Inventions (SL related) you use/used in/around your home that made you say...

[Mrs-M]

"BEST DARN INVENTION EVER"!

Ever give any thought as to inventions (SL related, from the simplest to the most advanced) that helped make your life easier, simpler, better? Inventions you simply could not have lived without? (I'm talking aside from the obvious). i.e. Electricity, running water, etc.

I have, and all sorts of inventions come to mind. Like the modern day washing machine and tumble dryer, the pulley clothesline, the hand-held hairdryer (blow-dryer), Tupperware/Rubbermaid storage containers, the electric curling iron, and the list goes on.

Thinking this would be a fun thread to start. Here is a short list of a handful of things (inventions) that came to mind for me. (True to life inventions I actually rely/relied upon/put to use in and around my home).

The clothesline.
The automatic washing machine/tumble dryer.
The safety pin. (Such a plain, simple, and cheap idea/tool, yet so worthy of top awards when it comes to versatility and handiness).
Disposable/flushable paper diaper liners. (Best darn thing I bought for each of my kids after they were born). Newborn meconium poop control!
Diaper pins and rubber pants. (Can't imagine what it must have been like cloth diapering babies back in the olden days when neither existed).
Cigarette lighter. Absolutely LOVED my cigarette lighter when I smoked!
Umbrella. (And yet another one of those inventions that never fails to amaze me). As simple an idea as it gets, yet so tremendously invaluable.
Your turn.

[porcelain]

#1 for me is air conditioning. Summers used to be soooo miserable without it. Also I am strangely attached to the Tide pen! I'm clumsy so this has saved a lot of my clothes. I don't have a washer/dryer in my apartment so I can't just throw something in the wash after a spill. I'm also eternally thankful that contact lenses were invented, I wore glasses from 2nd-9th grade and hated the feeling of them on my face. Contacts are such an amazing difference.

[Mrs-M]

Oh wow, what I'd give to have central-air in our home! Even though we only struggle with unbearable summer temps and conditions for a few weeks over the course of the season, having air would be so nice.

The Tide Pen is such an awesome addition to this thread Porcelain! Never would have even though of it had you not mentioned it. Mind you I've never used one before so that's probably why. Do they work good?

Indeed, contact lenses really have changed the way people live and do. I think for me having the option of both would be something I'd consider (if I wore them). On one hand being able to outfit myself with a stylish pair of glasses appeals me, having my hair all pulled up, a curly wisp of hair pulled free on each side to add drama to my doo, and for other times, au naturel. :)

[Mrs-M]

Gee, no one else? Just little old Porcelain and me???

How about those funky little elastic edged plastic shower cap thingies that seal bowls and things? Anyone use those?

I can think of so many, even ones I don't use.

[beckyliz]

My smartphone - I love all the apps.

[Wildflower]

I really love my slow cooker. :) Saves energy to use it, plus anything I cook in it turns out wonderfully. Beef and pork roasts, chicken with carrots and potatoes, chili, soups, etc.

[jennipurrr]

My vote is AC too. I lived one year in AL without central AC and wouldn't choose to do that again, but it was doable. I really cannot imagine living without any AC, but a lot of people did it down here for a long time. I have read the population of the Southern US grew at a much larger rate after the invention of AC though.

As for an odd, wish I had thought of that invention, the Furminator. It is better than any other pet brush I have ever used and makes brushing out my shedding animals much easier than any brush (and I had tried a ton of them) before.

[Tenngal]

lint rollers......with two pugs all my dark clothes have little hairs which need to be removed before leaving the house. Works pretty good on the car seats too.

[Mrs-M]

Hi Beckyliz. Although my husband is the only one in our household that uses/has a cellphone, I totally understand your love over such.

Wildflower. Ah yes, the slow-cooker. One of the true great additions (inventions) related to homemaking. Such a godsend.

Jennipurrr. There are times when heat waves hit where I think to myself, "wish we had air-conditioning"! Stifling hot nights where no matter what one does there's just no getting to sleep comfortably or early. Pet brushes sound like such godsends too! In fact when I think of inventions like the pet brush I think to myself, "what did everyone do before- without them"!

Tenngal. Yep, lint rollers! I've even tried one before! Nifty things they are, and on the same note how about those old electric clothes shavers they used to make. As gimmicky as some things are, many earned a good place and spot in society now that I think about it.

[HKPassey]

The Internet! Everything you ever wanted to know about practically everything, plus community, at your fingertips.

[Mrs-M]

HKPassey. Yes, yes, yes! The internet! Proof that old-fashioned bumpkins like me actually DO fancy some things modern and new! :laff: