Britons: iPhone eighth most important invention — ever
In the British mind, the iPhone is a more important invention than the automobile, calendar, or hot water, though not as important as its immediate forebears: the telephone, personal computer and the internet. A Tesco Mobile survey of 4,000 consumers aged between 18 and 65 placed the iPhone eighth out of 100. As might be guessed …
Yet not a mention of the home grown Psion or PDA.
Noam Chomsky says that the core thing that separates us from other animals is language.
Yes, many of them here on this forum making themselves known with their offensive comments.
.. what a load of old rubbish the survey is.
>>Strikingly, Britons found the iPhone to be a more important invention than either the flush toilet (9) or toilet paper (22)...
Let's change the question to: "Would you rather be without an iPhone, or access to a flushing toilet?"
Interesting that the ipod is significantly higher up the list than head/earphones.
Demonstrates the intellect of the responders I assume.
You mean to tell me that the greatest invention of all time, Duck/Duct Tape, wasn't even top 10, much less 100? Do these people ever try to repair anything?
Theres only two things in my tool box, duct tape and WD-40. If whatever is broken is sticking and it shouldn't, it gets the WD-40. Or, if it should be stuck to something, but isn't, it gets the duct tape.
Thats it, DIY lesson over.
I have the same philosophy of DIY, but with two additions:
If there isn't a hole and there should be: Hammer
If there is a hole and there shouldn't be: Squirty foam
These marketing people should hang their heads in shame, the question is nonsensical.
I seem to remember one of the first things I was taught in Business and Marketing was (repeat after me) ...
Innovation is not invention, Innovation is not invention, Innovation is not invention, Innovation is not . . .
nK
Look at IMDB, almost all of the top 10 films are recent, like LOTR. Then if you look a little lower you find the genuine timeless classics. Ask this again in a few years and some other gadget will be in the top ten, and will still be less important than things that people take for granted (like vaccinations)
Space travel is 39? With iPhone at 8, I was expecting to see rock at 39.
Yes, and I was expecting to see "The Sword" at #29.
it beat out toilets, toilet paper, hot water, toothbrushes, nappies and towels...
and SOAP didn't even make the top 100?
You dirty, dirty people!
Bottle openers only 96?
Today's yoof. I just don't understand 'em ...
.. and I notice that the word "clock" is nowhere on the list, or music, or mathematics, or alphabet, or navigation, or money, banking (bit contentious, that). Oh the list goes on; obviously they never played Civilisation.
Research: Fanboism
Unlocks: Apple iPhone
Obsoletes all preceeding technologies and causes your culture to nosedive. First to discover unlocks "The Church of Steve Jobs".
Odd that there are no weapons on this list. Not the nicest things but certainly important. I'd say the Flint Axe was arguably more important than the wheel. The pike, long bow, gunpowder, canon, flint lock, rifled musket, maxim machine gun, tank and atomic bomb have all had some impact on history. Obviously not quite the global impact of hair straighteners (34) but still you'd think one of those might have sneaked in at the bottom of the list.
Maybe there is a bias to things they sell in Tesco? I guess a survey of Wal-Mart customers might have seen more recognition of the importance of armaments.
I agree with you about the flint knife - but it was not mostly used for peaceful purposes as our teeth aren't sharp enough to cut hide.
Guns and grenades definitely had an impact on history - but I wouldn't count them as important or useful inventions. I can live without them.
Law is an important invention missed in the list.
"Law is an important invention missed in the list."
Whose law, Kemosabe?
<quote>"Law is an important invention missed in the list."
Whose law, Kemosabe?
</quote>
Just the concept of rules that apply to everyone.
The details of who draws them up and who applies them - well that's where the problems occur....
The average Briton would rather children's, um, wastes dropped freely than be deprived of the opportunity to buy an iPhone and considers the WonderBra more important than fire - didn't even make the top 100.
Please tell me this is a joke. Please?
So, uh, who invented fire, and when did they do that then?
