Better Than A Flushing Toilet?

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According to a survey just released by Tesco mobile most Brits rate the iPhone as a more important invention the flushing toilet and just behind the discovery of penicillin.

Even more surprising is the revelation that they rank it ahead of the car and the camera.

It is pleasing to note that the 4,000 respondents did rank the invention of the internet higher, at number four.

Without the internet the iPhone would be as useful as a food processor before the invention of electricity.

I will be upfront and reveal that I do not own an iPhone; which is an almost sacrilegious confession in gadget - happy Singapore.  This excludes me from lunch time discussions on the most exciting App. of the day. Not that I find this overly worrying as to be truthful only a few of these are used on a regular basis.

3G Phones (and now 4G) are tangible evidence of the convergence of technology.  The iPhone is one of Apple's most profitable inventions with more than 42 million units sold in the first launch in 1997.

There have been times when I have felt like throwing my mobile into a flushing toilet, especially when the faulty battery cover prompts an automatic reboot.

The survey also reveals that spectacles rank in the top twenty of all time inventions.  This too is hardly surprising as staring at a small hand held screen all day will guarantee the need for this body adornment.  My prediction is that the increased use of one will have a similar ranking impact on the other.


Here then is the full list of the Top 20 Greatest Inventions:

1. Wheel
2. Aeroplane
3. Light bulb
4. Internet
5. PCs
6. Telephone
7. Penicillin
8. iPhone
9. Flushing toilet
10. Combustion engine
11. Contraceptive pill
12. Washing machine
13. Central heating
14. Fridge
15. Pain killers
16. Steam engine
17. Freezer
18. Camera
19. Cars
20. Spectacles

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