golf courses. Remember the days of carrying a map in the glove compartment? Printing out directions from mapquest? Not that long ago, every gas station had a large rack full of maps. Trying to find the closest marker in the fairway then stepping it off and estimating where the flag is in relation to the center?

Streaming/DVR/etc is the other one. Ratings used to be much higher because if you wanted to watch something, you HAD to watch it when it was on live TV or you were screwed for awhile.

 

[ManitouDan]

The original "Green Easton" baseball bat. At 34" and 30 oz, that big-barreled sonofabitch was f#cking awesome.

OMG .. YES .. We loved that thing in 1983-84 !!

 

[jameslee32]

Compounding.

 

[ManitouDan]

Viagra . (. LOL I jest ). I tease that the only part of me left that actually works well is .. you get it .

 

[roguemocha]

Agreed. Probably one of the most important inventions ever, even though it was invented a little bit before my time.

I love AC obviously who doesn’t, but I bet we’d all be in better shape and much more outgoing/active if we couldn’t just go home to the perfect climate of our homes.

 

[starchief]

My girl was embarrassed to be seen with me until I got this stuff. We were married soon after I started using it daily.

 

[Deeeefense]

Kentucky Football - Mark Stoops version
OK, he didn't invent it, but he did reinvent it.

 

[Anon1634865921]

Ibuprofen. It's why 60 is the new 40.

 

[Ryan Lemonds Hair]

Yoga pants. I had no idea of how many women out there were doable. I am shocked daily. Woman that you would never have considered you're like "hell yeah I'd hit that."

Have at it

 

[Tskware]

condoms, they certainly changed my life for the better many decades ago

 

[LineSkiCat14]

Let's not try for the easy ones, you simps.

Backup Cameras.
Fleshlight.

 

[UKRob 73]

Remote Start

Especially with this Antarctica like **** we have going on right now.

 

[LineSkiCat14]

Sticking with cars.. remote starters, blindside monitoring, quality phone pairing..

Home automation systems like Alexa

To-go drinks from bars

 

[TortElvisII]

My girl was embarrassed to be seen with me until I got this stuff. We were married soon after I started using it daily.

My brother went to a little league game where he saw a guy that he thought he recognized but he looked different. Then he realized he had used that stuff. Then it started to rain.

 

[MegaBlue05]

Backup cameras - Comes in handy for backing into tight spots

Streaming music services - No longer need a mountain of CDs or an external hard drive fulled with MP3s.

 

[starchief]

My brother went to a little league game where he saw a guy that he thought he recognized but he looked different. Then he realized he had used that stuff. Then it started to rain.

Oh, it's great stuff alright. My wife can't keep her hands off me.

 

[BMoore2]

Internet & Smart Phones...those inventions changed the world in my lifetime. Without smartphones Facebook & Twitter would have stayed at a Myspace level in terms of use, not enough has been made of that. IMO the world prior to social media was much much better.

-I agree. I think the internet, as a whole, has almost destroyed society. Widely available pornography, no need for social skills to find things to do/people to talk to, misinformation, and cultural chaos, via the ability to talk ish to people and not have to really suffer any consequences. Has changed the dynamics of the world, and I’m not sure that I wouldn’t just kill the whole thing if I were emperor. Social media sucks, as well. Who is happier bc of this increased access to people’s lives?
-Think the smartphone would be perfect to serve as a toolkit for everyday life, and that’s it. GPS, navigation, messaging, camera capabilities, etc. Apple had it right-internet, phone, music player. Maybe some podcasts. Either way, a much less trashy, socially destabilizing internet would do wonders for society.

 

[ekywildcat_rivals26726]

GPS is one of the greatest things ever. Alexa, we have four of them in the house, need to get up at 6am, sure, Alexa set 6am alarm, it's great. Guess I'll be one of the last people on Earth to get a smart phone, but my old Motorola flip phone is going out of service soon, I'm told. And A/C, couldn't live without it now. Power Steering on cars, I've drove cars with no ps, not great.

 

[LineSkiCat14]

I'll tell you what's NOT a good invention... natural/aluminum-free deodorant. I don't make it 4 hours without smelling like 15-year old going through puberty. I'll take that 96-hour space-grade Old Spice, thank you.

 

[Cleisthenes]

Lot of money for whoever invents the nut-bra. I want the boys carried in comfort. Swaddled in luxury and comfort as I go about my day. Gentle and warm bathed in baby powder like one of those automatic cat waterers.