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10,000 BCE
Sources
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2000 BCE
The Abacus
The Abacus was invented for the purpose of aiding in calculations and number manipulation. It made an impact in many ways as shopkeepers, banks, and many modern businesses wouldn't be able to operate with the numbers they do without this form of technology.
My grandmother has an abacus in her home that interested me as a child and I spent countless hours doing my own calculations on it through my childhood.
The "Cranmer Abacus" was designed for the blind and makes their calculations accurate. -
1436
Gutenbergs Printing Press
Gutenberg developed a method of imprinting onto paper through a movable metal tool as opposed to individuals working on each paper. The printing press made a massive impact as now information could much more easily be reproduced for mass consumption. Every college textbook that I have read requires this technology to exist to allow it to be available to me, as well as everything you've ever printed.
The printing press created an estimated 22 million copies between 1455 and 1500 -
Electricity
Alessandro Volta found that electricity could be created chemically. Through experimentation with metal and acid, he was able to create the electric current.
Electricity changed the world in a way that none of these other inventions could have. We rely on electricity for every single device we use in our daily lives and I am no exception. I wouldn't be able to create this timeline without electricity.
Lightning is actually an electrical discharge into the atmosphere so it is electricity. -
The internet
The internet was designed as a means of connecting networks with separate networks in an efficient way. The ways the internet has changed the world are far too long to list but every day everyone uses the internet in some way or another. It allows for sales, travel, communication, and endless information at the fingertips of every human.
The Department of Defense was an advocate and supporter of the internet as it would allow them to protect their data in the event of an attack -
Wireless Networks
Wireless Networks exist in the form of radio towers, satellites, and other transmitting devices that allow us to be connected wherever we are. This development created a way for even people living in remote areas to have access and communication to people in cities countries away. It has had an immense impact on my life, having moved around frequently wireless networks have allowed me to remain in contact with friends and family globally.
Wireless devices outnumber humans by over a billion.