What is the most significant discovery in the history of mankind?

[ConcernedCanuk]

.
.
.

I was going to make a poll, but I see many polls leave out other DUer's ideas . .

so

1st of all - let me stress the word "significant" -

not "best".

I'll put three out into the fray . .

Discovering the World is round,

discovering the secrets to flight,

or discovering how to harness the power of the atom.

I'm looking for more ideas, not trying to push my own,

(well - maybe a wee bit - - )

CC

[pangaia]

1. Womankind.

[ConcernedCanuk]

2. ummm . . NO

.
.
.

We haven't figured them all out yet . . .



CC

[pangaia]

6. I am one of YOU'all, not them'all.

Other than that, I must agree.

[ConcernedCanuk]

15. LOL

.
.
.

I wasn't sure, so I edited it try to make it generic.

. . .

oh well,

CC

[grahamhgreen]

130. Agree 100%!!!

[mr blur]

3. The realisation that there is no God.

[ConcernedCanuk]

10. NOPE - we are killing each other by the millions still arguing about that one.

.
.
.

I suspect EVERYONE now knows the World is round,

EVERYONE knows we got airplanes,

and power from the atom.

Please try again.

CC

[kelliekat44]

174. And you can't prove a negative... nt

[bananas]

192. The Absolute

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absolute_%28philosophy%29

Absolute (philosophy)

The Absolute is the concept of an unconditional reality which transcends limited, conditional, everyday existence. It is sometimes used as an alternate term for "God" or "the Divine"[1] especially, but by no means exclusively, by those who feel that the term "God" lends itself too easily to anthropomorphic presumptions. The concept of The Absolute may or may not (depending on one's specific doctrine) possess discrete will, intelligence, awareness, or a personal nature. It is sometimes conceived of as the source through which all being emanates. It contrasts with finite things, considered individually, and known collectively as the relative. This is reflected in its Latin origin absolūtus which means "loosened from" or "unattached."

http://www.reference.com/browse/moksha

Moksha

In Indian religions, Moksha ( Sanskrit: मोक्ष ) or Mukti ( Sanskrit: मुक्ति ), literally "release" (both from a root "to let loose, let go&quot , is the liberation from samsara, the cycle of death and rebirth or reincarnation and all of the suffering and limitation of worldly existence. In Hindu philosophy, it is seen as a transcendence of phenomenal being, a state of higher consciousness, in which matter, energy, time, space, causation ( karma) and the other features of empirical reality are understood as maya.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Higher_consciousness

Higher consciousness

Higher consciousness, also called Super consciousness (Yoga), objective consciousness (Gurdjieff), Buddhic consciousness (Theosophy), Cosmic consciousness, God-consciousness (Islam, Hinduism), Christ consciousness (Christian Mysticism) and Super-Human are expressions used in various spiritual and intellectual traditions to denote the consciousness of a human being who has reached a higher level of development and who has come to know reality as it is (Sanskrit: Yatha bhuta). It also refers to the awareness or knowledge of an 'ultimate reality' which traditional theistic religion has named God and which Gautama Buddha referred to as the unconditioned element. Evolution in this sense is not that which occurs by natural selection over generations of human reproduction but evolution brought about by the application of spiritual knowledge to the conduct of human life, and of the refinement of the mind brought about by spiritual practices. Through the application of such knowledge (traditionally the preserve of the world's great religions) to practical self-management, the awakening and development of faculties dormant in the ordinary human being is achieved. These faculties are aroused by and developed in conjunction with certain virtues such as lucidity, patience, kindness, truthfulness, humility, and forgiveness towards one's fellow man – qualities without which, according to the traditional teachings, higher consciousness is not possible. As an inter-connected group, it is called Collective Consciousness in Philosophy.[1][2]

[DonViejo]

4. The printing press...

Johannes Gutenberg, circa 1439. The invention of movable type greatly spread the written word throughout Europe.

[ConcernedCanuk]

18. I was hoping for "discoveries", not inventions so much

.
.
.

but gives me an idea for another thread!

Maybe later . . .

CC

[DonViejo]

177. There would have been no invention if Johannes Gutenberg hadn't discovered it could be done. eom

Last edited Sat Jan 25, 2014, 10:14 AM - Edit history (1)

[B Calm]

5. fire

[JoePhilly]

9. Fire Bad!!

[B Calm]

34. LOL

[jberryhill]

36. *snort*

[pinboy3niner]

43. DUzy!

[brewens]

79. Of course. Unless you wanted to be nitpicky and point out that fire is not a historical

invention. We'd sure love to figure out just who or when it was the first people really learned to make fire, or at least mastered keeping and using it. I suspect the first guy that figured it our freaked everyone out and got himself killed over it. Maybe that happened more than once and set us back a few hundred thousand years?

