It's hard to imagine that one invention could change the course of world history forever, but if you stop to think about it—there have been quite a few!
Imagine, for example, if we had never figured out large ships?
What would the world look like with only kayaks, rafts, and other smaller crafts?
What wouldn't it look like?
Reddit user NoBand2201 asked:
"You can eliminate one invention from history to change the world forever. What do you eliminate?"
Reddit users had plenty to say about the subject—starting with the most clear and present danger in our times; social media.
A Soapbox
"Facebook has given the village idiot a soapbox and megaphone."
- I_likem_asstastic
"Facebook and the company itself is the worst offender, but social media in general was advancing to its current state way before Facebook."
- aztechfilm
"The village idiots migrated from AOL town square chat rooms to Facebook and Twitter."
- MysteriousBrays
"Could even still be MySpace? Can you imagine the level of background animations, glitter gifs and music a 15 year old profile would have?"
"Also, people are inherently stupid, they would find a way to ingest nonsense."
- Tiemujin
GiphyThe Trolley Problem Is Horrific In Real Life
"I would be interested in seeing how the world would’ve turned out without the atomic bomb."
- tomi210210
"The Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings were basically a real life application of the trolley problem."
- shiny_xnaut
"Agreed. Regrettably so."
"In the near term, it would have been disastrous for Japan."
"From "What If? Eminent Historians Imagine What Might Have Been" The US and allies already had plans to shift their strategic bombing campaign over to Japan's rail network and other transportation networks in Sept or Oct. Japanese civilians were already on reduced daily caloric intake."
"With US B-29s, along with other US and British bombers operating off Okinawa (and US and British Naval aircraft) hitting all the transportation network, etc... we would have seen nation wide famine throughout Japan."
"Millions would have died brutal and agonizing deaths."
"Then calculate for all the tens of thousands dying on a daily basis throughout the Asian/Pacific theater of operations."
"Then very likely another major war in Europe between the USSR/Warsaw Pact and NATO."
"Many who just oppose 'the bomb' somehow think that if the Manhattan Project had failed, or we had dropped the bomb on a deserted island as a demonstration; that all military actions would have been put on hold."
"Not even close."
"They forget how truly brutal and savage WW2 was; especially on certain fronts like the German/Soviet front and the actions in the Pacific and China."
"A proposed naval blockade would have eventually brought Japan down, but certainly the loss in life would have been far worse - in the millions."
"Few people know that in Europe, after the German surrender in May 1945, another 1 - 2 million died from disease, starvation, the cold, etc."
"That was in an area where the Allies had a far greater ability to bring in food, medicines, etc for the civilian populace and POWs. In Japan, we would not have had anything like that logistical footprint to work with."
"Severely slashed food intake combined with the onset of Japan's winter months .... you are talking nationwide famine on a historic level."
- Rogue1371
"At the time, half of Japan's military leaders were in favor of surrender, while half were against it."
"But even the surrender group was split between the 'surrender now for best terms' camp and the 'make the war as bloody as possible to force the US into more favorable terms' camp."
"And the anti surrender camp was so strong that there was a battle fought to keep the emperor's decoration of surrender from being broadcast."
"So the question of whether or not the bomb were needed is a question historians will be debating for centuries."
- PiLamdOd
GiphyPlastics
"I'm very interested to see what todays world would look like if plastic wasn't invented."
- llama606
"The medical world would suffer, I think. Most everything else would be able to cope."
- PG67AW
"I don't know. We started using plastic in all of our vehicles in the 1940s. Cars would be completely different."
"And every computer part ever made needs it - so that's two really huge parts of the world just obliterated right there."
"This would also mean no trash bags, no plastic grocery bags, no scuba gear, no space craft, no fire extinguishers, no air conditioning, no microwaves. Humanity would've persisted but wow it'd be a mess."
"But hot damn it would've been good for the planet."
- origional_esseven
"Nah, all those plastic pieces would be replaced by some sort of metal equivalent or glass if it needs to be clear."
"Flexible plastics would be replaced by rubbers"
"Plastic is literally just a cheaper and easier-to-make alternative to already viable and more recyclable materials. Greed is why we use it."
- musicalrssnroulette
GiphyThis Punderful Thread
"The wheel"
- azmetrex
"Some men just don't want to watch the world turn.'
- LongFeesh
"Someone would just reinvent it."
- toKenblaKKman
"This would have devastating consequences."
"I mean, without the wheel, what would Jesus take?"
- Ekaj__
GiphyThe Smaller Ones
"Cigarettes"
- corgiheavenlavender
"Early tobacco manufacturers, selling cigars and pipe tobacco:"
" 'He wants us to stop selling the smaller ones? Hokay man, whatever you say!' "
- CAustin3
"Only difference is there would be more pipes and cigars. People have smoked tobacco since around 4000 B.C."
