bookbard Posted May 13, 2022 Share Posted May 13, 2022 I was just thinking about this (well, partly because I was reading a time-travel book. I like to be prepared). What really huge problems turned out to have simple solutions? I can think of : Hand-washing removes germs. Increasing folate in pregnancy decreased neural tube defects in children by up to 70%. Turning babies onto their backs, not stomachs, to sleep, decreased SIDS by at least half. Can you think of others? 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drama Llama Posted May 13, 2022 Share Posted May 13, 2022 Wolves in Yellowstone. 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawyer&Mom Posted May 13, 2022 Share Posted May 13, 2022 Crop rotation. Inventing the wheel. Movable print. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
73349 Posted May 13, 2022 Share Posted May 13, 2022 Using a checklist prevents a lot of errors by surgeons (who also write on people with Sharpie now to make sure they don't, say, amputate the wrong foot) and pilots. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bookbard Posted May 14, 2022 Author Share Posted May 14, 2022 Great ideas, lots I hadn't thought of. I did think of the whole 'use a pencil in space rather than invent special pen' but apparently that's an urban myth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiewindmomma Posted May 14, 2022 Share Posted May 14, 2022 optical lenses: eye sight, magnifying, etc. compass: navigation paper: light weight portable record keeping nails & screws: fastening things together penicillin: billions of lives saved water wheel refrigerator: solving some food preservation issues steel: strong enough to do a lot of things, especially with cables flint, and then matches: starting a fire, that most basic of life sustaining things vaccination: disease prevention 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bookbard Posted May 14, 2022 Author Share Posted May 14, 2022 33 minutes ago, prairiewindmomma said: optical lenses: eye sight, magnifying, etc. compass: navigation paper: light weight portable record keeping nails & screws: fastening things together penicillin: billions of lives saved water wheel refrigerator: solving some food preservation issues steel: strong enough to do a lot of things, especially with cables flint, and then matches: starting a fire, that most basic of life sustaining things vaccination: disease prevention I don't know if all of those are simple solutions though. Like Penicillin took a lot of research before it moved from some bloke's mouldy experiment to the thing we take today. However, the vaccination one is interesting, if you start with smallpox inoculation. It all began apparently from ordinary Turkish folk medicine - a tiny cut and rubbing a bit of smallbox fluid into it. smallpox inoculation history 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaybee Posted May 14, 2022 Share Posted May 14, 2022 I don't know if this really fits, but finding out that H. Pylori is the cause of ulcers. My poor mom struggled with a bleeding ulcer a couple of times, and felt guilt because she was blamed for causing it by worrying too much (stress); yet, she couldn't figure out what she was so stressed about that would have caused it.🙁 She felt vindicated when this news came out. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ausmumof3 Posted May 14, 2022 Share Posted May 14, 2022 Half flush and full flush toilets for reducing water consumption. I mean not super simple but not overly complicated and a huge saving. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bookbard Posted May 14, 2022 Author Share Posted May 14, 2022 13 minutes ago, Ausmumof3 said: Half flush and full flush toilets for reducing water consumption. I mean not super simple but not overly complicated and a huge saving. Wasn't flushing toilets a fairly early invention? I'll have to remember that one (if I go back in time). 5 hours ago, prairiewindmomma said: water wheel Actually that reminded me that they had the pottery wheel for hundreds or even thousands of years before they thought of using it for transport. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted May 14, 2022 Share Posted May 14, 2022 The puffy lines on the side of the road, that probably have a proper name, to shock drifting drivers back into their lane. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bookbard Posted May 14, 2022 Author Share Posted May 14, 2022 (edited) Oh, my husband pointed out another one. Problem: People flying through windscreens in a car accident. Solution: Seat-belt. 3 minutes ago, Rosie_0801 said: The puffy lines on the side of the road, that probably have a proper name, to shock drifting drivers back into their lane. Oh yeah that's a good one. Also the flexible wire dividers between lanes like they have on highways. I feel like if I was inventing the whole road thing for cars from scratch, I'd make it mandatory. Edited May 14, 2022 by bookbard Edited to add - husband said they're called "rumblestrips" 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted May 14, 2022 Share Posted May 14, 2022 27 minutes ago, Rosie_0801 said: The puffy lines on the side of the road, that probably have a proper name, to shock drifting drivers back into their lane. I think those are called rumble strips. And those yellow stripes across a fast road as you approach a junction that trick the brain into slowing down because the distance between them decreases as you get close. I thought of one, maybe too complex - the Maclaren light weight folding baby buggy, importing aircraft engineering to an everyday problem. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owen_Finlay_Maclaren 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie12345 Posted May 14, 2022 Share Posted May 14, 2022 I wish pull out shelves were less expensive, because there has never been a simpler solution to finding and grabbing things in the back of cabinets! Banning smoking in buildings. It sounded like something that would never work, and yet here we are, unable to believe it was ever allowed! This stupid little tool for blocking paint overspray https://www.homedepot.com/p/36-in-Aluminum-Multi-Angled-Paint-Spray-Shield-19PT0906/314472698?source=shoppingads&locale=en-US&pla&mtc=Shopping-BF-F_Brand-G-Multi-NA-Multi-NA-Feed-PLA_LIA-NA-NA-Catchall_PLA&cm_mmc=Shopping-BF-F_Brand-G-Multi-NA-Multi-NA-Feed-PLA_LIA-NA-NA-Catchall_PLA-71700000014585962-58700001236285396-92700067144412185&gclid=Cj0KCQjwpv2TBhDoARIsALBnVnnYuov3QEyUWIN_KsKYEO1KW0qNnuRDW4C3-DgixCDKTCrNOh04SfwaAvGbEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds , which my trim painters did not use and now my walls need to be fixed. Mute buttons. RainX Dawn dish soap Extra erasers that pop on the back of pencils Nail brushes Separate blankets on the bed. DocuSign (or however it’s spelled) Gummy vitamins Masks 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted May 14, 2022 Share Posted May 14, 2022 58 minutes ago, Carrie12345 said: I wish pull out shelves were less expensive, because there has never been a simpler solution to finding and grabbing things in the back of cabinets! Banning smoking in buildings. It sounded like something that would never work, and yet here we are, unable to believe it was ever allowed! This stupid little tool for blocking paint overspray https://www.homedepot.com/p/36-in-Aluminum-Multi-Angled-Paint-Spray-Shield-19PT0906/314472698?source=shoppingads&locale=en-US&pla&mtc=Shopping-BF-F_Brand-G-Multi-NA-Multi-NA-Feed-PLA_LIA-NA-NA-Catchall_PLA&cm_mmc=Shopping-BF-F_Brand-G-Multi-NA-Multi-NA-Feed-PLA_LIA-NA-NA-Catchall_PLA-71700000014585962-58700001236285396-92700067144412185&gclid=Cj0KCQjwpv2TBhDoARIsALBnVnnYuov3QEyUWIN_KsKYEO1KW0qNnuRDW4C3-DgixCDKTCrNOh04SfwaAvGbEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds , which my trim painters did not use and now my walls need to be fixed. Mute buttons. RainX Dawn dish soap Extra erasers that pop on the back of pencils Nail brushes Separate blankets on the bed. DocuSign (or however it’s spelled) Gummy vitamins Masks Gummy vitamins make all the difference with me. I don’t know what my problem is. It’s not like I don’t HAVE a glass of water nearby. I still don’t take them every day, but I take them WAY more often in gummy form. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted May 14, 2022 Share Posted May 14, 2022 Warning nerd moment: Back in late 11th century England when Hubert Walter reinstituted what had been an earlier medieval practice of creating 3 parts to a legal dispute. In the past, there were only two parts, the same document which was cut in two on a jagged line and each party received one half. That way it cut down on forgeries and they could line up the documents to test their validity if needed. When the third part was introduced, it was simply a way for the chancery to keep their own copy. It was a huge deal. Now the manner of organinzing them so they could be found when necessary was a whole other development. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chirograph 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie12345 Posted May 14, 2022 Share Posted May 14, 2022 4 minutes ago, KungFuPanda said: Gummy vitamins make all the difference with me. I don’t know what my problem is. It’s not like I don’t HAVE a glass of water nearby. I still don’t take them every day, but I take them WAY more often in gummy form. They’re my every day dessert, lol. I’m so happy when Vitafusion D3 is in stock! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmrich Posted May 14, 2022 Share Posted May 14, 2022 The paint can I used this year had a little spot where you could open a hole and then screw in a spout so you can easily pour the paint. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murphy101 Posted May 14, 2022 Share Posted May 14, 2022 others I can think of: Salt. So many absolutely needed functions with it for humans to survive. water wells Standardized measurements and medical equipment. A “spoon” could be enough to kill you or save you pending whose spoon is used. The ability to give IVs REDUNDANCY. I chant this daily. Redundancy saves lives. Every day we are all one accident from death. And a back up often prevents that death. Seatbelts save lives. Seatbelts and crash cage save more lives. Seatbelts, airbags, crash cage and better windshields save even more lives. insulin saves lives. Having more than one vial saves more lives. (What if one breaks?) scuba diving air tanks saves lives. Two valves to the tank saves lives. Training go to share your tank with someone who’s tank failed saves more lives. Breathing techniques saves more lives. Repeated training saves even more lives. Redundancy is NEVER a waste of time energy or resources. It literally saves lives. 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmandaVT Posted May 14, 2022 Share Posted May 14, 2022 School lunches - ensuring kids have access to food during their school day has helped innumerable children. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murphy101 Posted May 14, 2022 Share Posted May 14, 2022 Reading and writing. Seriously. The simple solution to a lot of problems is basic communication. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarita Posted May 14, 2022 Share Posted May 14, 2022 Place value method of symbolizing numbers, as opposed to tally method (think roman numerals). I watched a you tube video on doing long division using roman numerals. So glad we have place value or else I would be horrible at math. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fraidycat Posted May 14, 2022 Share Posted May 14, 2022 13 hours ago, Rosie_0801 said: The puffy lines on the side of the road, that probably have a proper name, to shock drifting drivers back into their lane. Do your rumble strips stick up from the road, like mini speed bumps? Ours are routered out of the road, rather than up, so the road is flat with grooves dug out of it. 13 hours ago, bookbard said: Oh yeah that's a good one. Also the flexible wire dividers between lanes like they have on highways. I feel like if I was inventing the whole road thing for cars from scratch, I'd make it mandatory. Do you mean those reflector thingies that make the dividing lines more visible? Or is this wire divider something that is an Aussie thing? Back to the OP, not completely different from checklists, but Routines or Standard Operating Procedures are great to prevent or help solve problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bookbard Posted May 14, 2022 Author Share Posted May 14, 2022 21 minutes ago, fraidycat said: Do you mean those reflector thingies that make the dividing lines more visible? Or is this wire divider something that is an Aussie thing? Cable barrier - Wikipedia 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DreamerGirl Posted May 14, 2022 Share Posted May 14, 2022 The idea of boiling water to make it safe Sailing Aviation Printing press Waste management systems like sewage and garbage Light Bulb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted May 14, 2022 Share Posted May 14, 2022 2 hours ago, fraidycat said: Do your rumble strips stick up from the road, like mini speed bumps? Ours are routered out of the road, rather than up, so the road is flat with grooves dug out of it. Yes, ours stick up. I've never heard of having them carved out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KSera Posted May 15, 2022 Share Posted May 15, 2022 27 minutes ago, Rosie_0801 said: Yes, ours stick up. I've never heard of having them carved out! Do they "buzz" if you drive over them? Ours are carved out here and if you cross onto them they make a loud buzzing type noise (I don't mean electronically, I just mean somehow the sound of driving over them creates a loud noise). It seems like they only started doing that about a decade ago, and it's really smart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corraleno Posted May 15, 2022 Share Posted May 15, 2022 36 minutes ago, Rosie_0801 said: Yes, ours stick up. I've never heard of having them carved out! The problem with the ones that stick up is that in areas that get snow, the snow plows would just scrape them off. Carving them into the road means snow plows can just go right over them 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terabith Posted May 15, 2022 Share Posted May 15, 2022 What time travel book are you reading? I am a sucker for time travel books/ movies/ tv shows. