• Question: What is your favourite invention.

    Asked by trolololo to Anouk, Chris, Judith, Leisha, Seyyed on 11 Jun 2012. This question was also asked by georgiacardy.
    • Photo: Judith Sleeman

      Judith Sleeman answered on 11 Jun 2012:

      The internet! I remember the first time we got internet access when I was a PhD student (yes, I’m that old!). I couldn’t really see the point because there were no good search engines (no Google: imagine!) and hardy any web pages out there. Now look at it: any information you want, on demand….on your ‘phone even. Really just astounding.

    • Photo: Anouk Gouvras

      Anouk Gouvras answered on 11 Jun 2012:

      hmmm antibiotics I think (though the wheel, the light bulb, and the microscope are right up there). Not sure if antibiotics where invented, maybe discovered. Well in fact Penicillin was discovered by Alexander Flemming in London, at St Mary’s hospital in the 1920s (1928? maybe) and they have a little museum of his work and his notebook at St Mary’s for people to go and see. Then in the 1940s Howard Florey and his team ‘invented’ the use of Penicillin as an antibiotic treatment and revolutionized medicine. So instead of having to amputate people with infections in their wounded limbs (like soldiers in wars) they treated the infections with antibiotics. In fact the invention of antibiotics has saved millions and millions of lives.

    • Photo: Chris Kettle

      Chris Kettle answered on 12 Jun 2012:

      The smart phone – everything youll ever need in one place. I love my iphone

    • Photo: Leisha Nolen

      Leisha Nolen answered on 12 Jun 2012:

      Chocolate! Or at least the process of extracting and making the chocolate we all love to eat!

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