We'll call it the ability to start a fire at will.
I bet Will does not think that it should be in the top 100.
Hmmm, for my top 10 I'm going to have to go old school
1)Language
2)Alphabet
3)Agriculture
4)Fire
5)Wheel
6)Transistor
7)Vaccination
8)Penicillin
9)The internet
10)The Steam Engine
IMO there is only one way to carry out these surveys. get a list of all the inventions then present the survey muppets with 10 at a time. Get them to order them from most important to least important and aggregate the results. I would also question wether an Iphone is an invention as it's more a good user interface than an invention.
'course the iPhone is an invention, I mean, it's patented, right?
You missed one:
0) Ability to move water from point a to point b.
I can only assume there was an iPhone app to vote for your favourite invention, as clearly any sane person (i.e. not an iTard) would have picked "Mobile Phone" or "Smartphone" rather than a brand of smartphone..
Sometimes it's embarrassing to be British, right now is one of those times.
... a satellite disc (92)? Is that one that orbits your house?
Why doesn't Ibuprofen (32) come under painkillers (15)?
Satellite Disc??? Is this some new Apple invention too??
Sunglasses are deemed an important invention??? Since when???
AC's comments about Tesco could be surprisingly close to the truth.
I weep for future generations - I'm glad I'll be outa here permanently in a few decades.
(tomestone is for me, not the reg)
...that putting hot things near your head is Not Good For The Brain.
Good grief, this list is wrong on so many levels....
- Some are innovations, not inventions (Push-up bra -> normal bra)
- Some rely on more fundamental inventions; eg Anything electronic -> The semi-conductor, or any moderm mode of transport -> ball bearings
- No weapons listed..though in the right hands, anything on this list could be, if I was being philosophical. Or creative.
- Some aren't even relevant...Space travel is an invention? Since when?
- Some are duplicates - Mascara and make-up are the same thing, surely?
But the killer of the lot is the British public, strolling about with their brains in neutral to come up with some of the entries...Post-it notes? Curtains? Did they interview my gran or something, and they merely picked out all the nouns in one of her typical 5 hour rambling monologues?
Grenades...missing from the list.
The iphone's invention was far less important than its marketing. It is the marketing which has made the mobile web as popular as it is, not the capabilities of the phone, which were invented before the iphone.
...who "invented" hot water?
It was invented by some geyser.
I know, I'm leaving already...
iPhone ahead of the combustion engine - no change if the survey was even slightly accurate.
Brits love their cars way more than any phone. (look at how we still all drive despite petrol being expensive as hell).
Clearly the marketing and hence consumer perception/brand value is so strong that without too much thought, people asked this question quickly come up with the iPhone as their top answer. And of course it does help that the product itself lives up to the marketing
Oh my... i'd love to see the car, combustion engine, beds, roofs, fridges, freezers, microwaves, curtains etc removed from the society of some of these people and see if they still prefer having their iPhone.
Idiots.
or maybe there is an app for cleaning your arses?
Who was surveyed? None of the reports state clearly what the survey population was, and how they were selected. Is there a hint in the link to Tesco Mobile - who happen to supply iPhones?
I assume the next will be the Ferrari survey, which discovers that a huge number of respondents think expensive motor cars are among the most important inventions. Or maybe the Durex survey ...
1) farts
2) bogeys
Both much more important inventions than the iPhone.
... "The greatest thing since sliced bread", as no one will understand. Sliced bread is 70th on the list! Amazing!
>>ibuprofen (32), which are merely brand names that have gone generic
Huh? ibuprofen is the chemical name. *If* it was ever used as a brand name, the generic came first.
What a load of codswallop!
It isn't even included in yr list!
Michael Farady invented ,at the same time, both the electric generator and the electric motor.
Without this invention we would have no elecritity in our homes or businesses, no electric motors great or small.
In fact we would be still in the age of wood/coal heating, and oil/gaslamps, and steam powered factories.
Faraday's invention is key to the way we live today.
