What is the most influential machine of the industrial age?

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

This is purely subjective, but basically I am talking about the iconic machines here, not their generic copies. Basically, these would be machines that changed the world or reshaped it in a dramatic way. This is not limited to any one kind of machine either, and I am wondering what everyone thinks. Anyhow, my list includes the following items:

Cars:
VW Beetle
Austin/Morris Mini
Citroen 2CV
Ford Model T
Datsun PL510 (First good Japanese car)

Guns:
AK-47 (No other gun has been as historically significant in the last 50 years)
Maxim machine Gun
Colt Revolver

Electronics:
Xerox copy machine
IBM PC
Apple iPod
Atari 2600

Aircraft:
Dehaveland Comet (first commercial jet plane)
Boeing 707 (first successful commercial jet plane)
Bell UH-1 Helicopter
Mitsubishi A6M "Zero"

 

[v8power]

no one cares

 

[crappycutlass]

french toast

 

[JESSE]

invention

:lol:

 

[v8power]

no its that peanut butter and jelly in one jar! that is ingenious

 

[yourownself]

no its that peanut butter and jelly in one jar! that is ingenious

amen, brother! maybe they'll put it into a squeeze bottle and win a nobel prize or something!

 

[STLRegal]

toilet and toilet paper.

 

[78mali350]

I will agree on the VW being very influential, honestly thought i think the Ak-47 could be replaced with one of mosler's many guns. The actions from moslers are still used and designed after today and i think they have had a greater impact. The AK-47 though i will give you has been one of the most heavily used rifles and most reliable in those instances but i do not believe that it changed the world per-say. It was simply a better version of say the M1-Grand. That gun changed how we did warfare dramatically with the ability to have a seven round clip and not have to reload that was a HUGE step from what we had been using before in the 1903-A3

 

[axisg]

How far back do you want to go ? Why do you have IPod on the list ? Nothing but a gimmic IMO.

MP3 is the format, Ipod is just a player. For personal music refer to the Sony Walkman or previous to that the Transistor Radio of the 70's made music portable

Television is huge for commerce. Commercials sell products, no denying that

Next would be one of the original type-set machines ( printer ) long before the Zerox Copier it would allow news and print to be spread within a community

Teletype machine ( grandfather to the fax machine ) made overseas commerce much more friendly

The model T would be #1 for me because it did so many things.

It revolutionized the assembly process.
It was affordable and was the first car ever for many many families
It allowed people to move about much more freely and helped with commerce

 

[Uncletruck]

The Match- Don't have to light smokes off open fire anymore
The Zippo/wick lighter- Don't have to light smokes with matches anymore
The Cricket lighter- Don't have to fuel up your lighter anymore
Nicorette Gum- Don't have to smoke anymore!


MHO-- The piston engine/compressor is likely the most infuential machine ever built thus far on Earth. It has lasted since its inception and I believe will continue to last for quite a few more generations.

-UT-