[Blue_In_AK]

112. Quest for Fire

The look on that guy's face when Rae Dawn Chong made the fire was priceless.

[Iggo]

171. That was beautiful.

Dude went through some changes.

[ConcernedCanuk]

203. I bought that DVD a few months back

.
.
.

If it is anywhere's near to factual, "doggie-style" ain't new!



CC

ps: interesting movie for sure!

[ChisolmTrailDem]

94. Nuclear meltdowns are huggable, not mean like we used to think they were. nt

[tammywammy]

7. Soap. n/t

[ConcernedCanuk]

47. Then ya gotta train men to use it!

.
.
.



CC

[notadmblnd]

8. Why- it's sliced white bread of course!

[hobbit709]

11. When we learned how to use a stick.

That took the species from being lunch to having lunch.

[pangaia]

12. Gravity(mass), the speed of light,

and the relationship between them.

[JoePhilly]

13. Indoor plumbing.

It was 10 degrees here in NC today ... so that might be effecting my choice.

[Stuart G]

32. JoePhilly is correct...Indoor Plumbing..

I read once (cannot verify) that indoor plumbing, and all the associated aspects of it, has saved more lives and done more to increase the life span, than all the medical advances combined. I guess that includes clean pure water in the faucets, showers as well as the flush toilets that flush the stuff away to a safe place. Central Heat is nice..oh, this discussion feels like it is not new..

[ConcernedCanuk]

55. That is an invention, not really a "discovery".

.
.
.

Anyhoo - it's minus 25 Celsius here -

but I got a FIRE going.

I'm toasty.



CC

[JoePhilly]

65. See my post 64# ;-)

[FSogol]

111. Correct, man's greatest invention: Modern plumbing. n/t

[pinboy3niner]

14. I'd have to put the cannibal rats on the ghost ship way up there

Not saying they're Number One, but damn!

[riqster]

190. Only if they have a xombie albatross.

[GTurck]

16. FIRE....

The discovery that fire could be controlled, used and even stored (via embers) to start other fires is the most basic and far reaching thing mankind ever did. Try to list the things that can be done without fire.

[ConcernedCanuk]

27. Yeah - discovering how to control fire definitely shaped the history of mankind . . .

.
.
.

Flight and harnessing the atom would have been impossible without that.

I have contemplated that if man had not developed the ability to control fire,

and all the other things made possible because by that discovery,

the World would be in better shape.

CC

ps:

[JoePhilly]

64. The ability to control fire required invention.

Fire pits, torches, indoor fire places.

Indoor plumbing is man controlling water.

And our control of water can be used to put out unintentional fires.

[A HERETIC I AM]

63. Everything we have comes out of the ground....

and is turned into the things we use by heat.


I could not agree more re: fire.

The only other one I might have mentioned was shoes/footwear.

I read an argument once for shoes being the most significant advancement humans ever made, more so than the wheel.

[ananda]

17. Probably gunpowder.

..

[ConcernedCanuk]

66. Wouldn't be possible without fire

.
.
.

In my OP - I missed fire completely, shoulda known better . . .

Fire I believe now is the most significant discovery in the history of mankind.

I asked a question, posed my own answers,

now I disagree with myself.

Fire it is imo.

CC

[Baclava]

19. Beer

How Beer Gave Us Civilization

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/17/opinion/sunday/how-beer-gave-us-civilization.html?_r=0

[grahamhgreen]

131. Weed

[Baclava]

142. Let's face it - early man would lick frogs to get high

who can blame them?

[Major Nikon]

169. Some still do

[pinboy3niner]

20. I suspect you may be reinventing the wheel here

[AngryAmish]

52. Many civilizations did not have the wheel until colonial times

Weird but it is not that obvious.

[Uben]

21. Fire!

Without it, we wouldn't be here.

[ConcernedCanuk]

42. "Without it, we wouldn't be here" - yes we would - not so many mind you

.
.
.

and much less dangerous.

Millions of species survive without the benefit of controlling fire.

Us humans would be relegated to climates that are not too hot or too cold, and with vegetation and wildlife we could survive on.

