What would you consider...

[Airhog]

the most important technological invention of the 20th century?

I know alot of people would probably say the computer. Personally I would have to say the most important invention of the 20th century has to be Silicon. Transistors probably come in a close second.

[Easy Mac]

i'll assume the car does not count?

[thealmighty]

That's easy. Air conditioning.

[Ryan S]

i'll assume the car does not count?
I think the car would be a 19th century invention.

The jet engine has to be high on the list.

[kcchief19]

the most important technological invention of the 20th century?

I know alot of people would probably say the computer. Personally I would have to say the most important invention of the 20th century has to be Silicon. Transistors probably come in a close second. Silicon was really more of a discovery than an invention. It was always around, it just took us a while to figure out what to do with it.

You can't go wrong with the transistor. The airplane and the radio/TV were also nice. saying computer to me seems to be a bit of putting the cart before the horse because you wouldn't have much of a computer without transistors.

[BrianD]

I think I'd have to go with the espresso machine.

[judicial clerk]

atomic bomb

[Tigercat]

AC and Refridgeration is a biggie, but that was invented in the 19th century(But thanks to refridgeration, I can build advanced farms!). I too would have to go with Transistors. Radio is also a biggie, not just for itself but for what it lead to, but it may have been invented in the late 19th century, not sure. It was somewhere around the turn of the century.

[Buccaneer]

I don't think any invention in the Modern Age (since WW2) changed life as much as some of the earlier ones like air conditioning, refrigeration and my submission - modern indoor plumbing. Computers and all of their corollaries only made life faster, more effecient and expandable. But you asked for technological inventions and those I and others listed are probably more mechanical - depends on definitions I guess.

[sabotai]

Pez

[Karim]

indoor plumbing/water treatment/sanitation

[Raiders Army]

I'd go with silicon, if you meant breast implants.

[JeeberD]

Fast food restaurants

[Castlerock]

Plastic

[Critch]

TiVo. And it's not even close.

[Cringer]

the cure for cold's and flu's.

oh yeah, that hasn't happened yet, no wonder I feel like shit.....

I will go with my second choice then, the satellite. It gives me my T.V., my radio, and much more.

[tanglewood]

The transistor in a cake walk.

[Warhammer]

atomic bomb

I'll go with this one. There was a chart floating around that shows the number of deaths globally per year from war. The line was rising exponentially until 1945 and then drops to almost 0. Imagine what the world would be like now if we had fought two more world wars (without the nukes of course!).

[BigJohn&TheLions]

Toilet Paper.

[BigJohn&TheLions]

That's easy. Air conditioning.
Pussy. Sweat it out like a real man.

[Lathum]

cellphone.........just kidding

[JPhillips]

I'm in for the airplane. It changed human interaction by making trans-ocean trips common. That changed disease patterns by making any virus a potential world-wide threat.

War was drastically changed by airpower, especially civilian bombing. The use of ships was completely rethought after the introduction of carriers.

As Herve said, "The plane. The plane."

[QuikSand]

The transistor in a cake walk.

yes yes

[condors]

peanut butter cups

[BrianD]

peanut butter cups

Ooh, I want to change my vote to this.

[Cap Ologist]

text sims

[weinstein7]

text sims

I hear strat-o-matic cricket was HUGE in England back in the 19th century. There was this one bowler, Dean something...Just a monster.

[Desnudo]

The thing in a can of Guiness.

[judicial clerk]

Without transistors, we would still be able to get by with vacuum tubes.

[VPI97]

The thing in a can of Guiness.
BRILLIANT!

[st.cronin]

Surely it has to be the so-called 'green revolution' which transformed agriculture? Although truthfully, I don't know much about it - but it's my understanding that the availability of food, in all nations and across all demographics, has improved dramatically.

Penicillin should be a consideration as well, no?

[mgadfly]

The internet. Thank you Al Gore.

[Lathum]

The ability to record sound

[tanglewood]

That is a 19th century invention you've got there Lathum.

[judicial clerk]

Penicillin should be a consideration as well, no?

This is very important, but I might classify it as a scientific discovery instead of a technological invention. I would compare the discovery of penicillin more to Einstein coming up with his theories of relativity.

how about the rocket? It is very important to different fields (flight, space travel, combat), and when you combine it with my earlier offering, the atomic bomb, well now you are really on to something.

[Franklinnoble]

Sanitation, since with it, we can build hospitals, and grow our cities to sizes over 12...

[vyshka]

The real doll :)

[Karlifornia]

I'm going to have to say God....wait...he was invented way before the 20th century....

[tucker342]

indoor plumbing

[timmynausea]

How about the best in the 21st century? I have to say McGriddles are the early favorite. I know it's early, but I honestly don't see how anyone will top those little guys.

[Cringer]

here are my other nominations, for personal reasons.

Power steering, air ride seats, and air conditioning. I am not sure I could have been a trucker 30-40 years ago.

[Karlifornia]

I totally forgot about the pocket pussy.

[tanglewood]

Sanitation, since with it, we can build hospitals, and grow our cities to sizes over 12...

If you don't get sanitation before the 20th century, you've already lost.

[rlfreeze]

Nuclear power