History's most underrated inventions.

[buzzard]

Yup, and glass. Glass is awesome*


*Doing a piece of coursework on materials, and I jsut realised much you can do with glass. Dope it with Lead and its RI increases drematically, Dope it with Boron and it becomes heat resistant, add a layer of Titanium dioxide and it cleans its self!

I am curious what you mean by "cleans its self".

buzzard

 

[Angel Tarragon]

Has indoor plumbing been mentioned?

 

[Lonely Tylenol]

I am curious what you mean by "cleans its self".

buzzard

IIRC, titanium compounds catalyse the breakdown of organic materials that form films on them. So a titanium-based paint in your kitchen will resist grease buildup longer than one that has no titanium because the oils are degraded into smaller, more volatile compounds over time in contact with the titanium. A coating of titanium dioxide on glass would probably accomplish the same effect, degrading fingerprints that get smeared on it.

 

[loki44]

Bread.

 

[Angel Tarragon]

Bread.

Butter.

 

[dorentir]

Butter.

Hell with butter! Civilization could not survive without BEER!

I think the typewriter was pretty revolutionary...So was carbon paper in it's time... both seem to have been killed by personal computers, however. Eyeglasses were pretty important too. How about domesticized animals like chickens and pigs? Agriculture? Or food preservation techniques like pickleing, salting, etc.

 

[PieAndDragon]

The cup. Very important for my tea.

 

[ssampier]

Bread.

Sliced bread?

 

[Dungannon]

I would like to nominate Duct Tape.

 

[johnsemlak]

I didn't know chariots were under-appreciated. I've always had a very healthy respect for the chariot as an instrument of war.

Wasn't the chariot an incredibly ineffective military unit? They had horrible manueverability. A single foot soldier could easily dodge a charging chariot.

I'm no expert but I imagine basic cavalry, even before stirrups, must have been far more effective--more maneuverability, speed, and efficiency.

Perhaps it was signifiant in very early history (say, right around when 'civiliization' began around 4000 BC), before organized cavalry, or infantry for that matter. I can't imagine it was important when professional armies began to appear.