We've "evolved" beyond that - we now live in places that could not support us in our "natural" state . . .

and fucking up the World at the same time.

CC

ps: but I agree that harnessing fire is very, if not the most significant discovery of mankind.

[SidDithers]

22. Germs...

Which led to the germ theory of disease, recognition of need for good hygiene, and most advances in modern medicine.

Sid

[TransitJohn]

23. Electromagnetism

eom

[liberal N proud]

24. Sex

If man and woman had not discovered sex, they would have been the first and last.

[aristocles]

25. Easy question

Bacon.

[Niceguy1]

44. omg yes.

Bacon is the best thing listed here

[kelliekat44]

175. The Internet/computers nt

[snooper2]

26. written language

[alittlelark]

114. ^^^ This one ^^^

[geek tragedy]

28. how to plant and maintain food crops nt

[CTyankee]

140. Ah, you beat me to it!

I did add in my posting of this answer that agriculture was probably discovered/invented/developed by women.

[Pretzel_Warrior]

185. We agree on something!

That's why I singled out the plow. Once man figured cultivating crops, humans moved from primitive hunter/gather rock g society to civilization built up around water sources.

The rest, as they say, is history.

[G_j]

29. gravity

ouch..

[tkmorris]

30. It really is fire you know

I know the idea is passe, but harnessing the ability to unleash stored energy (aside from our own bodies) and convert it to a form (heat) which can be used for so many things is the moment humankind moved from the ranks of smart beasts to top of the food chain. Fire changed everything.

[ConcernedCanuk]

45. Controlling "Fire changed everything"

.
.
.

yup

I think you are correct.

CC

[Coyotl]

31. The hand axe

Flaking tools like axes and spears enabled populating the world.



Prehistorical stone tool with two faces that is the longest-used tool in human history.

[jberryhill]

33. Sharpened point or edge / Fire

It's a tossup between sharpened point and fire.

[Eleanors38]

35. Self-conscious mythologyzing.

[pampango]

46. How about just self-consciousness? Are we the first species that does not just

think about how to survive in the world (where to find our next meal or a mate) but about who we are (how do I look, what do I want to do with my life, ...)

[Glassunion]

53. The brain

is the only thing in the universe to give a name to itself.

[Eleanors38]

148. I thought about that. I used mythology because it seemed to describe best

the act of explaining phenomena in conjunction with other humans.

[cloudbase]

37. Atomic structure. n/t

[spanone]

38. the mute button on my remote

[LiberalEsto]

39. The Hutzler Banana Slicer

http://www.amazon.com/Hutzler-571-Banana-Slicer/dp/B0047E0EII

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
50,994 of 51,618 people found the following review helpful

"No more winning for you, Mr. Banana!
By SW3K on March 3, 2011
For decades I have been trying to come up with an ideal way to slice a banana. "Use a knife!" they say. Well...my parole officer won't allow me to be around knives. "Shoot it with a gun!" Background check...HELLO! I had to resort to carefully attempt to slice those bananas with my bare hands. 99.9% of the time, I would get so frustrated that I just ended up squishing the fruit in my hands and throwing it against the wall in anger. Then, after a fit of banana-induced rage, my parole officer introduced me to this kitchen marvel and my life was changed. No longer consumed by seething anger and animosity towards thick-skinned yellow fruit, I was able to concentrate on my love of theatre and am writing a musical play about two lovers from rival gangs that just try to make it in the world. I think I'll call it South Side Story.

Banana slicer...thanks to you, I see greatness on the horizon."

[underpants]

81. Hilarious

[underpants]

97. The other comments are equally as clever

Thanks

[grahamhgreen]

133. That is a marital aid!

[Pretzel_Warrior]

188. Customers who have viewed this also viewed

The 2 pack banana slicer.

Yes, there are apparently households where even the miraculous Hutzler banana slicer is not up to the banana slicing challenge.

[LiberalEsto]

207. There could be two or more impatient banana lovers in the household

[tridim]

40. Quantum Mechanics. nt

[DFW]

41. Agriculture

Closely followed by the twelve string guitar and bars of 77% pure chocolate............

[customerserviceguy]

182. Agreed

Not sure about the guitar and the chocolate, but both plant and animal agriculture changed humankind in ways more profound than any other. We still suffer under the religions that they spawned.

