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Which invention/discovery has saved the most lives?

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05-25-2008 , 09:59 AM

#76

ConstantineX

Pooh-Bah

Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 3,544

Vaccination

/thread

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05-25-2008 , 12:59 PM

#77

garcia1000

Carpal \'Tunnel

Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 7,853

My second nomination:

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05-25-2008 , 01:26 PM

#78

illeagle

banned

Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 2,631

I think if we finally get smart and put a tax on carbon, that will save the whole world which will in turn be saving every life.

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05-25-2008 , 03:09 PM

#79

Steven_Q_Erkel

Pooh-Bah

Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 3,622

Has anyone said condoms yet?

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05-25-2008 , 04:18 PM

#80

Howard Treesong

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Sooga

Take into account how long the invention/discovery has been around. Something very recent probably wouldn't have had the impact of something invented/discovered in the 1500's or whatever (and is still effective, obv).

Well, other than the ubiquitous lightning rod, I've got to go with DDT, leeches and maggots in that order.

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05-25-2008 , 05:05 PM

#81

Pontuslol

newbie

Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 25

Quote:

Originally Posted by GoldenBears

If fire/wheel/stuff like that had never been invented, then technology would never have gotten advanced enough for the world to support a population as large as it does today... so they've saved lives for generations.

Could you imagine?

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05-25-2008 , 07:20 PM

#82

hitchingbird

centurion

Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 102

Condoms

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05-25-2008 , 07:28 PM

#83

demon102

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Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 16,259

first thing that popped in my mind is seatbelts

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05-25-2008 , 07:30 PM

#84

demon102

Carpal \'Tunnel

Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 16,259

Quote:

Originally Posted by The4thFilm

yup

Ya we were running like god for the last few ceturies, just wait till variance kicks in that will be one hell of a graph.

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05-25-2008 , 07:43 PM

#85

markksman

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Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 20,909

That graph is what global warming is for... So all the dummies who live by the ocean will be gone, evening out the population.

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05-25-2008 , 08:06 PM

#86

AlbertoKnox

Pooh-Bah

Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 3,676

Quote:

Originally Posted by The4thFilm

yup

Maybe we can stop saving lives now?

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05-25-2008 , 08:19 PM

#87

Tortuous

grinder

Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 437

Quote:

Originally Posted by ConstantineX

Vaccination

/thread

Ahhahahaha, NO. Have all the diseases and infections been cured.

Last edited by Tortuous; 05-25-2008 at 08:35 PM.

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05-26-2008 , 03:04 AM

#88

jjshabado

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Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 22,732

Quote:

Originally Posted by illeagle

I think if we finally get smart and put a tax on carbon, that will save the whole world which will in turn be saving every life.

Here's a newsflash. If the world is in a huge amount of trouble from carbon dioxide (something I'm not going to argue for or against here) then a carbon tax won't do **** since its already too late to reverse any problems caused by carbon dioxide.

In which case the inventions more useful than "the carbon tax" will be something that scrubs the atmosphere or something that protects all of the people living in coastal areas.

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05-26-2008 , 04:40 AM

#89

batair

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Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 16,802

AC CURRENT

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05-26-2008 , 04:51 AM

#90

kazana

Pooh-Bah

Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 5,658

granaries.

the ability to store food for later consumption must have saved quite a few lives during dire winters.

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05-26-2008 , 11:09 AM

#91

Mr_Mxyztplk

old hand

Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 1,557

The Autosuck, cuts way down on the transmission of AIDS.

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05-26-2008 , 11:47 AM

#92

vaagsel

centurion

Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 181

plumming.

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05-26-2008 , 01:04 PM

#93

suzzer99

Save the Cheerleader, Save the World

Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 100,716

Quote:

Originally Posted by jjshabado

I don't remember the exact #s. But if the world were to somehow cut carbon emissions back to 1980 levels, in 50-100 years the atmosphere would get back to reasonable, sustainable levels. Or something like that, maybe someone can back me up.

Quote:

In which case the inventions more useful than "the carbon tax" will be something that scrubs the atmosphere or something that protects all of the people living in coastal areas.

I agree mitigation is the much more realistic strategy at this point. But I don't think it means we should give up on trying to solve the root of the problem. I mean doing something vs. nothing could conceivably be the difference between a warmer world and a runaway feedback loop where we wind up like venus in a few hundred years.

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05-26-2008 , 01:33 PM

#94

ConstantineX

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Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 3,544

Quote:

Originally Posted by kazana

granaries.

the ability to store food for later consumption must have saved quite a few lives during dire winters.

Hmm, no. Alot of places that were able to have the climate/technology for this became extremely rich in ancient times, like Egypt in the Caesar area and England in the Middle Ages.

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05-26-2008 , 01:35 PM

#95

ConstantineX

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Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 3,544

Considering the world's population increased from 1 billion to 6 billion from 1850-2008, anyone talking about specifically *saving* lives should only mention inventions/discoveries from 1850 onwards.

In which case the answer is pretty damn clear. Vaccines. Maybe public health stuff, like sewers.

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05-26-2008 , 01:53 PM

#96

dixion

enthusiast

Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 57

Chlorine

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05-26-2008 , 02:10 PM

#97

AlexM

ignored

Join Date: Dec 2003 Posts: 20,655

Quote:

Originally Posted by themagnum

Printing press and the wide spread of knowledge.

/thread

The printing press is responsible for the Communist Manifesto, which is responsible for multiple genocides.

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05-26-2008 , 03:22 PM

#98

ceni

stranger

Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 8

Vaccines (smallpox probably), antibiotics, sewers, soap.

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05-26-2008 , 03:34 PM

#99

holland3r

old hand

Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 1,767

Basically everything Louis Pasteur is known for -- in general, germ theory.

Pasteurization/sterilization of water probably saved the most lives. Vaccination probably falls behind antibiotics, which he didn't discover, but of course they wouldn't have been discovered without his work.

Maybe the single most important person in human history.