Lifesavers

Usually saving lives is attributed to such professions as medical workers and firefighters. And they are, of course, saving thousands of human lives every day in their line of duty. And they deserve, of course, thousands of thanks from all of us. There is, however, a different brand of people also laboring to preserve human lives, but not often recognized as such. They are inventors.

Do you realize how much time in your life is being saved because of ingenious gadgets that surround us every day? Here is an example that will help you understand what I mean. A “slide fastener” or a “zipper” was invented by Whitcomb L. Judson in the early 1890s and was improved upon later on.  Let us assume for simplicity that 1 billion people use zippers every day and doing that saves 2 seconds each compared to using buttons for the same application.  That makes the total worldwide daily saving of over 63 years or, putting it in a different perspective, frees up more than 23 thousand people from spending their entire lives buttoning and unbuttoning garments.

Granted, we are not dead while buttoning up our garments. But we are not quite free either. We can think and walk, but not act using our hands. So, let's say we are 10% dead during that time. That would still amount to a whopping 2,300 lives saved daily. And this is just the effect of one invention. How about dishwashers, microwaves, washers, and many more gadgets we use every day? Does anyone miss spending half a day one-on-one with a washboard? I still feel that inventors' contribution to saving our lives is on par with that of medics and firefighters.