# What is the greatest invention ever? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 9, 2012, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-greatest-invention-ever/608896 "2012-01-09T05:29:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Indian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@Indian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indian)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2012, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-greatest-invention-ever/608896/1 "2012-01-09T05:29:00Z")
Please explain **why**. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2012, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-greatest-invention-ever/608896/2 "2012-01-09T05:30:32Z")
Writing-communication and preservation of knowledge. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_the\_Immortal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Max\_the\_Immortal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_the_Immortal)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2012, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-greatest-invention-ever/608896/3 "2012-01-09T05:34:01Z")
Yeah, probably writing. Possibly vaccination (has prevented untold suffering). ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2012, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-greatest-invention-ever/608896/4 "2012-01-09T05:52:09Z")
> [@Max\_the\_Immortal](#): > > Yeah, probably writing. Possibly vaccination (has prevented untold suffering). Vaccination is good but doesn’t everything else come from writing? I mean you eally can’t move forward unless you’re building on some previous work and the only reliable way to know what was done before is if it was written down. I say writing is necessary for any progress to be made. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2012, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-greatest-invention-ever/608896/5 "2012-01-09T06:22:29Z")
Oral sex. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2012, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-greatest-invention-ever/608896/6 "2012-01-09T06:28:55Z")
Language. ---
**Author:** ![toofs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4491bb/32.png) [@toofs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toofs)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2012, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-greatest-invention-ever/608896/7 "2012-01-09T06:36:33Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > Writing-communication and preservation of knowledge. This. ---
**Author:** ![brittekland](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@brittekland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brittekland)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2012, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-greatest-invention-ever/608896/8 "2012-01-09T06:38:40Z")
Printing press, then. WWW, now. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2012, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-greatest-invention-ever/608896/9 "2012-01-09T06:45:00Z")
Boxer briefs. The comfort of boxers with the control and support of briefs. And it is a kick in the nuts to the ugly tighty whities. ---
**Author:** ![brittekland](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@brittekland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brittekland)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2012, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-greatest-invention-ever/608896/10 "2012-01-09T06:51:06Z")
I guess we all have our priorities. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2012, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-greatest-invention-ever/608896/11 "2012-01-09T07:14:39Z")
Saran Wrap. ---
**Author:** ![Indian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@Indian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indian)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2012, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-greatest-invention-ever/608896/12 "2012-01-09T07:20:28Z")
Let us take the greatest invention as something which caused an inflection point in human progress. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2012, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-greatest-invention-ever/608896/13 "2012-01-09T07:43:31Z")
Wheel ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2012, 9:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-greatest-invention-ever/608896/14 "2012-01-09T09:40:52Z")
Sliced bread? ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2012, 9:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-greatest-invention-ever/608896/15 "2012-01-09T09:54:27Z")
I’d have to weigh in with language and/or writing. Fire is also pretty useful. ---
**Author:** ![Indian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@Indian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indian)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2012, 10:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-greatest-invention-ever/608896/16 "2012-01-09T10:04:44Z")
> [@Gagundathar](#): > > I’d have to weigh in with language and/or writing. > Fire is also pretty useful. Fire is an invention? Or do you mean controlled fire for cooking? ---
**Author:** ![Indian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@Indian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indian)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2012, 10:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-greatest-invention-ever/608896/17 "2012-01-09T10:06:47Z")
> [@BMalion](#): > > Sliced bread? Sure. Without sliced bread, how could have humans progressed so much? ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2012, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-greatest-invention-ever/608896/18 "2012-01-09T10:19:04Z")
> [@indian](#): > > Fire is an invention? Or do you mean controlled fire for cooking? It can be argued that fire (while not strictly an ‘invention’ but more of a ‘discovery’) was one of the impetuses for the development of civilization. You might want to add agriculture to the list as well. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2012, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-greatest-invention-ever/608896/19 "2012-01-09T12:35:17Z")
The telephone. Almost all of life has changed since it transformed communication, by allowing an instantaneous exchange of information. ---
**Author:** ![pullin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c57346/32.png) [@pullin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pullin)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2012, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-greatest-invention-ever/608896/20 "2012-01-09T12:47:31Z")
Lycra Spandex. Surely this requires no explanation. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-greatest-invention-ever/608896.md?page=2)