[DFW]

199. Well, the guitar and chocolate were not meant seriously, but Agriculture changed EVERYTHING

Agriculture tied groups of nomadic humanoids down to one place (sometimes several, in areas of extreme, but predictable weather changes). That led to villages which led to cities which led to countries. Common language, common cultures, diversification of skills, professions, inventions--none of that would have occurred without agriculture, which bound people to communities.

[1awake]

48. Electricity. n/t

[jollyreaper2112]

49. I'll skew a little broad

I'd say it's the sparking of curiosity. The discovery that things can be discovered.

We can go from living like little more than clever apes to flying among the stars.

From this...


...to this.



That we can move from ignorance, terror and superstition to a worldview ruled by rationalism and scientific exploration. That we can do away with gods and actually learn how the universe really works.

This is when we stopped being just another kind of walking ape and actually became human.

[CrispyQ]

96. We became human but not humane.

Someone shared this yesterday.

[Vattel]

50. common ancestry (e.g., you and your dog are relatives)

Huge scientific, moral and religious implications

[Bennyboy]

51. The myriad uses of the cannabis plant......

Perhaps not today, but at some point, this will be the breakthrough that changes the world BACK.

[ConcernedCanuk]

62. Interesting concept

.
.
.

To quote Jean-Luc Picard . . .

"MAKE IT SO!!"



CC

[Bennyboy]

68. The medicinal properties alone can change the world

Before we didn't know really about anything. But with today's methods and tech, we are finding out about the many many many curative properties, not only in just cannabis in a general sense, but in specific strains that effect different things. Once we find out all about it's effects on cancer, we will be on our way to curing people. And that will change everything.

Once we "discover" what it does to Alzheimer, dementia and Autism patients, we will change that totally.(of course a lot of us know this now but for the rest of the world it will take time)

[Glassunion]

54. Language

[Shankapotomus]

168. +1 nt

[sibelian]

56. The words "we"

and "us"

[dipsydoodle]

57. Jazz

'nuff said.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

58. to the lives of most people: vaccines and antibiotics. nt

[NoGOPZone]

59. heliocentrism nt

[el_bryanto]

60. Artichokes. nt

[Xipe Totec]

61. Banging the rocks together.

“We'll be saying a big hello to all intelligent lifeforms everywhere and to everyone else out there, the secret is to bang the rocks together, guys.”

― Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

[FarCenter]

67. The discovery of nitrocellulose by Christian Friedrich Schönbein

It led to the development of guncotton, smokeless gunpowder and high-explosives. It also led to nitroglycerine, which Nobel used to invent dynamite. High-explosives are essential to nuclear weapons -- you couldn't build one with black powder to assemble the fissionable material into a supercritical mass.

It also led to celluloid, which enabled mass photography, moving picture films, etc.

And it was the first plastic. Without plastic insulators and structural parts, modern electronics would be impossible.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Friedrich_Sch%C3%B6nbein

[kydo]

69. For HUMAN Kind it was probably fire

for mankind ... no idea walking up right maybe?

But back to human's, after fire planting crops.

[theHandpuppet]

70. That's a sticky question

But I'd say Duct Tape.

[lame54]

71. Beer

[lpbk2713]

72. I'd say electricity

From that came telephone, telegraph, radio, TV, subways, home appliances, and so on.

[Adrahil]

73. The Scientific Method. NT

[Rowdyboy]

74. Agriculture

[KansDem]

93. You beat me to it!

[Rowdyboy]

102. Just lucky to see the tread first. Its a pretty obvious answer-it made most all the rest possible!

[solarhydrocan]

75. Faster than light travel (you didn't exclude the future)

it will happen. No question about it.

The ability to leave the solar system will be pretty important in a few billion years.

[Incitatus]

76. Cheese

[Deep13]

77. fire nt

[Whiskeytide]

78. This thread reminds me of "Quest for Fire" ...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quest_for_Fire_(film)


... a movie in the 80's (one of my favorite all time movies, actually). It showed that it was not so much the discovery of "fire" as the ability to "make and control" fire that advanced our species. A fine distinction, but an important one, I think. Great thread, btw.

[Blue_In_AK]

113. I mentioned that movie above before I saw your post.

One of my all-time favorites.

[Whiskeytide]

118. Mine too. Haven't seen it in prob. 20 years. I didn't know...

... it was a book until I googled it for the link. I may try to find it and read it.

[Blue_In_AK]

121. I liked that the characters spoke no recognizable language

and there weren't any subtitles and yet the story was entirely engrossing and understandable. It kind of grabbed you on a visceral and emotional level.

