Telephone, 1876 - Alexander Graham Bell
The telephone was a groundbreaking device that improved communication and the spread of ideas. It was easier to use than morse code and a telegraph, you just needed to use your voice. This made it easier and less time-consuming to relay information. You could call and ensure information got to its place correctly, you didn't have to rely on a letter or even morse code, and it probably made public safety way better because you could call for help.
The invention of the telephone is still quite disputed. Bell is often credited with creating the first commerically viable telephone, while others are credited with making "the first," early prototypes, or having the original idea. Honorable mentions for "creating" the telephone: Antonio Meucci with a "voice-communication apparatus" that some say was the first; Philip Reis with the first telephone, Reis Telephone; Elisha Gray with built a telephone with a water microphone; and a couple others who built phone-like things.
Lightbulb, 1878-79 - Thomas Edison
The lightbulb is a simple invention. It only produces light and does nothing else, yet, it's been heralded as one of the most important inventions ever; up there with fire and the wheel for some reason. Having lights in a building meant you could see at night, which means you have way more time to do stuff, especially work. Now, one doesn't have the excuse of "Oh, I can't see at night, guess I can't do work." You're boss could now put you to work even longer.
Bottom line is: you could see inside.
There are, of course, more disputes with who invented it, who actually made the "winning piece," and who deserves the recognition for it. Edison got the patent and the fame (you'll also notice he was involved in the last patent dispute) and money, while the other is just remembered.
Joseph Swan is credited with creating the base design, while Edison is credited with creating the final marketable design.
Braille, ~1820s - Louis Braille
Braille is a tactile version of regular written language for visually impaired people. Invented by Louis Braille in 1824 and revised in 1829, he lost his sight when he was a child and developed the system in his teens. Braille meant that disabled people could become literate and operate more regularly in society. They could get jobs, read literature, and better understand the world around them.
Braille works through raised bumps arranged to convey a letter. People read it by passing their fingers over the bumps. There are many devices that can write braille, which makes learning the language and becoming literate even easier.
Plastic, 1862 - Alexander Parkes
Plastic might be one of the most important inventions on this list. It has helped grow society so much, yet, it also damages us immensely. We finally had something that didn’t degrade, could be sterile, malleable, shapable, cheap, durable, etc. We could make unimaginable things that would help us; we heavily use plastic in the medical field which needs all those attributes mentioned.
Despite all that, plastic has irreversibly damaged us and the Earth. It doesn’t degrade, but it does break down into smaller bits. Plastic gets into the ocean and kills animals, blocks algae and other specimen growth, gets into fish, and finally gets into us. Microplastics slowly affect everything’s health. Plastic litter has led to so many ecological problems.
I doubt Alexander Parkes could imagine the future he created, both good and bad.
Alternating Current, 1888 - Nikola Tesla
Alternating current has to be one of the most important and powerful energy inventions ever.
It has been able to power countless cities through its properties. “Westinghouse commissioned an AC power plant to be built to harness the power of Niagara Falls, which powered the entire city of Buffalo, New York.”
AC could harness the power of nature and be able to safely bring it to your home.
Having a safe and secure method of power shot society forward in technological advancement, because now you don’t have to go somewhere to get a power source, or have to carry around something that generated power itself.
You could just have power that was generated off-site miles away.
Tesla worked under Thomas Edison, who was a scientific entrepreneur, but ended up splitting off from him. This made Edison mad.
He realized that AC could rival his DC power and sought to smear him through multiple ways.
At the end of the day, Edison had way more time and money and could mess with Tesla all he wanted.
This is why Tesla isn’t as remembered or recognized as Edison. He went through life poor and unrecognized and died that way too.
Air Conditioner, 1902 - Willis Carrier
One might not immediately think that air conditioning changed or affected much, but it did. Willis Carrier didn’t originally invent air conditioning to cool whole areas, it was for cooling and dehumidifying the printing press. Later it was used in buildings just to cool them.
Air conditioning makes many things possible that might not have been.
Just a few examples of things air conditioning can help with: keeping rooms with specific paint dry, like museums or important churches; keeping organics cold and fresh, whether it be preserved bodies or fruits.
It’s also helped in some really important areas like computing, keeping the servers cool and working; the medical field more specifically: you could pump clean cool air into areas that needed it.
We can do so many things because of air conditioning and thanks to Willis Carrier.
Just think of anything that needs cooling somewhere and Carrier’s technology is probably employed there.
Planes, 1903 - Wright Brothers
The Wright brothers invented a flying machine in 1903, directly after some people said it’d take millions of years or something. Within decades people were flying huge planes commercially and you could get from continent to continent in mere hours instead of months.
Planes revolutionized transportation for not just people, but for cargo and even medical equipment or organs. It also helped us understand the intricacy of flight and how things needed to be balanced.
Insulin, 1922 - Frederick Banting
Insulin was probably one the biggest inventions on this list. It saved a decently large part of the population from certain death. Now people didn’t have to worry about literally dying without anything to be done.
I heard an anecdote about when insulin was first introduced into a hospital.
The inventor guy, I think,
Fred Banting came in and gave insulin to the whole diabetic ward, kids in a diabetic coma, and one-by-one they woke up,
saved by this amazing discovery.
Now people are dying of completely preventable things because medical companies,
who produce insulin for mere cents, are charging hundreds and hundreds. How disgusting is that?
Penicillin, 1928 - Alexander Fleming
Penicillin is a revolutionary medical discovery that has certainly saved thousands, maybe millions of lives.
Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin in 1928 after a 2 week vacation in which he left a plate of staphylococcus in his lab.
It grew penicillin on it, which prevented the growth of the staphylococcus.
This same attribute is what makes it so great. Penicillin prevents biotic growth and stops bacterial infections.
This makes treatments, surgery, and recovery so great now. You have to worry less of dying of an infection caused at any point of treatment.
It helped greatly during WWII—after which we produced billions of vials monthly to be used—when they only had mere millions.
We now have a powerful antibiotic that has probably gone up in price for no reason too.
Atomic Bomb, 1945 - Manhattan Project
The atomic bomb was invented in the Manhattan Project by many great minds. It was created with the intent to utterly destroy as much as possible.
The US employed it twice in Japan creating horrifying effects that still haunt the Japanese conscience today.
It’s so unbelievably horrific, and many people don’t realize that until they hear or see it with their own eyes.
Here is a video about the Hiroshima ant walkers and other stories from the bombing.
The atomic bomb has affected war and the way countries engage in diplomacy and conflict. Nobody wants to set off a huge war where a bomb will be used, but many will still use it to threaten others. A single bomb could turn an entire area, like New England, into a wasteland of ash and radiation, so imagine what an entire country’s supply would do. Leaders need to triple their diplomatic powers to ensure a nuclear war never happens.