Cool Gadgets of History

Friends,

The best laid plans of mice and bloggers often get sidetracked by outside forces.  I got home on Tuesday afternoon and began to mull over some blog post ideas for the evening's post when my little redhead arrived home with a cool new toy.  I am now in proud possession of my first iPhone.  Yes, I was transformed within a few moments into a giddy teenage girl.  In the past, I've always carried a flip phone as I am slow to embrace new gadgets.  How wrong I have been.  I must apologize to the Apple people (didn't Forrest Gump have something to do with that?) for not purchasing their product sooner.  I have discovered a whole new world.  Imagine, I can access Face Tube or You Book anytime I want!  They even have history trivia apps.  So all of this got me thinking, which is a dangerous thing to do, about how people reacted to some of the gadgets that appeared in previous generations.

I am not an overly scientific person.  As a former arson investigator, I know my fire science, but that is about it.  I've always been fascinated by the thought process that went into the concept behind many inventions.  For example, what was the guy who invented the flame thrower thinking?  "Gee, I'd really like to set that thing over there on fire, but I'm too lazy to walk the 15 yards to do it.  Wouldn't it be nice if I had something that could just shoot the fire from here to there?"  And next thing you know, we have the flammerwerfer.

And let's not forget those, who like myself, are slow to embrace new gadgets.  I am the first to admit that I would be the guy telling the Wright Brothers "There will never be a military use for the airplane!"  I would argue against the use of firearms by saying that the crossbow has worked so well, why replace it!  And tanks?  Who needs tanks?  In some ways the reactions to the technology are more interesting than the technology itself.

So, Dear Readers, I leave you with this question.  What is the coolest military gadget that has ever been invented?  Or, to be more broad, what is the coolest gadget in history?

My name is Lee Hutch and I am a Half A$$ed Historian.

Who needs Kindle when you can have the real thing?