| | Yeh! Printing isn’t a bad choice for this particular poll but I have to go with the harnessing of electricity as number one. Books have helped to spread enlightenment and knowledge throughout the civilized world, and of course most books are a source of enjoyment, often inspirational and thought provoking. I did read somewhere though that the downfall of the Soviet Union was started with the invention of the fax machine. Books could be nabbed at the border but faxed messages could not be intercepted so easily and the previously unenlightened Ruskies suddenly became - well, enlightened. Of course a faxed message is merely print sent electronically, as is an email message, so print/electricity – a close call. But without the harnessing of electricity the spread of knowledge would only travel as far as it was allowed to travel. Even now there are many ruling elite in various countries who attempt to prevent the spread of electronically transmitted knowledge – thankfully they will always fight a losing battle.
Think of all the things today that rely on electricity; all your household appliances, transport, medical procedures, communications – the list is endless. And if it weren’t for all these electronic gadgets what would there be to write about anyway, how to grow a prize-winning GE-free carrot? Ah, silly me! Without electricity we wouldn’t have heard of GE. And how would you order a book from “Amazon” without the wonder of the electronic Internet? No, electricity is number one, without it we literally would still be living in the dark ages – ask any North American.
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