Who was/is the greatest inventor of all-time?

Well my three choices are
1) Ben Franklin (Without him, I would not be able to see the keyboard as I type this message)
2) Thomas Edison (Without him, we would still be in the "Dark Ages"
3) Henry Ford (Without him, we would not be having any type of automobiles/vehicles)

Which one of these guys invented sliced bread? I also do not see Ron Popiel or George Foreman on this list... what's up with that?

"Greatest" strikes me as a subjective term, so I'll just pick Nikola Tesla because I find him the most interesting.

Thomas Edison. Artificial light is good.

I don't know enough about all of those inventors to say.

It's pretty neat that so many people picked Thomas Edison, since my son just did a report on him about a month ago.

Other. I'll have to go with John Daniels. Most people know him as Jack, though. But when you know him as well as I do...

I'll give Levi Strauss my vote, but I'm not familiar what over half of them invented.

I guess if I had to choose it would be electricity from Ben Franklin.. its difficult though.. & dont forget these guys:

Alexander Graham Bell
Invented the telephone

Marie Curie
Discovered Radium ( tho, they didnt quite grasp how dangerous this stuff could be )

John Deere
Invented the plow

George Eastman
Invented film

Enrico Fermi
Controlled nuclear fission

Steve Jobs & Steve Wozniak
Invented the personal computer

Frederick Banting
discovered Insulin for Diabetes.


THis is interesting.. all these things in this link were invented by Canadians. from Trivia Persuit to the gas mask!
http://www3.sympatico.ca/taniah/Canada/things/

I've got a "Woz".

> Which one of these guys invented sliced bread? I also do not see
> Ron Popiel or George Foreman on this list... what's up with that?

I had a co-worker who hated his roommate for cooking a pork chop on his George Foreman grill... I thought this was hilarious and I just wanted to share.

Einstein?........... I would have preferred if the question said In your opinion....... as well as making this a single vote as opposed to multipick as that is what the question is asking

> Einstein?........... I would have preferred if the question said In
> your opinion....... as well as making this a single vote as opposed
> to multipick as that is what the question is asking

*blows raspberry*

I thought it was set to single vote. I probably did, but had so many 'Needs Work' votes done to it that I was clicking around at everything. Folks didn't want an essay survey. Then others didn't recognize some of the inventors. People didn't like that I capitalized every word in the survey. I just got to the point where I said, "f*c& it" and stopped messing with it. As for In your opinion, that's to be naturally assumed, as I seriously doubt you'd find consensus for such a poll.

David! This spent ages in qual... where've you been?

Mve17

actually its phrased like a quiz question.......... I am one of the, if not THE easiest qualifiers, on SC...........This spent ages in qual... where've you been?....... I just got a new computer hooked up today .... 160G hard drive, 17" flat screen, 1MB download, yadda yadda etc etc.......... so I should be around more often

Thomas Edison.

I didn't select 'quiz'. I selected 'products'. Neener, neener!

Congrats on the new machine! It's always fun getting a new computer up and running and configured just the way you like it.

You missed Nikola Tesla. Radio control, airborne electrical transmission, the AC generator, and lots of other stuff...all in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

Also, Wilhelm Reich. Cure for cancer, anyone?

Screen seems massive....................

The greatest inventor was the guy who invented the printing press---Can't remember his name. I'm surprised no one mentioned him!

This was a toughie, but after much consideration, I picked Thomas Edison. The survey asked for "inventor" singular, not plural.

You're a smart cookie, Pat!

who ever invented the rechargeable vibrator

I don't know what a lot of these people invented, so it's hard to say.

...Ron Popiel...

I never thought of Einstein as an inventor

Where's Anthony van Leeuwenhoek?

And Einstein was not an inventor. Nor were a lot of others listed.

This was originally an essay survey, in qual, but it got b!tched at so much about everything, that I tried to accommodate folks. I just got tired of trying to cater to everyone. You should've participated in Qual. I might've been able to help you out then.

Also, "inventor" is subject to interpretation. I base my interpretation on the dictionary's definition of "invent":
in·vent Pronunciation Key (n-vnt)
tr.v. in·vent·ed, in·vent·ing, in·vents
1. To produce or contrive (something previously unknown) by the use of ingenuity or imagination.
2. To make up; fabricate: invent a likely excuse.

http://www.juliantrubin.com/einsteininvent.html

Thanks for explaining!
I hope the doging in qualification won't stop you from creating more surveys.

I'm not sure I would qualify all of the individuals on the list as inventors. Some are explorers, others theorists. But this said, my vote for the greatest inventor ever is the one who came up with Velcro.

You great promoter of things Canadian, you!

How've you been?

Without him we would still be in the dark.

Whoever invented the plow and made possible the establishment of Agrarian Societies.

Jesus, he invented the worlds biggest problem...
AND the worlds biggest solution.

Hi yourself! Ive been plodding along okay, dont get much time anymore on the net to be honest.. Are you looking forward to Christmas? I am a great promoter of all things Canadian, yes indeed... ( especially when I'm not in the country) Somehow I'm always the greatest ambassador when I am sadly away! Hows it going with you friend?

Galileo Galilei

The less time on the net, the better, I say. Live life in the real world.

Things are going quite well for me, thank you. I'm discovering the real me through various experiences and challenges that I undertake, and I'm finding that I like who I am. I want my life to be fun, simple, honest and no BS, please. I want to learn new stuff and use my creativity for the sheer joy of creating. (the meat of this discussion calls for beer, I think...)

Sadly, I'm not much of a Christmas person. I like the gatherings and giving presents to my daughters and friends, but the whole Santa and marketing aspect of Xmas is a bit wearing. Is the overcommercialisation of Xmas as bad in the UK as it is here?

Did I ever ask you what brought you to London (and should this part of the discussion involve beer--or a spliff--as well?).

Still hoping that we'll meet in the real world some day.

I have no response to this.

> "Greatest" strikes me as a subjective term, so
> I'll just pick Nikola Tesla because I find him
> the most interesting.

Absolutely. Tesla is the top of the list, he was far greater than Edison, it came down to a popularity contest, and Edison sold out. Tesla 's inventions were free energy, and the government gave Edison the project because they could make money there.

to many to mention,all the above

i think that Ruth Handler was the greatest, cuzz if i`m not mistakin she invented the full fisted hand job used by most teen girls around the world

All of the above each one contributed to mankind

Johann Gutenberg- printing press (in the West)

god