Many of today’s inventions like online ordering software are certainly useful and convenient, but an online restaurant ordering system isn’t likely to save very many lives, although it can save precious time! However, there have been a bunch of inventions in the past 100 years that have saved many lives. There are numerous things that people today take for granted, but if you really think about how many lives they have saved over the years, they become much more important.
It is really hard to say exactly which inventions have saved the most lives, but the inventions listed here are certainly in the top contenders.
1. Seat Belts
The seat belt that is used in most cars today was first patented in the year 1955. The U.S. National Highway Safety Bureau first required that automobile manufacturers install seat belts into cars in 1968.
It was not until 1984 that the first law was passed making seat belt use was mandatory in all cars. Now there are 48 states where it is illegal to drive without wearing a seat belt. The number of accidents in which people died because they were not wearing a seat belt is exorbitant and surely more people would die today if seat belts were not mandatory.
2. Antibiotics
People live longer today because we have the use of antibiotics. The antibiotic penicillin was discovered accidentally by Alexander Fleming. He had some germ cultures that were contaminated with a fungus. He was about to throw these cultures away when he noticed there were zones in some of the cultures where bacteria were not growing. He realized that the fungus was actually killing the germs.
Penicillin is now a widely used antibiotic and is important in the treatment of conditions, such as meningitis, pneumonia, syphilis, and cellulitis. Kids often take penicillin to treat ear and throat infections. More antibiotics have been discovered since Penicillin, meaning that cuts and illnesses that would once have been a certain death sentence are easily treated.
3. Vaccinations
With the invention of vaccinations, entire diseases have been completely eradicated. In the past, whole families, and even towns could be wiped out by diseases such as smallpox, measles, mumps, and rubella that are often unheard of today.
4. Condoms
Condoms stop the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, of which some can kill you. AIDS is a huge concern among certain populations, and wearing a condom can stop you from infecting others or catching the disease yourself.
There is a whole host of other inventions that have saved lives over the years, such that we often do not even realize how lucky we are to live in today’s world. More than likely, there will be even more inventions in the future that will save lives – hopefully, we will all live to see it!
