What do you consider the most important invention of all time?

[MyWarmOchreHare]

Have been pondering this and wondered what others thought. I know many stand on the shoulders of others, but what do people think?

The internet? Radio or TV? Cars, planes, steam engines? The flushing toilet? Clocks or watches? Wheels? Washing machines? Ships? Paper? Mobile phones? I keep coming back to the wrist watch.

Antibiotics

And anesthetics.

Lots of good suggestions, I would add toilets.

Is language an invention??

Ponders 🤔

The pill

Agree with wheel as it's difficult to see how we could have accomplished much without it. Unless language counts? Printing press probably next, and then maybe steam engines.

Pain meds
antibiotics
the pill

So medicine in general i guess..

The pill.

Reproductive choice for 50% of the population (where it is available). In my family it is only 3 generations back where it was typical to be one of 10 or 12 children.

The wheel and electricity are the two main ones for me

I think sewing/weaving. The right clothing seems to massively help survival over being naked or just animal skins draped about.

I was coming on to say this, but you got there before me. 🙂

Civilisation only really began once people could remain settled in one area, and the advent of growing their own crops is what enabled them to do so. They no longer had to rely on the whims of what nature provided.

Vaccinations
Anaesthesia
Disinfectant
Antibiotics
Modern imaging
Marconigram

First thing that came to mind was printing press.

I have nothing to add but every time someone mentions the wheel I think of Michael McIntyre
sorry not helpful

For me glasses. I would not have any quality of life if I could not see.

The wheel!

Clean water

Water supply and sanitation, toilets/showers

The wheel. Everything else developed from that.

Possibly nicked off birds though.

And yet people were healthier and women less oppressed, before farming.

The scientific method. Or the Enlightenment if allowed to go broader.

Electricity comes from the wheel though, in a way.

The microscope? Without it we wouldn't know about bacteria and couldn't discover antibiotics and all else that stemmed from that.

Comfortable underwear so I guess weaving looms or spinning wheels. Which of course needed the concept of wheel to be invented first. So back to the wheel again.

A bucket. More specifically the tools that allowed people to make rudimentary buckets so water could be fetched

Given that I just read that as 'the most important invitation...' I'm going to say - spectacles!