Posted: 4/27/07


Modern inventions not only save time, but can save you money and possibly energy.

When I started this column I thought, okay modern inventions - this is going to be a lot of research, finding those hundred, thousand dollar machines that save you time. Then I looked around and saw that I am surrounded by ‘modern inventions.’

A lot of people take the simple things in life for granted. Most people, like me, do not remember a time when all of the ‘modern’ things around us weren’t here - when you had to be ‘old school’ and stand up to change the channel on the television.

If the batteries go dead or fall out of the remote then we are all lost. We will scour the whole house looking for new batteries or pull out couches and chairs to see where they rolled to. What would we do if we had to live without these things - all the time?

One of my current favorite modern inventions are the Crystal Lite packets to put in bottled water. How simple and easy is that? Buy a case of water, a few boxes of flavoring and you’re good to go.

They make drinking water fun and easy - especially for those who don’t like tap water. Or if you’re like me and like to have water by your bed when sleeping, now the water won’t taste like wet cardboard in the morning.

Another modern invention is instant messengers like Skype. Skype has a built in phone, you can talk to anyone in the world with a few clicks of the mouse. If the person you’d like to talk to has Skype then its free - but if not, you can actually call landline phones - however it does charge you.

Skype also has a conference feature; you can call numerous people at one time and talk like you’re right next to them.

Here are some other inventions that no one really appreciates as much as we should, alarm clocks, cell phones, digital cameras and a big one, calculators.

Now it is impossible to take a high school math course without a calculator. Calculators are now required to do certain assignments, and the computer calculator or a normal calculator won’t work. You need the complex, need to read a manual to turn it on type of calculator.

Something that could make your head spin is where would the world be without all these modern inventions? Would we all lead simpler lives? Would more students stay in school because learning was more fun then it was next to impossible to comprehend? Would less people be overweight because things like fast food would be a once in a while treat and not an everyday thing and calling a neighbor to come play wouldn’t be an option?

Sometimes one has to wonder if all the ‘modern’ inventions are really helping us become more efficient or making us less self-sufficient.