- DontUpvoteNotWorth
"There's an ungodly amount of boutique and other fine cigars."
"Without the smaller cigarettes, you wouldn't have had the Affordable ads that addicted the world."
"Cigars remain a luxury good instead."
- Helphaer
GiphyGender Reveal Crossbows
"Gunpowder. I wanna be able to carry a saber everywhere."
- Specialist-Ad475
"Then how are we going to kill everyone at a gender reveal?"
- TackYouCack
"Gender reveal crossbows"
- Youpunyhumans
"I came here to say this. Imagine what the world would be like without gunpowder."
"European countries wouldn't have colonized everything and many countries would have been allowed to advance and use their own resources as they see fit or at least have a chance to protect their homes."
- all-boxed-up
"You can have the guns but I want my fireworks!!"
- inval1d_name
GiphyThomas
"Thomas Midgely adding lead in gasoline. One of the single worst ideas ever."
"Lead is extremely poisonous. I’m sure you’ve heard of lead poisoning."
"And it stays around a very long time. Everything- and I I mean everything - has dangerous amounts of lead in it."
"The grass, water, food you eat, even your body has at least 50 times the natural amount of lead because for 60 years every car on the planet spewed lead out of it’s tail pipe until it was discovered that it is killing millions across the world."
"Lead made engines run a bit more smoothly. That’s why it was put in to petrol in the first place."
"But nobody would admit to how dangerous it was until the 1970’s. The lead is still here to stay though."
- cjheaford
"That guy went on to invent CFCs for an encore, and punched a hole in the ozone layer."
- Tariovic
"Yeah lead poisoning is related to developmental and learning disorders as well mood disorders."
"The affects of lead poisoning on society and on discourse in society is rarely talked about."
- Ser_Dunk_the_tall
"Adding this guy onto my to-kill-list when I get a time machine."
- Parano78
"Not sure you could do a better job killing him than he did of killing himself."
"After being left with severe disabilities after contracting polio, he devised a pulley and rope system to get himself out of bed. One day he got entangled in the ropes and was strangled to death."
- Tariovic
GiphyPunishment From A Greek God
"Those impossible to open plastic things that holds in stuff"
- differentiatedpans
"Scissors in the clamshell packaging seems like a punishment a Greek god would dole out."
- MyKarmaHitMyDogma
"I've got scissors specially designed to open clamshell packaging...... that came in clamshell packaging!"
- KriegerClone02
"I don't understand why band saw manufacturers don't cash in on that market."
- hitmannumber862
GiphyWe're Not Cars
"Cars."
"Our cities are ridiculously car-centric and not made for a human being. But guys, here me out :"
"We are not cars! We are humans and we made an environment suited for something else entirely!"
- Commercial_One_4594·
"100% agree."
"Humans have been caged to sidewalks which are too narrow to walk side by side, left crumbling, and often vulnerable to 2 ton weapons that can end your life in an instance while letting the careless driver more times than not to walk free."
"Also 75% of the urban fabric in cities are dedicated to cars and their storage and everyone is just okay with the waste of space and the lack of sensible design and potential to house people where those asphalt deserts lay!"
"It's absolutely maddening."
- SwimmerNos
GiphyMass Communication
"Movable type is the answer. Nothing else would have remotely as big an impact if you wanted to change world history."
"The first form of mass communication allowing thousands of minds to consider the same problem with the same information and distribute each of their answers to everybody else... how to dig mines, how to build bridges, how to improve crop yeilds, which metal treatments and alloys worked better."
"And also how to build warships carrying guns, how to train troops to use guns, which gun designs worked best, new ways to make guns."
"Gutenberg's invention of the BUSINESS of printing allowed/caused one section of the world to not only re-work every aspect of it's own society but to conquer the entire rest of the world."
"Every single aspect of our world is a consequence of this and we are all members of the resulting civilization -- Published Civilization."
"We're going through another similar, though not quite as profound transformation currently."
"Ever since Gutenberg, mass communication has required resources like patrons, publishers, etc. and consequently those roles created gatekeepers. Smartphones and social media have allowed ANYONE to say ANYTHING and reach a world audience with zero resources."
"There were always 'flat-earthers' but when their mass communications were the mimeo machine prints they could run themselves and convince people to read, they remained insignificant."
"Now the one-in-a-million are all talking to each other and consequently there are thousands of them able to organize.
"People need to remember that Gutenberg also gave Europe 500 years of bloody religious war."
- Oknight
GiphyIt's your turn, fam.
What's an invention you think might have changed the whole game?
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Experiencing death is a fascinating and frightening idea.
Who doesn't want to know what is waiting for us on the other side?