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted May 15, 2022 Share Posted May 15, 2022 30 minutes ago, KSera said: Do they "buzz" if you drive over them? Ours are carved out here and if you cross onto them they make a loud buzzing type noise (I don't mean electronically, I just mean somehow the sound of driving over them creates a loud noise). It seems like they only started doing that about a decade ago, and it's really smart. Buzz is too gentle a word. lol Loud buzzing, is more accurate. 'Scare the daylights out of you' buzzing... I think we've had them here 30 years, ish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KSera Posted May 15, 2022 Share Posted May 15, 2022 15 minutes ago, Rosie_0801 said: Buzz is too gentle a word. lol Loud buzzing, is more accurate. 'Scare the daylights out of you' buzzing... I think we've had them here 30 years, ish. Lol. Sounds like a good solution 👍. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Tick Posted May 15, 2022 Share Posted May 15, 2022 2 hours ago, DreamerGirl said: Aviation There isn't a lot of "simple" in aviation? Are vinyl stickers simple? They sure have saved my walls a lot of wear and tear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bolt. Posted May 15, 2022 Share Posted May 15, 2022 (edited) Removing lead (as an additive) from gasoline. Edited May 15, 2022 by bolt. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted May 15, 2022 Share Posted May 15, 2022 re: wheel, pottery wheel - it was long after the wheel was used for transport that it finally occurred to anybody to use it for spinning and then for weaving. You can spin much more fiber into thread in the same time using a spinning wheel, but it was invented amazingly late. I think, though, that when it comes to transport the issue is one of infrastructure. The earliest wheels were big heavy things, which needed to be pulled by big heavy animals, and in order to do that you need all the gear to attach the animal to the vehicle in the first place. If you already have a system for moving things around, why change it? And of course, wheels are impractical in lots of areas, even today, places which don't have roads and have rough terrain instead. A mule can climb up a mountain. A horse and cart maybe can't. Once wheeled vehicles were in place, there was room to change the wheel itself to be lighter, so even a child could pull a handcart or ride a bike. But nobody's going to invent spoked wheels until there's a need, and there won't be a need until people are already using wheels in the first place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bookbard Posted May 15, 2022 Author Share Posted May 15, 2022 5 hours ago, Terabith said: What time travel book are you reading? I am a sucker for time travel books/ movies/ tv shows. Someone in Time eBook by Nina Allan - 9781786183392 | Rakuten Kobo Australia 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted May 15, 2022 Share Posted May 15, 2022 At my house, masking tape has nearly eliminated food waste. Dh has never been one to put any real effort into finding things in the fridge. Several years ago I started labeling leftovers with masking tape and a sharpie. Leftovers and ingredients don’t get lost as easily so we use up what we have before cooking more food. Maybe civilized people have nice, clear Tupperware containers in their fridge? At my house it can look like there are 5 containers of sour cream and 5 more of yogurt. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 15, 2022 Share Posted May 15, 2022 Condoms. Lol 2 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shawthorne44 Posted May 15, 2022 Share Posted May 15, 2022 This is lovely to read. Although the babies on their backs didn't do much to help babies live. Not a conspiracy though. Because of the intense research effort into SIDS, it got a Medical definition at around the same time as the babies-on-back campaign started that was better than, "Healthy baby died while asleep." Any death that would have been counted as SIDS before, but not under the better definition was called SUDS. The U for unexpected. If you add up the SIDS and the SUDS, nothing has really changed. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ann.without.an.e Posted May 15, 2022 Share Posted May 15, 2022 14 hours ago, Terabith said: What time travel book are you reading? I am a sucker for time travel books/ movies/ tv shows. Not totally about time travel in the normal sense and totally OT (sorry), but have you ever watched the movie About Time. It is one of my all time favs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DreamerGirl Posted May 15, 2022 Share Posted May 15, 2022 18 hours ago, SusanC said: There isn't a lot of "simple" in aviation? Hmmm...I have heard tell the history of aviation started with kites, that is the idea of something man made flying in the sky. kites seemed simple. That was the thought behind anyways 😊 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted May 15, 2022 Share Posted May 15, 2022 The metric system to eliminate tedious unit conversions. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 15, 2022 Share Posted May 15, 2022 1 hour ago, regentrude said: The metric system to eliminate tedious unit conversions. “Come on America! Join, like, Everybody Else!” 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bookbard Posted May 15, 2022 Author Share Posted May 15, 2022 I thought of another one. Big problem - parasites and bacteria in food, esp meat, but also milk. Either deadly, or causing long-term illness. Simple solution - heat food until those things are dead. (You only need to bring milk to the boil). Enjoy new flavours! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shawthorne44 Posted May 15, 2022 Share Posted May 15, 2022 36 minutes ago, bookbard said: I thought of another one. Big problem - parasites and bacteria in food, esp meat, but also milk. Either deadly, or causing long-term illness. Simple solution - heat food until those things are dead. (You only need to bring milk to the boil). Enjoy new flavours! Generally speaking, cooked food is more bioavailable too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted May 16, 2022 Share Posted May 16, 2022 10 hours ago, regentrude said: The metric system to eliminate tedious unit conversions. Including metric currency to replace legacy currencies. I grew up with 12 pennies to the shilling, 20 shillings to the pound, some large transactions in guineas, which were 21 shillings I think. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted May 16, 2022 Share Posted May 16, 2022 Meh, the metric system is overrated. In my actual day-to-day life I rarely need to increase or decrease a measurement by a factor of ten. Instead, I need to halve or double it, cut it to 1/3 or triple it, quarter or quadruple it. Standard measurements handle two of those just fine, and often the one in the middle as well. Metric is only good for moving the decimal around. If I want to cut a recipe that calls for 13 grams of something down to 1/4 of the size, I have to do math. Also, it has not escaped my notice that while the metric system has a whole buttload of prefixes to use, in practice most of them don't get used, and those that are used are typically only used with one base unit, not all of them. Nobody says "Five deciliters", they refer to "half a liter". They don't speak of "2 hectometers" either, but instead ".2 kilometers" or "200 meters". This annoys me. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bootsie Posted May 16, 2022 Share Posted May 16, 2022 velcro Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 16, 2022 Share Posted May 16, 2022 1 hour ago, Bootsie said: velcro Yes, but which also created the new problem of kids not learning how to tie their shoes until much later than previous generations…😄 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarita Posted May 17, 2022 Share Posted May 17, 2022 12 hours ago, Quill said: Yes, but which also created the new problem of kids not learning how to tie their shoes until much later than previous generations…😄 Speaking as an adult I am team slip-on shoe. I mean sure maybe sometimes lace-up shoes are needed, but unless it's absolutely necessary I avoid them. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drjuliadc Posted May 17, 2022 Share Posted May 17, 2022 For some reason I used to worry as a child that I would never have an original thought. Regarding the topic at hand, I like to say, “They sent a man to the moon before it occurred to anyone to add wheels to luggage.” I have never heard anyone else ever mention this, so there, my one original thought. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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