[Whiskeytide]

122. Exactly. You had to pay attention, ...

... but the story could be followed if you did. Like the scene where they are stealing meat from the camp of the cannibals, and he slowly figures out what he's eating by examining the bones in the fire and comparing them to his own. It was all about following his thought process by reading his facial expressions, but you knew exactly what was happening. Very well acted and directed, and unexpectedly so. Not you're average caveman flick.

[amerikat]

141. Love that film. You can watch it online

http://viooz.co/movies/8661-quest-for-fire-1981.html

[Blue_In_AK]

143. Thanks for the link.

I'd like to watch it again. I haven't seen it since it first was released.

[amerikat]

165. A lot of great discoveries for that tribe besides fire.

The tribe discovers humor, missionary style sex and accurate weapons.

[brewens]

80. Best invention? The automatic timed coffee maker. n/t

[underpants]

82. The Egg McMuffin and Snuggies

This thread is OVER

[Lint Head]

83. Disease is caused by germs not devils.

I think therefore I am.

[FSogol]

85. Sadly, everyone hasn't discovered that yet. n/t

[HereSince1628]

84. On the upside...sewage and water treatment on the downside

money and financials.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

86. Speech/communication

[laundry_queen]

87. Salt

I was watching this show the other day that said the discovery that salt could preserve food was a significant discovery because it allowed humans to migrate to areas that didn't have as much food or weren't warm year round. Preservation of food allowed us to populate the globe.

[nadinbrzezinski]

88. Fire, followed by the wheel

The next huge leap... Will be finding life outside of planet earth.

[cherokeeprogressive]

89. Tools. n/t

[Demo_Chris]

90. The Internet. nt

[Spider Jerusalem]

91. How to painstakingly chip a bit of flint into a blade, and how to harness fire.

From that, came everything else. From a flint with a cutting edge to spearpoints and arrowheads, from working stone to metal; tools were what turned our ancestors from semi-tree dwelling apes living off of fruits and nuts and berries and grubs into hunters; fire allowed cooking, which allowed for some rudimentary preservation (cooked food keeps longer); the added protein from hunting contributed to brain growth, and made us human...and building on our cumulative knowledge from those first tools led eventually to where we are now.

[KansDem]

92. Agriculture

Moving form "hunters/gatherers" to "planters & harvesters."

If I recall correctly, although this evolved globally, it started primarily in the Nile Valley long before the Greco-Roman period.

Some aspects --
1. Creation of calendar. (Gotta know when the Nile flooded so you can plant accordingly). With the calendar, time is measured and human endeavor becomes measured by time.
2. Food production is "organized." Certain practices and procedures occurring at certain times removed "randomness" from acquiring food. Human endeavors take on more importance since we no longer need to spend our time running around looking for food.
3. Development of city/states--led to "civilization." This is significant as those families who lived closest to water sources were more successful at agriculture than those families who lived furthest away. Consequently, when the "furthest-away" families failed, they went to work for the successful families. That led to the creation of cities (and government) with a ruling class and and working class (or "kings" and "serfs&quot .

Since then, we've had the "industrial revolution" and the "information revolution." However, agriculture remains the most important: we can live without cars and computers but we can't live without food.

[Chiyo-chichi]

95. I agree, fire. But I'll put in a vote for SALT per Big History.

Salt built the Great Wall of China and helped turned New York into America's biggest city. Without it, civilizations would never have thrived and technology would be stuck in the Stone Age. Salt launched wars and sparked revolutions all because humans can't survive without it.

[CrispyQ]

98. The use of tools. -nt

[cherokeeprogressive]

103. That's EXACTLY the picture I had in mind.

But I was always struck by Kubrick's portrayal of the very first tool as a weapon.

[Rex]

99. Beer and travel money?

nt.

[AngryAmish]

183. godfuckingdammityes

[WinkyDink]

100. Time.

[a la izquierda]

101. The concept of shared experience.

What I mean by that is, the expansion of consciousness that there are more humans than those that exist within our small sphere.

[mathematic]

104. Easy and no contest: Moral Philosophy

Thanks Plato.

[thucythucy]

105. Flint

which can be used to start fires and cut food.

I think it's in "2001" (the book) that Arthur C. Clarke says that learning how to use flint to cut and pound food meant that humans wouldn't starve to death once their teeth gave out, which, before the discovery of the need for dental hygene, happened at around age 25. Cutting up food meant that humans could add decades to their lifespan.

