these ideas changed the world, welcome to gostten.com and today we're counting down our picks for the top ten inventions of all time

1. Paper

One of the Chinese people's four great inventions, paper was invented and developed in the second century BC by the Han Dynasty, the idea eventually travelled to Europe where paper mills began manufacturing the product on a larger scale. Without paper the printing press would never have been invented and our world would be very different. we would not have Maps paper currency for books to disperse information its impact is truly endless.

2. The compass

 Before the compass sailors depended on landmarks or even the Stars to navigate their ships, but once the Chinese began using lodestones and magnetism to find their bearings between the 9th and 11th centuries, it quickly spread to the Arab world and to Europe. This not only made circumnavigation of the globe easier it also made it safer, which kicked off the Age of Discovery.

3. Refrigeration

though ice was used since prehistoric times to prevent food from spoiling and developing bacteria, the concept of refrigeration was only developed in earnest starting in the mid 1700s. The process was then refined and improved changing the way the food industry transports and stores food, the implications of this discovery are far-reaching as it transformed the way we eat and live.

4. The printing press

though Johannes Gutenberg is credited with this invention, he actually perfected and popularized existing technology, by combining the Chinese principle of movable type with European press systems already in use for winemaking, Gutenberg created the machine that printed text on a wide scale, which in turn lowered the price of books and helped spread information and knowledge to the masses spurring the Reformation the Renaissance and the Scientific Revolution.

5. Plumbing 

the landscape of major cities would be drastically different without this innovation, after all how would a high-rise exist without modern plumbing. evolving from holes in the ground to chamber pots to outhouses and eventually to flush toilets as early as the 31st to 26th centuries BC. the development of plumbing improved living conditions for millions of people across the globe, and lengthened our lifespans.

6. Medicine

many medicines and vaccinations have extended and changed our lives significantly, discovered by accident by Alexander Fleming penicillin, was the first group of drugs that foughtillnesses like syphilis and strep infections. on the other side of the spectrum since they were introduced to the public in the 1960s contraceptives, such as the birth control pill helped level out the global population, and launched a revolution in social change.

7. Engines 

these engines got industry and the population moving, instead of relying on horses as transportation, people traveled across the countryside. via Thomas Newcomen steam engine as of 1712 which was improved upon by James Watt later that century. quickly becoming the backbone of society and sparking the Industrial Revolution, internal combustion ultimately replaced steam and ushered in the Second Industrial Revolution, and allowed individuals to affordably travel great distances.

8. The wheel

Though it's still unclear which civilization was first to invent this simple machine in the 4th century BC it's obvious that it's been one of the world's most vital innovations. The transportation, commerce and travel industries wouldn't be the same without it. and today the wheel can be found in every aspect of our daily lives from water, wheels, gears, motors and engines to more fun applications.

9. Communications

several inventions changed global communications forever. Samuel Morse brought us the electric telegraph in 1836. Alexander Graham Bell's telephone was the first to be awarded a patent to transmit voices in 1876. Guglielmo Marconi and Nikola Tesla developed radio in the late 19th century. moving pictures first came across John Logie Baird's television in 1925. Conrad Sousa developed the first computer in the early 40s, and Tim berners-lee proposed the World Wide Web in the late 80s, and they all made the world a little bit smaller. Before we unveil our number one pick here are a few honorable mentions.

10. Electricity

not only did sleep patterns change drastically with the introduction of electricity, so did work habits from Ben Franklin, to Nikola Tesla, to Michael Faraday, to Thomas Edison many innovators made important contributions to this modernization, which brought light and power to the masses.

However electricity only became a necessity and standard to everyday life in the mid twentieth century, before that it was enjoyed mainly in the big cities.

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