Inventions of the Millennium, a Top Ten List

Taking a look at the inventions that changed our lives in the past millennium

Picking a top ten list depends on your interests and perspective. For each person a different list of ten inventions may be chosen. With that in mind, we will give you the Dallas list and follow with a look at other inventions and you can make up your own top ten list if you would like.

Here it is….

#10 The Telescope. It was invented in 1608 by Hans Lippershey and then improved by Galileo. Lippershey invented it for use in war. Galileo used it to launch the era of modern science.

#9 The Microscope. Invented in the 1590’s or early 1600’s possibly also by Lippershey. The microscope became a tool used to reveal the inner workings of life and matter, much the same way the telescope unveiled the secrets of the nighttime sky.

#8 The PET scan. (Improved over many years from 1938-1975) The magnetic resonance imaging opened the interior of living things, including the human brain, to a view long thought impossible. The scan provided insight into the physiological basis of language, thought, and sensation.

#7 The Laser (1960) It is today at the core of consumer products from CD players to laser printers.

#6 The Computer. Initially invented by Charles Babbage in 1822, and in its original electronic form by Mauchly and Eckert in 1946. Provides us with the tools we need to perform calculations without pencil and paper, along with many more uses still being discovered today.

#5 The Transistors (Bell Labs, 1947) and the integrated circuit combining many transistors paved the way to computing’s infiltration of society, it’s dominance in science, and provides a constant reminder of the value of basic research in fields like quantum physics.

#4 The World Wide Web (Berners-Lee 1991) Brought the Internet to life and made the globe a village. It is providing science with instant information and its use is being refined every single day.

#3 The Steam Engine (Savery, 1698; Newcomen, 1712; Watt, 1765) Powered the Industrial Revolution and inspired the science of thermodynamics.

#2 The mechanical clock (13th Century) Provides science with the tool it needs to quantify changes in natural phenomena, leading to Newton’s conception of the clockwork cosmos.

And finally….

#1 The Invention of the Millennium: The Gregorian Calendar. Invented by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582. Without the calendar we wouldn’t know what date it is, we wouldn’t be able to celebrate the New Year and we certainly wouldn’t know when the next millennium begins.

Ok, now if you didn’t like those choices, or would just like a chance to choose for yourself, here’s a list of some other important inventions and the year they were discovered. Have fun making up your own top ten list.

Transportation Inventions----

The Locomotive (1804)

The Car (1885)

The Airplane (1903)

Radar (1935)

Communication Inventions---

Radio (1896)

Motion pictures (1891)

Movable Type Printing (1450)

TV (1923)

Medicine----

Vaccination (1796)

Anesthetics (1844, 1846)

Syringe (1646)

Stethoscope (1816)

Farming, Food and Daily Life---

Cotton Gin (1793)

Electric Light (1878)

Telephone (1876)

Fax Machine (1902, 1913)

Air Conditioning (1902)

Electric Hair Dryer (1902)

And the list of Top 10 inventions that changed the world

London, Mar 13 (ANI): Credit cards, trainer shoes, social networking sites, and GPS technology have made it to the list of things that have changed the world.

To mark the National Science and Engineering Week, a panel of 20 experts from the British Science Association have drawn up a list of the top 10 things that have changed the world, reports The Telegraph.

Here is the list in full:

1. GPS Technology

Originally developed as a navigation system by the United States military, the Global Positioning System is now used in cars, aircraft and boats.

2. The Sony Walkman

In 1979 Sony spawned the era of wearable technology with its iconic personal stereo. The Walkman quickly changed listening habits and became hugely popular as jogging culture took the 1980s by storm.

3. The Bar code

The boring sets of black and white lines can now be found on almost every single item bought from a shop. Norman Woodland first developed an early form of the bar code in 1949 by combining ideas from movie soundtracks and Morse code to help him speed up store checkouts. And now stores can instantly access product details, prices and stock levels with a sweep of a laser.

4. TV Dinners

Convenience food really took off in the 1970s and transformed the way families ate meals, the high-street, the countryside and national health. Traditional family dinners around the table disappeared and pre-packaged “ready meals” eaten on the sofa became the norm.

5. PlayStation

Although games consoles had been around for some time, Sony’’s PlayStation took gaming out of spotty teenager’’s bedrooms and into adult living rooms when it was released in 1994.

6. Social Networking

Everyday, more than three billion minutes are spent by computer users on Facebook. Along with other social networking sites such as MySpace and Twitter, it has completely changed the way we interact and who we interact with.

Millions of people now communicate tiny details of their professional and personal lives by poking, twittering and posting. Online social networking has allowed people to rekindle friendships with friends they lost touch with years ago.

7. Text messages

Text messaging has created a new vocabulary and new grammar that is almost incomprehensible to those who do not use it. LOL and FYI have now passed into everyday English.

8. Electronic Money

Credit cards gave us greater convenience for spending, greater security and the ability to spend money anywhere in the world.

9. Microwaves

Microwaves - electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths ranging between 1 millimetre and one metre - are used by mobile phones, wireless broadband internet and satellite television.

They also gave us a new way of cooking food while the US military has developed a “less-than-lethal” weapon that can blast victims with a heat wave.

10. Trainers

Trainers changed fashion and the feet of generations ever since the Goodyear Metallic Rubber Shoe Company first used a new manufacturing process to meld rubber to cloth in 1892.