And of course using flint to start fires was pretty hot stuff too.

[William769]

106. Masturbation.

[Igel]

107. Realizing that sexual intercourse leads to offspring.

Many of the other "big ideas"--language, curiosity, etc.--are things that happened to us. Nobody "discovered" them.

Fire's a biggy. But if you want to realize that you have have some control over things, some conscious agency over not just your surroundings but yourself, even before you can use non-human energy sources or flake rocks to produce sharp edges, you gotta start with acknowledging that what's fun now can lead to children in 9 months and sort out that sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn't and why.

[Drew Richards]

108. Most significant? mankind? SELF AWARENESS...this separated us from the animals how that happened?

Biology?
Evolution?
The Great spaghetti Monster?
Aliens?


No one knows...

[Javaman]

109. sticky lint rollers. nt

[FSogol]

110. The Brewing Process, of course!

[polichick]

115. Discovering that there are plants and other natural substances that help us heal.

[mainer]

116. Fire. Because only with cooking could we absorb enough nutrients.

Cooking breaks down vegetable matter so we can digest it better. Otherwise we'd be like other primates, having to feed constantly just to have enough nutrients from raw foods.

Some archaeologists postulate that only after we learned to cook plants did we have enough leisure time to invent anything else.

[Fumesucker]

117. It hasn't been made yet

The discovery of life somewhere other than on this planet. To find out our existence is not just a cosmic fluke.

Extra bonus points for intelligent life.

[Dash87]

119. Sid Meier

Without the chosen one, life would not be possible.

[11 Bravo]

120. Just one word ... plastics

[KittyWampus]

123. Agriculture, Electricity, Germ Theory/Birth Control

[Donald Ian Rankin]

124. Calculus, in the 1650s. It's what makes science possible.

Calculus is the language in which all the rules of physics are written.

Without calculus, you can do natural philosophy, but you can't do quantitative science, and hence you can't develop technology very far.

Other than that? Fire, the wheel, writing, crop rotation (which made the Industrial Revolution possible) and the computer are probably among the most important.

[WillowTree]

125. This week I've gotta say Nyquil.

[CJCRANE]

126. Binary numbers.

The 0's and 1's of digital code that send all this information flying through the ether and will eventually enable us to put the entire library of humanity's books, movies and music on a microchip...

Which will make moving home a lot easier.

[bravenak]

127. Food preservation. Salting, smoking, drying of fruits and vegs, etc.

It gave us the ability to make trips around the world and connected the world together. If we didn't have food preservation, the oceans could not have been crossed. No pilgrims, no Columbus, no nothin. It would take forever to travel any long distance because we'd have to stop a couple of times a day to hunt, gather, cook, eat, and by the time we finished it would be time to go to bed. No great wars that last years and years and years, since we wouldn't be able to feed the armies on what was available just laying around.

Food preservation made long distance travel possible and led to a lot of major discoveries.

[arely staircase]

128. happy fun ball

[grahamhgreen]

129. 'Love begets love, hate begets hate.'

[on point]

132. Scientific method

[polly7]

134. In terms of significance in affecting the largest number of people

both beneficially and harmfully, I would say the discovery of fossil fuels.

[doc03]

135. Steam power. Fire came first but discovering how to use the energy from fire by

steam power started the industrial age.

[Squinch]

136. Mel Brooks's Thousand Year Old Man says: "Liquid Prell"

[Boom Sound 416]

146. Saran Wrap

[GeorgeGist]

137. sex

[notundecided]

138. aspirin

[CTyankee]

139. Probably agriculture.

Most likely invented by women.

[GreatCaesarsGhost]

144. Money

It makes the world go round.

[Jasana]

145. Germ Theory and Contraception - nt.

[Boom Sound 416]

147. The three obstacles of life

Nature, man, self

[Xithras]

149. Concrete

Concrete has been consistently identified as the single human invention that has had more impact on modern civilization than any other. Look around any city and imagine how it would look without concrete. Or without concrete bridges and highways to haul other building materials there instead. Or without concrete foundations to hold our cell towers, or rocket launch pads. Without concrete, we'd live in a muddy two-story world.

Most people laugh when they first hear concrete listed as one of the most important inventions in human history, but once they think about it, I've never met anyone who disagreed. Our entire civilization is built on concrete.

