Some day, in the midst of his music journalism career, Erik would like to have a spot on one (or all) of VH1’s pop culture recap shows. And so, on a trip home from Toronto, the list was born . . .
I Love Inventions
- 100. electricity *
- 99. corduroy
- 98. maps
- 97. PBS
- 96. books
- 95. public service
- 94. doors
- 93. locks
- 92. boxes
- 91. cereal box prizes
- 90. sports
- 89. umbrellas
- 88. Muppets
- 87. theme parks
- 86. remote controls
- 85. soap
- 84. walls
- 83. puppy chow
- 82. salsa
- 81. mail
- 80. paint
- 79. Mad Libs
- 78. bells
- 77. windows
- 76. pools
- 75. scissors
- 74. pinball machines
- 73. restaurants
- 72. undergarments
- 71. gothic architecture
- 70. skyscrapers
- 69. roads
- 68. spaceships
- 67. dental hygiene
- 66. candy
- 65. balloons
- 64. zoos
- 63. kazoos
- 62. thermometers
- 61. bridges/tunnels
- 60. vacuum cleaners
- 59. radio
- 58. cameras
- 57. Wii
- 56. home entertainment systems
- 55. the electric guitar
- 54. sewing machines
- 53. looms
- 52. HVAC
- 51. polyester
- 50. rubber
- 49. government
- 48. the Internet
- 47. moving pictures
- 46. the christmas tree
- 45. Chia pets
- 44. The Clapper
- 43. Degrassi
- 42. modern medicine
- 41. mattresses
- 40. stitches
- 39. dog cones (you know, those things that keep dogs from biting themselves)
- 38. plumbing
- 37. stoves
- 36. lightbulbs
- 35. telephones
- 34. Sharpies
- 33. conveyor belts
- 32. recycling
- 31. Robosaurus
- 30. the quadratic equation
- 29. addition
- 28. Uncrustables
- 27. irrigation/water purification/the Culligan Man
- 26. roller coasters
- 25. ice cream
- 24. melon ballers
- 23. punctuation
- 22. roller skates
- 21. bikes/cars/planes/boats
- 20. shoes
- 19. sandwiches
- 18. beer
- 17. google
- 16. refrigeration
- 15. pasteurization
- 14. spoken language
- 13. pants
- 12. education
- 11. afghans
- 10. television
- 9. personal computer
- 8. the cotton gin
- 7. grocery stores
- 6. signs
- 5. lighters shaped like a giant match
- 4. Muk Luks
- 3. chairs
- 2. the printing press
- 1. the wheel
As a journalist, Erik would have preferred the #1 position go to the printing press, however I argued that without the wheel, there would not be a printing press.
* Electricity is #100 — ranked much lower than Uncrustables at #28. Erik’s logic — electricity was always there, just waiting to be harnessed, but someone at Smucker’s had to figure out a way to rid the world of wasted bread crust.
