1. The impact of the automobile (throughout the 1900's)

No other invention had so wide an influence during the 1900's. The infrastructure developed to support the automobile shaped our physical and cultural landscape. Interstate highways, gas stations, fast food restaurants, malls, and motels all emerged to support the growing use of the car. The automobile's influence on Western, and particularly American, society was

especially wide-ranging, even changing the architecture of our houses and the distribution of our population (growth of the suburbs).

 

Terry S. Reynolds is a Professor of History at Michigan Technological University. His Top 10 list focuses on the most significant developments in technology. "No other invention had so wide an influence during the 1900's," says Professor Reynolds of his top pick--the automobile.

1.

The impact of the automobile (throughout the 1900's)
2. The development of the airplane (throughout the 1900's)
3. The spread of mass production methods (throughout the 1900's)
4.

The rise of radio and television (mid-1900's)
5. The development of the transistor and related improvements (middle to late 1900's)
6. The development of the computer and the Internet (middle to late 1900's)
7. The development of atomic weapons and nuclear power (mid-1900's)
8. The development of new materials (throughout the 1900's)
9. The institutionalization of invention (throughout the 1900's)
10. The marriage of technology and science (throughout the 1900's)