And no, I don't sell concrete for a living, or own any concrete stock

[kairos12]

150. That he/she could stand upright.

[Mira]

151. The Wheel. (has someone else already said it?) n/t

[valerief]

152. Discovery? Death. Creation? Music. nt

[Cleita]

153. It's still to be admitted but I think the biggest discovery is that

humankind is a failed species and we are well in our way to self destruction. Makes me happy now that I never reproduced.

[Renew Deal]

157. Life is what you make it.

It's hard, but there is a lot of good in the world.

[Cleita]

158. Still doesn't mean that we won't destroy the environment and ourselves in

the process.

[Agnosticsherbet]

154. Agriculture,

Without the discover of agriculture, that allowed humans to grow food, we would be little more than a rare nomadic species, following the herds and gathering seeds and berries. The entire modern wold exists because, in various places around the world, nomadic people discovered they could collect seeds, plant them, and they would provide a renewable source of food. A discovery that made everything we are and have discovered possible, is truly significant.

[VanillaRhapsody]

155. FIRE!!!

of course!

[Renew Deal]

156. Fire

To this day it is how most people heat their homes, heat water, cook food, and even drive.

[Ino]

159. clumping cat litter (nt)

[gcomeau]

160. Written language.

The discovery that makes the reliable transmission and retention of all other discoveries across the generations possible.

[Blanks]

161. The relationship between magnetism and electricity...

Steam engines didn't do so much good until it could be used to generate electricity.

If you look at how long it took for us to develop industry after fire, after agriculture, after everything else versus how fast technology developed once electric motors were developed - well it's no contest.

[fadedrose]

181. electro-magnetism

the way we get radio, tv, phone and other sounds and pictures miraculosly through the air. It's discovery has me sitting here typing to you, and listening to the tv at the same time, and running seti, monitering the waves of electrol-magnetism. It wasn't created by us, just discovered and has been there since the big bang. That and gravity gave us the solar systems.

[GRACIEBIRD]

162. transistor?

Be living in the industrial age without it!!

[kestrel91316]

163. How to harness electricity.

[Sgent]

164. Symbolic Algebra and the Pythagorean Theorem

I'd also put the discovery of the scientific method up there as a later achievement.

[Captain Stern]

166. Agriculture

I don't mean discovering that plants grow. I mean discovering that if you take seeds from a particular plant, and bury them, that the same kind of plant grows from them. I know, it's not rocket surgery, but I think that made a pretty huge difference.

[Major Nikon]

167. Whiskey

[amerikat]

170. Fire is natural but making it number one. Second is

paper. We credit the Egyptians for inventing papyrus. Paper allowed the transfer of knowledge, art and history to the next generation.

[oneshooter]

172. Discovering the proper filiment for a working electric light. n/t

[Savannahmann]

173. The Telescope.

Specifically the application of lenses. First we used that discovery to peer along the earth. Then we used it to peer into the heavens. That discovery has led to microscopes as well as telescopes. These weren't inventions to my way of thinking, but the application of a discovery, the uses of convex and concave lenses.

Without that discovery bacterial infections would still be labeled as God's will. The Earth would be the center of the Universe, and the NSA would have to station an agent to peer into your window.

[VanillaRhapsody]

176. the Mayan's didn't need telescopes!

[Savannahmann]

179. They could have used a microscope.

Which is a development of the same lenses.

[VanillaRhapsody]

197. but they wouldn't have existed at all without the discovery of fire and how to harness it.

[bananas]

178. The Absolute (moved up-thread)

Last edited Sat Jan 25, 2014, 12:24 AM - Edit history (1)

Oops, meant to post it as a reply back here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=4385761

[bluestate10]

180. Bohr's model for atomic structure. It turned out to be simple compared to what is now

known, but it was a monumental leap at the time.

[Pretzel_Warrior]

184. The plow

[NYC_SKP]

186. Fire/Fuel/Energy..... Fire is behind all of our Ages: Bronze, Industrial, etc.

First we discovered the concentrated heat and energy in simple wood through the use of fire. Fire changed everything prehistory, how we moved and how we ate.

Fire was behind processing metals and making pottery.

Later, fire was required in tapping into the energy in coal, and then oil and natural gas.

All of our industrial development and expansion, our wars and societies, all dependent now upon fossil fuels and the fire that we use to release their energy.

In a word, Fire.

[Benton D Struckcheon]

204. Totally agree.

Any anthropologist would say the same thing.
Don't forget that with fire you can boil and therefore sterilize water. Tea, coffee, beer and wine are all safe ways of getting water into your system, the first three by boiling it first.
Number two would be agriculture, which allowed a lot more food to be extracted from a given plot of land. Once again, any anthropologist would agree.
Number three: vaccines (and pasteurization).

