Contest: My Top 5 Inventions of All Time || By @jaspichman125

Life before invention: Prior to the advent of the Blockchain technology, several people questioned how financial institutions run their activities to the detriment of the common populace. The company owners are the power holders: their decisions are final. It was not clear if there could be someone or any technology that would challenge the status qou.

Life after the invention:
Blockchain technology is a decentralized ledger system that supports the cryptocurrency world. Satoshi Nakamoto invented the Blockchain technology with just two words at its core: cryptocurrency and decentralisation. To decentralise means to break down the hierarchy of power. Today, Blockchain is arguably the most important invention since the internet in the 1990s. It has revolutionized finance, commerce and even politics. It has made thousands of people millionaires most especially the youths. People can now use cryptocurrency instead of the traditional fiat currency in their day to day transactions.

Blockchain is the main technology upon which Steemit is built. It is called the STEEM BLOCKCHAIN. The importance of Blockchain cannot be over emphasised. It is changing the way governments make policies, health care sector (some pharma companies) are already using Blockchain to track the progress of their products from the company to the final consumer on the supply chain.

I am a lover of Blockchain technology because cryptocurrency is the future currency. Other opportunities that the Blockchain technology offers are also incredible.

2. The World Wide Web

Name of the invention: World Wide Web
Name of Inventor: Tim Berners-Lee
Year of invention: 1990
Life before invention:

The worldwide network of computers has been in development since the 1960s. Then it was only the US military that were using it. The Internet as we know it today is an even more modern invention. 1990s creation of the World Wide Web by England's Tim Berners-Lee is responsible for transforming our communication, commerce, entertainment, politics, and so on.

Life after invention:
Without the invention of the World Wide Web (WWW), intenet would have remained accessible only by the military and academic institutions. The WWW changed the narrative by making international network of computers accessible by the common people.

The World Wide Web have revolutionized every aspects of our lives ranging from education to culture, personal relationships (friends, families and colleagues at workplace), social and political activism (e.g the End SARS protest in Nigeria in the year 2020) it was the internet via the Social media that enabled the youths to garner strengths for the protest). The Black Lives Matter worldwide protest is another example of how the internet plays important role in political and social activism.

The internet has also made impacts in the economy. Prior to the year 2000, no one could have thought about buying things like coffee, shirts, books, cars, house, etc., online. It is now a reality. All thanks to the internet and the World Wide Web.

The importance of internet and the World Wide Web to the 21st century man is inexhaustible. It is because of the World Wide Web that i am able to access Steemit website and interact seamlessly with people all over the world 🌎.
Would life be better or worse if the Internet and the World Wide Web never existed? Have you ever imagined a world without the Social media?

3. ELECTRICITY

Name of invention: Electricity
Name of Inventor: Benjamin Franklin
Year of Invention: 1752
Life before Invention:

Electricity is a natural force that exists in our world, it didn't have to be invented. It did, however, have to be discovered and understood. ^wonderopolis

Before the discovery of electricity, there were few sources of energy like coal. People were largely limited in their capabilities due to lack of efficient and sufficient energy supply.

Life after discovery:
Do I have to convince you about how indispensable electricity is in our lives? I guess no.

Electricity have been an integral part of our lives. Without electricity, your phone cannot power on, you cannot watch TV, you cannot connect to the internet, in fact there won't be internet at all. This is how important electricity is to us.

Our forefathers who existed before the discovery of electricity would be forgiven for imagining a life without electricity, but certainly not the 21st century man!

I was born in an era when electricity was in supply. I can only but imagine what it would cost to live in a world without electricity. Electricity has influenced largely all areas of my life.

4. PENICILLIN

Name of Invention: Penicillin
Name of Inventor: Alexander Fleming
Year of Invention: 1928
Life before invention:

Prior to penicillin and medical research, death was an everyday occurrence. It was intimate.
– Katherine Dunn

Penicillin heralded the dawn of the antibiotic age. Before its introduction there was no effective treatment for infections such as pneumonia, gonorrhea or rheumatic fever. Hospitals were full of people with blood poisoning contracted from a cut or a scratch, and doctors could do little for them but wait and hope.

Life after discovery:
Sir Alexander Fleming, a Scottish researcher, is credited with the discovery of penicillin in 1928. At the time, Fleming was experimenting with the influenza virus in the Laboratory of the Inoculation Department at St. Mary’s Hospital in London. ^healio.com

Penicillins are a group of antibacterial drugs that attack a wide range of bacteria. They were the first drugs of this type that doctors used. The discovery and manufacture of penicillins have changed the face of medicine, as these drugs have saved millions of lives.

• Tim Newman

Penicillin helped reduce the number of deaths and amputations of troops during World War II. According to records, there were only 400 million units of penicillin available during the first five months of 1943; by the time World War II ended, U.S. companies were making 650 billion units a month.^healio.com

To date, penicillin has become the most widely used antibiotic in the world. – by Katie Kalvaitis.

It is interesting that using penicillin for the treatment of infections like pneumococcal pneumonia and bacterial endocarditis never had a randomized, controlled trial because the difference with treatment was so clearly apparent that no one even thought of doing a randomized controlled trial.
Theodore C. Eickhoff, MD

Owing to the discovery of penicillin, diseases such as syphilis, gonorrhea, tetanus, pneumonia meningitis, anthrax, typhoid, common influenza virus infection (common cold) now have cure or treatments. Do you think the discovery of penicillin is less significant compared to other discoveries or invntions? Ask your personal doctor about the aforementioned diseases. How deadly they are and how the discovery of penicillin have changed the narrative.

Broad-spectrum antibiotic penicillins such as Ampicillin and Amoxycillin are commonly used for the treatment of typhoid.

5. PRINTING PRESS

^Gettyimages

Name of Invention: Printing press
Name of Inventor: Johannes Gutenberg
Year of Invention: 1439
Life before invention:
Invented in 1439 by the German Johannes Gutenberg, this device in many ways laid the foundation for our modern age. It allowed ink to be transferred from the movable type to paper in a mechanized way. This revolutionized the spread of knowledge and religion as previously books were generally hand-written (often by monks). ^Bigthink.com

Life after invention:
Prior to the invention of the printing press by Gutenberg, only the rich people could be able to pay for a copy of hand-written books most especially the Holy Bible. Imagine the time and energy it takes to copy the entire Bible without mistakes. That was the only way to get books then. Learning, education and knowledge were restricted to the rich individuals and their families.

Gutenberg changed the whole story with his invention. Books are now widespread. Schools are now everywhere. Learning has been made easier due to proliferation of books and learning materials.

Printed materials such as magazines, newspapers and images are available now. All thanks to Gutenberg for his groundbreaking invention.

My life has been changed due to the kinds of knowledge and information I have access to via print materials such as books, magazines, newspapers, printed images and journals.

CONCLUSION
There are thousands of inventions in the world today. Its quite difficult to ascertain which one is the best. But going by how such inventions have influenced people's lives, I have hereby presented to you my top 5 inventions of all time.

Acknowledgement

• Except indicated, all images were obtained from Pixabay.com

Thanks to;
@uzoma24
@focusnow
@ngoenyi
@samuel20
@justiceanietie
@hyellgda
For their inspiration and support toward my growth and development on Steemit platform via SteemAlive Community