365 Days of Gratitude: Day 4 - Headphones

I hate going grocery shopping. Everything about it. I find that a lot of people lack awareness for where they are in a grocery store, meaning they'll leave carts and baskets just about anywhere other than off to the side. And waiting in line to pay? Annoying. I don't like the magazines on the rack, I don't like the impulse items, and I don't want to bag my own groceries — I just want to get in and get out. That's why I'm so thankful for headphones. When I'm listening to music or an audiobook, I can generally ignore what everyone else is up to and just do my thing. Headphones, I love you.

According to BrightHub, Nathaniel Baldwin began manufacturing the first version of the modern headphones back in 1910. He built them in his kitchen and even sold to the U.S. Navy, and because of Nathaniel Baldwin and the pair of cans in his design resembled a modern pair of headphones that you’d see today. That initial design inspired an industry that is not worth billions. The bad news is that Baldwin had no business sense and he never patented the design. I'll let someone way smarter than me figure out how much money he missed out on as a result.

For getting me through trips to the grocery store and entertaining me when I walk my dog, headphones are one of the greatest inventions in the history of hearing. Think about it. That's day four.