[milestogo]

187. The clitoris

[riqster]

189. Saran Wrap. Thus spake the 2000 year old man:

» REINER: In the 2,000 years you’ve lived, you’ve seen a lot of changes.
» BROOKS: Certainly.
» REINER: What is the biggest change you’ve seen?
» BROOKS: In 2,000 years, the greatest thing mankind ever devised, I think, in my humble opinion, is Saran Wrap. You can put a sandwich in it. You can look through it. You can touch it. You can put it over your face and you can fool around and everything. It’s so good and cute. You can wrap it up. I love it. You can put three olives in it and make a little one. You can put 10 sandwiches in it and make a big Saran Wrap. Whatever you want. It clings and sticks. It’s great. You can look right through it.”
» REINER: You equate this with man’s discovery of space?
» BROOKS: Dat was good.

http://m.washingtonpost.com/express/wp/2009/11/16/carl-reiner-mel-brooks-2000-year-old-man/

[Tom Ripley]

191. Electric guitar feedback

It's the only thing preventing me from doing the hermit living in the woods thing

[Warren DeMontague]

193. language, communication and symbolic abstraction.

That's the whole ballgame, as far as civilization is concerned.

[orpupilofnature57]

202. +1000 !!!!

[Silent3]

194. I'm not saying...

[rustydog]

195. Discovering Republicans can speek very clearly with their heads shoved firmly

up their collective asses.

[NobodyHere]

196. Plumbing

I would never want to live in a time or place without it.

[yortsed snacilbuper]

198. Donuts!

Of course.

[Enrique]

200. Civil Service

because then you can build macemen.

[orpupilofnature57]

201. 3-D Printer . Or Water .

[democratisphere]

205. Discovery of the Rosetta Stone and the discovery of Alien Life

Discovered by: Lieutenant Pierre-François Bouchard
On Napoleon’s 1798 campaign in Egypt, the expeditionary army was accompanied by a corps of 167 technical experts. In mid-July 1799, as French soldiers under the command of Colonel d’Hautpoul were strengthening the defences of Fort Julien, a couple of miles north-east of the Egyptian port city of Rashid, Lieutenant Pierre-François Bouchard spotted a slab with inscriptions on one side that the soldiers had uncovered. He and d’Hautpoul saw at once that it might be important and informed general Jacques-François Menou, who happened to be at Rosetta. This exciting discovery in 1799 was the key to deciphering Egyptian hieroglyphs and unlocking the history of the ancient world texts. Prior to the discovery of the Rosetta Stone and its eventual decipherment, there had been no understanding of the Ancient Egyptian language. It provides a window into the real history of Egypt rather than an imaginary one; all other decipherings of ancient languages since the Rosetta Stone’s initial decoding in 1822 are based on its precedents.



Discovered by: NASA
NASA’s paper, along with pictures of the microscopic earthworm-like creatures, were published in Feburary,2011 in the peer-reviewed Journal of Cosmology. A NASA Scientist Richard Hoover opened fragments of several types of carbonaceous chondrite meteorites, which can contain relatively high levels of water and organic materials, and looked inside with a powerful microscope. He found bacteria-like creatures that he calls “indigenous fossils,” which he believes originated beyond Earth and were not introduced here after the meteorites landed. “He concludes these fossilized bacteria are not Earthly contaminants but are the fossilized remains of living organisms which lived in the parent bodies of these meteors, e.g. comets, moons, and other astral bodies,” said the study. “The implications are that life is everywhere, and that life on Earth may have come from other planets.” The journal’s editor in chief, Rudy Schild of the Center for Astrophysics, Harvard-Smithsonian, said Hoover is a “highly respected scientist and astrobiologist with a prestigious record of accomplishment at NASA.” Earlier in december 2010 NASA began to tease us with tantalizing hints regarding the Cassini-Huygens spacecraft– which is currently sending back massive amounts of data from Saturn—had confirmed the existence of microscopic life on Saturn’s moon Rhea. Well then that would be the first example of extra-terrestrial life. That study drew plenty of criticism, particularly after NASA touted the announcement as evidence of extraterrestrial life. Scientists are currently attempting to replicate those findings.

[orpupilofnature57]

208. +1000 !!!!

[MineralMan]

206. The discovery that many questions have more than one answer.