Pipes Magazine » General Discussion

1. 

   hauntedmyst
   

   Resident Comedian
   Joined: Feb 2010
   Posts: 960

   offline

   Login to Send PM

   We were having a discussion the other day and someone brought up the best and worst inventions of the past 150 years or so. Universally we all agreed it was the Integrated Circuit because it makes all modern electronics possible and launched computers, the web, enabled huge advances in medicine, communications, etc. I thought I'd toss it out here. Other than the IC, what inventions do you think are the best and worst?

   The Best

   1. The Safety Bicycle - or the modern day bike. What a brilliant invention! Usable to for, play, general transportation or exercise, its an invention thats more relevant today than it was when it was invented. Immensely green, it solves many traffic problems, helps with health, encourages shopping locally and is just plain fun. Nearly every time you ride you're brought back to when you were 10 and discovering the world with the wind in your hair and the new found freedom it enabled.

   2. Modern air-conditioning: Willis Haviland Carrier was a freaking genius! It's 85 and humid outside but I am sitting comfortably in a 70 degree room with no moisture. Air conditioning makes life better for everyone. It saves marriages and keeps people from getting beaten to a pulp, especially by those of us who get cranky from the heat.

   Worst:

   During our discussion, a woman jokingly said she thought the wonder bra was the greatest invention of the 20th century. I promptly told her it was the worst and she was shocked that a man would think that. So I said, well think about it, who is the wonder bra for? Pam Anderson? A wonder bra is like the most beautifully wrapped Christmas present someone puts under the Christmas tree for you 3 weeks early. You look at it and wonder what's in there. Your desire grows and your imagination flows. You think about what's in there and get excited through out the build up to Christmas! You can't wait to open it! Then finally, the day comes and...

   You tear off the ribbon! (what's it gonna be? what's it gonna be!)

   Rip through the paper! (what's it gonna be? what's it gonna be!)

   Open the box! (what's it gonna be? what's it gonna be!)

   Toss out the tissue and find...

   plain old tube sox.

   A tattoo on a beautiful woman is like graffiti on a Ferrari.

   Posted 10 months ago #
2. 

   lyst36
   

   Member
   Joined: Mar 2011
   Posts: 223

   offline

   Login to Send PM

   Best: Probably internet. As much as I'd like to live without it I know that my life would never be the same.

   Worst: The Snuggie. Why? What's wrong with blankets? And I can turn a robe around!

   Posted 10 months ago #
3. 

   julesholling
   

   Member
   Joined: Jan 2011
   Posts: 282

   offline

   Login to Send PM

   Best - Mobile phones. Now i can call people whereever i am and get my emails on the move
   Worst - Mobile phones. Now everyone can call me wherever i am and i have no excuse to ignore that work email for a little bit longer

   Pros and cons to everything....

   Posted 10 months ago #
4. 

   hobie1dog
   

   Penzaholic
   Joined: Jun 2010
   Posts: 4,907

   offline

   Login to Send PM

   Best: Astroglide
   Worst: Credit Cards

   Marry the right person, this one decision will determine 90% of your happiness.
   
   Does a culture based on seperation and competition, of scientific sophistication and mideval religion, offer happiness even as it ravishes the Earth that sustains it?

   Posted 10 months ago #
5. 

   papipeguy
   

   Preferred Member
   Joined: Jul 2010
   Posts: 2,637

   offline

   Login to Send PM

   Best: twist-off beer bottle caps
   Worst: iRenew bracelets

   Posted 10 months ago #
6. 

   Tommy
   

   Preferred Member
   Joined: Oct 2010
   Posts: 931

   offline

   Login to Send PM

   Best: HDTV 16x9 giant flat screen televisions and The computer internet

   Worst: The computer internet and Crocs

   Posted 10 months ago #
7. 

   locopony
   

   Member
   Joined: Jun 2011
   Posts: 210

   offline

   Login to Send PM

   Worst; TV cellphones car stereos
   Best ; beer. I know its older than 150 years old but still the best

   Posted 10 months ago #
8. 

   lonestar
   

   Preferred Member
   Joined: Mar 2011
   Posts: 1,646

   offline

   Login to Send PM

   Best invention; Fossil Fuels.
   Without it, we'd all live short dirty little lives. We'd warm our homes, and cook our meals over wood and dung, forests would be practically extinct, thick black smog would hang over population centers from millions of wood fires. Most of the advances in medicine and agriculture that have doubled the average lifespan would disappear. The boom from synthetic fertilizer and pesticide allows us to live on something other than the verge of starvation, not to mention the speed which we can harvest and transport livestock, grain and produce.
   Thanks dead dinosaurs !

   Posted 10 months ago #
9. 

   cortezattic
   

   A part of the problem since he ...
   Joined: Nov 2009
   Posts: 4,405

   offline

   Login to Send PM

   Lonestar's got my vote. Hopefully, in the near future that can be revised to "cold fusion".

   I find myself sitting idly on the line dividing past and future,
   as if I could kill time without injuring eternity. -- Thoreau

   Posted 10 months ago #
10. 

    eaglerico
    

    Senior Member
    Joined: Jan 2011
    Posts: 326

    offline

    Login to Send PM

    Best: Paved roads. The reason America, Canada, England, Japan.....became the countries they are today are because of the roads. Think about it. With new roads come new opportunity and everything else. The poorest and the most "behind the times" places in the world are the places with the least amount of roads. The reason China is surging past everyone right now is because China is investing in their roads (infrastructure) while the rest of the world is just maintaining ancient/outdated roads.

    Worst: Modern Cigarette. I relate the makers of the Modern Cigarette to legal Crack dealers. To purposefully alter your product to increase a unhealthy dependance all for profit is just plain wrong. There is a difference between profitability and greed, and if it comes at the expense of someones health is just wrong.