But so many of us want to know and then come back and live a little longer.
It would be so great to be sure there is something else.
But the whole dying part is not that great, so we'll have to rely on other people's accounts.
Redditor AlaskaStiletto wanted to hear from everyone who has returned to life, so they asked:
"Redditors who have 'died' and come back to life, what did you see?"
Sensations
Happy Good Vibes GIF by Major League SoccerGiphy"My dad's heart stopped when he had a heart attack and he had to be brought back to life. He kept the paper copy of the heart monitor which shows he flatlined. He said he felt an overwhelming sensation of peace, like nothing he had felt before."
PeachesnPain
Recovery
"I had surgical complications in 2010 that caused a great deal of blood loss. As a result, I had extremely low blood pressure and could barely stay awake. I remember feeling like I was surrounded by loved ones who had passed. They were in a circle around me and I knew they were there to guide me onwards. I told them I was not ready to go because my kids needed me and I came back."
"My nurse later said she was afraid she’d find me dead every time she came into the room."
"It took months, and blood transfusions, but I recovered."
good_golly99
Take Me Back
"Overwhelming peace and happiness. A bright airy and floating feeling. I live a very stressful life. Imagine finding out the person you have had a crush on reveals they have the same feelings for you and then you win the lotto later that day - that was the feeling I had."
"I never feared death afterward and am relieved when I hear of people dying after suffering from an illness."
rayrayrayray
Free
The Light Minnie GIF by (G)I-DLEGiphy"I had a heart surgery with near-death experience, for me at least (well the possibility that those effects are caused by morphine is also there) I just saw black and nothing else but it was warm and I had such inner peace, its weird as I sometimes still think about it and wish this feeling of being so light and free again."
TooReDTooHigh
This is why I hate surgery.
You just never know.
Shocked
Giphy"More of a near-death experience. I was electrocuted. I felt like I was in a deep hole looking straight up in the sky. My life flashed before me. Felt sad for my family, but I had a deep sense of peace."
Admirable_Buyer6528
The SOB
"Nursing in the ICU, we’ve had people try to die on us many times during the years, some successfully. One guy stood out to me. His heart stopped. We called a code, are working on him, and suddenly he comes to. We hadn’t vented him yet, so he was able to talk, and he started screaming, 'Don’t let them take me, don’t let them take me, they are coming,' he was scared and yelling."
"Then he yelled a little more, as we tried to calm him down, he screamed, 'No, No,' and gestured towards the end of the bed, and died again. We didn’t get him back. It was seriously creepy. We called his son to tell him the news, and the son said basically, 'Good, he was an SOB.'”
1-cupcake-at-a-time
Colors
"My sister died and said it was extremely peaceful. She said it was very loud like a train station and lots of talking and she was stuck in this area that was like a curtain with lots of beautiful colors (colors that you don’t see in real life according to her) a man told her 'He was sorry, but she had to go back as it wasn’t her time.'"
Hannah_LL7
"I had a really similar experience except I was in an endless garden with flowers that were colors I had never seen before. It was quiet and peaceful and a woman in a dress looked at me, shook her head, and just said 'Not yet.' As I was coming back, it was extremely loud, like everyone in the world was trying to talk all at once. It was all very disorienting but it changed my perspective on life!"
huntokarrr
The Fog
"I was in a gray fog with a girl who looked a lot like a young version of my grandmother (who was still alive) but dressed like a pioneer in the 1800s she didn't say anything but kept pulling me towards an opening in the wall. I kept refusing to go because I was so tired."
"I finally got tired of her nagging and went and that's when I came to. I had bled out during a c-section and my heart could not beat without blood. They had to deliver the baby and sew up the bleeders. refill me with blood before they could restart my heart so, like, at least 12 minutes gone."
Fluffy-Hotel-5184
Through the Walls
"My spouse was dead for a couple of minutes one miserable night. She maintains that she saw nothing, but only heard people talking about her like through a wall. The only thing she remembers for absolute certain was begging an ER nurse that she didn't want to die."
"She's quite alive and well today."
Hot-Refrigerator6583
Well let's all be happy to be alive.
It seems to be all we have.
Trying to lose weight is a struggle understood by many people regardless of size.
The goal of reaching a healthy weight may seem unattainable, but with diet and exercise, it can pay off through persistence and discipline.
Seeing the pounds gradually drop off can also be a great motivator and incentivize people to stay the course.
Those who've achieved their respective weight goals shared their experiences when Redditor apprenti8455 asked:
"People who lost a lot of weight, what surprises you the most now?"
Redditors didn't see these coming.
Shiver Me Timbers
"I’m always cold now!"
– Telrom_1
"I had a coworker lose over 130 pounds five or six years ago. I’ve never seen him without a jacket on since."
