Before Facebook, it was the telegraph. Before Gore-Tex, it was vulcanized rubber. Before Juan Trippe created the jet age, Robert Fulton started a steamboat service. America has always been in the throes of a tech revolution, and it has made our country great—and greatly prosperous—for 250 years. The list of game-changing American inventions is almost too long to compile in one place.
Instead, here is our admittedly very subjective short list of five contenders for the most influential invention in the country’s history. Which one do you think should be in the top spot? Did Bell Labs’ transistor change America more than Willis Carrier’s air conditioner or White Castle’s pioneer of the fast-food chain restaurant? And don’t agree with our short list? Tell us what would be on yours in the comments.
What’s your pick for the most influential American innovation that we overlooked? Let us know in the comments below.
The greatest American invention is the chocolate chip cookie by chef Ruth Graves Wakefield!
Nuclear weapon.