    Posted 10 months ago #
11. 

    portascat
    

    Preferred Member
    Joined: Jan 2011
    Posts: 911

    offline

    Login to Send PM

    Best: reservoir tipped condoms and sliced bread.

    Worst: The romantic comedy.

    "To seek freedom is the only driving force I know. Freedom to fly off into that infinity out there."

    Posted 10 months ago #
12. 

    schmitzbitz
    

    Preferred Member
    Joined: Jan 2011
    Posts: 1,055

    offline

    Login to Send PM

    Best - Far too many great inventions to choose from, so I am going to go with...Canada. Ha! (Technically, we became a nation in 1867)

    Worst - Brylon...don't think I need to expand upon this. Muzak gets (dis)honourable mention.

    Posted 10 months ago #
13. 

    maduroman
    

    Senior Member
    Joined: May 2010
    Posts: 490

    offline

    Login to Send PM

    best.... v-twin engine and zippo lighters

    worse... the prius and helmet laws.

    fyi, i always ride with a helmet and would do so even if there was no helmet laws. i just get po'd at the nanny state.

    Posted 10 months ago #
14. 

    grouchy
    

    Senior Member
    Joined: Jun 2011
    Posts: 339

    offline

    Login to Send PM

    pro: birth control
    con: my mother

    Posted 10 months ago #
15. 

    fhb2532
    

    Preferred Member
    Joined: Feb 2010
    Posts: 1,599

    offline

    Login to Send PM

    What's an "Astroglide"?

    Posted 10 months ago #
16. 

    mlaug
    

    Preferred Member
    Joined: May 2010
    Posts: 771

    offline

    Login to Send PM

    I'll have to give my nod to the best invention of the past century and a half to:

    Antibiotics - People forget that even the simplest of injuries and infections were fatal. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antibacterial

    Worst:

    Subprime Mortgages - Risky loans given to people with shaky credit histories. When interest rates dipped in 2004, banks began granting mortgages to people who really, really shouldn't have had them. Even worse, many were structured adjustable-rate mortgages, with interest rates that climbed after the first few years. The result was a wave of foreclosures and banks with a lot of bad loans on their books. In short, financial catastrophe.

    "America is at that awkward stage. It's too late to work within the system, but too early to shoot the bastards." - Claire Wolfe

    Posted 10 months ago #
17. 

    grouchy
    

    Senior Member
    Joined: Jun 2011
    Posts: 339

    offline

    Login to Send PM

    "What's an "Astroglide"?"

    a politicle preferred mouth wash

    Posted 10 months ago #
18. 

    grouchy
    

    Senior Member
    Joined: Jun 2011
    Posts: 339

    offline

    Login to Send PM

    oops sorrrrry did it again..... bad p-nut bad

    Posted 10 months ago #
19. 

    hilojohnny
    

    Preferred Member
    Joined: Oct 2010
    Posts: 1,633

    offline

    Login to Send PM

    Best....Vaccines
    Worst....those "new" screw in flourescent bulbs that give little light, cost a fortune, and are environmental hazards when broken.....

    Live Aloha!

    Posted 10 months ago #
20. 

    docrx
    

    Preferred Member
    Joined: Jan 2011
    Posts: 590

    offline

    Login to Send PM

    Best-The TV Clicker

    Worst-Politicians

    Posted 10 months ago #
21. 

    lonestar
    

    Preferred Member
    Joined: Mar 2011
    Posts: 1,646

    offline

    Login to Send PM

    I forgot to add my worst invention of the last 150 years; Hippies.
    Yeah, not individual people, most hippies I know are alright.
    I mean the overall mass movement, which lead to rampant drug abuse, evaporation of moralities, societal apathy and a million shady alliances which have rode the coat tails of the popular movement.
    Thanks a lot, hippies !

    Posted 10 months ago #
22. 

    grouchy
    

    Senior Member
    Joined: Jun 2011
    Posts: 339

    offline

    Login to Send PM

    drugs have been around far longer than when Jesus turned the water into wine.
    immagine that though, taking a nurishing fruit and turning it into a pointless alcoholic beverage.
    all things in moderation. simply put, know when to stop bending the elbow. think Jesus started all that peace and love stuff. Eternal life, fishers of men, honor thy father and mother, long hair and wine, follow Me, going barefoot, socializing with whores, sinners, and even politians who drove the Lord to make the wine and drink it. think i will, after all, its a better deal and most likely the right thing to do.
    seems that always when a man does wrong if there isnt money, drugs, alcohol, the wrong doings towards others, the medias would have nothing to whine about and manipulate us what our opinions should be. politians wouldnt be starting wars and manipulating politics towards self interest.
    let the man without sins throw the first stone. what could possibly be a bigger picture in the big pig picture of things? thank God for the wisdom to see through the shadows man was pre-known to articulately create.

    Posted 10 months ago #
23. 

    nabottle
    

    Senior Member
    Joined: Apr 2011
    Posts: 315

    offline

    Login to Send PM

    Best - Antibiotics

    Worst - MTV

    Posted 10 months ago #
24. 

    Bubba
    

    Preferred Member
    Joined: Jul 2010
    Posts: 3,282

    offline

    Login to Send PM

    Best: Vegimite
    Worst: Probably me... My mom is still not the same!

    Mason jars and bale top jars, mason jars and bale top jars.... that is all!
    
    "There’s truth in the statement that pipe tobacco will never be any less expensive than it is today, so think of your cellar as a cost averaged investment" - G.L. Pease

    Posted 10 months ago #

RSS feed for this topic

Reply

You must log in to post.

    Back To Top  | Back to Forum Home Page

   Members Online Now
   nsfisher, judcole, treeder13, barkar, carlosviet, dhizzy