– r7ndom
"140 lbs lost here starting just before COVID, I feel like that little old lady that's always cold, damn this top comment was on point lmao."
– mr_remy
Drawing Concern
"I lost 100 pounds over a year and a half but since I’m old(70’s) it seems few people comment on it because (I think) they think I’m wasting away from some terminal illness."
– dee-fondy
"Congrats on the weight loss! It’s honestly a real accomplishment 🙂"
"Working in oncology, I can never comment on someone’s weight loss unless I specifically know it was on purpose, regardless of their age. I think it kind of ruffles feathers at times, but like I don’t want to congratulate someone for having cancer or something. It’s a weird place to be in."
– LizardofDeath
Unleashing Insults
"I remember when I lost the first big chunk of weight (around 50 lbs) it was like it gave some people license to talk sh*t about the 'old' me. Old coworkers, friends, made a lot of not just negative, but harsh comments about what I used to look like. One person I met after the big loss saw a picture of me prior and said, 'Wow, we wouldn’t even be friends!'”
"It wasn’t extremely common, but I was a little alarmed by some of the attention. My weight has been up and down since then, but every time I gain a little it gets me a little down thinking about those things people said."
– alanamablamaspama
Not Everything Goes After Losing Weight
"The loose skin is a bit unexpected."
– KeltarCentauri
"I haven’t experienced it myself, but surgery to remove skin takes a long time to recover. Longer than bariatric surgery and usually isn’t covered by insurance unless you have both."
– KatMagic1977
"It definitely does take a long time to recover. My Dad dropped a little over 200 pounds a few years back and decided to go through with skin removal surgery to deal with the excess. His procedure was extensive, as in he had skin taken from just about every part of his body excluding his head, and he went through hell for weeks in recovery, and he was bedridden for a lot of it."
– Jaew96
These Redditors shared their pleasantly surprising experiences.
Shopping
"I can buy clothes in any store I want."
– WaySavvyD
"When I lost weight I was dying to go find cute, smaller clothes and I really struggled. As someone who had always been restricted to one or two stores that catered to plus-sized clothing, a full mall of shops with items in my size was daunting. Too many options and not enough knowledge of brands that were good vs cheap. I usually went home pretty frustrated."
– ganache98012
No More Symptoms
"Lost about 80 pounds in the past year and a half, biggest thing that I’ve noticed that I haven’t seen mentioned on here yet is my acid reflux and heartburn are basically gone. I used to be popping tums every couple hours and now they just sit in the medicine cabinet collecting dust."
– colleennicole93
Expanding Capabilities
"I'm all for not judging people by their appearance and I recognise that there are unhealthy, unachievable beauty standards, but one thing that is undeniable is that I can just do stuff now. Just stamina and flexibility alone are worth it, appearance is tertiary at best."
– Ramblonius
People Change Their Tune
"How much nicer people are to you."
"My feet weren't 'wide' they were 'fat.'"
– LiZZygsu
"Have to agree. Lost 220 lbs, people make eye contact and hold open doors and stuff"
"And on the foot thing, I also lost a full shoe size numerically and also wear regular width now 😅"
– awholedamngarden
It's gonna take some getting used to.
Bones Everywhere
"Having bones. Collarbones, wrist bones, knee bones, hip bones, ribs. I have so many bones sticking out everywhere and it’s weird as hell."
– Princess-Pancake-97
"I noticed the shadow of my ribs the other day and it threw me, there’s a whole skeleton in here."
– bekastrange
Knee Pillow
"Right?! And they’re so … pointy! Now I get why people sleep with pillows between their legs - the knee bones laying on top of each other (side sleeper here) is weird and jarring."
– snic2030
"I lost only 40 pounds within the last year or so. I’m struggling to relate to most of these comments as I feel like I just 'slimmed down' rather than dropped a ton. But wow, the pillow between the knees at night. YES! I can relate to this. I think a lot of my weight was in my thighs. I never needed to do this up until recently."
– Strongbad23
More Mobility
"I’ve lost 100 lbs since 2020. It’s a collection of little things that surprise me. For at least 10 years I couldn’t put on socks, or tie my shoes. I couldn’t bend over and pick something up. I couldn’t climb a ladder to fix something. Simple things like that I can do now that fascinate me."
"Edit: Some additional little things are sitting in a chair with arms, sitting in a booth in a restaurant, being able to shop in a normal store AND not needing to buy the biggest size there, being able to easily wipe my butt, and looking down and being able to see my penis."
– dma1965
People making significant changes, whether for mental or physical health, can surely find a newfound perspective on life.
But they can also discover different issues they never saw coming.
That being said, overcoming any challenge in life is laudable, especially if it leads to gaining confidence and ditching insecurities.