According to a survey of 4,000 apparently sane UK consumers, the iPhone is the eighth most important invention in history. That's right. Apple's shiny smartphone is considered to be a more significant addition to our lives than, say, the combustion engine (in tenth place), the contraceptive pill (11th), the washing machine (12th) and space travel (39th). Or even the roof (44th — and I know which one I'd choose on a rainy evening).
If you're wondering what technological wonders managed to come in ahead of the iPhone, they are, in descending order the wheel, the aeroplane, the light bulb, the internet, PCs, the telephone and penicillin. Good to see a potentially life-saving drug pipping the ability to look at Facebook (82nd) while you're on the toilet (ninth).
The fact that this survey was carried out by Tesco Mobile should of course make us slightly suspicious of the results. Had it been carried out by Playtex, would the push-up bra (77th) have mysteriously thrust itself into the top ten? Certainly it seems odd that while the iPhone gets a special mention, the BlackBerry is nowhere to be seen, with the generic mobile phone coming way down in 21st place (just beating toilet paper, by the way).
You also have to wonder just what some respondents were thinking when they pondered on our greatest scientific achievements. When faced with so much choice, what exactly would make you answer "clothes peg" (100th)? Or, for that matter, gloves (91st), towels (76th), chairs (67th) or, my personal favourite, sliced bread (70th — the greatest thing since, er, what was it now?).
On the other hand, it's good to see the game of football (69th) on the list. Ditto the lawnmower (65th) and tea bags (54th). But what's missing? The printing press has been overlooked, as has the battery, the credit card and the telescope, to name just a few. And how the pasta machine didn't make it into the top 100, I'll never know...
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