Top 20 Innovations Since 2000

When you look back on the history of the world and the many inventions that have come along that have changed things drastically, most people think of things like the automobile, the airplane, the telephone, vaccinations for polio and discoveries of that nature. What you may not realize is that just within the last ten to fifteen years there have been incredible strides taken and inventions and discoveries that have forever changed the world as well. Here are the top twenty innovations that the world has seen just since the year 2000.
20. Touchless Bathroom Fixtures

Many people may not realize that it is only since 2003 that things like the air dryer have been present in public restrooms, making it much more sanitary and easier for drying your hands. Other fixtures began to appear at the same time or just a few years later, such as motion detecting faucets, paper dispensers and self-flushing toilets.

19. Video Game Consoles

While video game consoles have really been around since the 1970s, it was only within the last ten years that real strides were taken thanks to efforts by Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft to completely change the way games are played. The updates to the equipment provided graphics never seen before to make the experience unlike anything else and changed the way the world plays games.

18. USB Drive

Before the USB drive came along the floppy disk was the only way for you to save things from your computer and have them portable. Today, you can get hundreds of times the amount of information on a simple USB drive and have access to it on several different devices to share documents, pictures, video and more.

17. YouTube

YouTube has completely changed the way the world sees things. Millions of people make use of it each day, sharing videos of all kinds to people all around the world. It has become a vital tool for sharing news, but also a great marketing tool for music, television, movies and more. A person can become a star overnight thanks to the technology of video sharing.

16. E-Readers

The days of needing bookcases or stacking books on the floor are over thanks to these reading devices. One device can hold thousands of books, allowing you to always have your library with you to read something and you can download a new book in seconds to have instant access.

15. 3D Printing

The ability to print three dimensional objects has completely changed many different fields involved in design. This type of printing allows for precise models and prototypes to be built, but it also has helped to advance medical technology in reproducing body parts, skin and more to help patients.

14. Robotics for Surgery

It is now much more common to see the use of different types of robotics that allow surgeons to perform delicate and precise tasks that could never be done before. Work on the spinal cord, brain, heart and other areas of the body that was never possible before is now done routinely thanks to robotics.

13. Social Networks

Social networks like Facebook and Twitter have completely altered the way people keep in touch, get information and share information. You can talk to nearly anyone, find out what they are doing, find family members and friends and keep in contact like never before.

12. Wikipedia

Thanks to Wikipedia the need for going to the library or having an encyclopedia set at home to find information is no longer needed. Wikipedia provides you with information you need regarding anything and everything and is constantly being updated to provide higher levels of accuracy.

11. Hybrid Cars

Not that long ago the idea of having a car that used electricity and gas to run seemed absurd, but it is within the last ten years or so that hybrid cars have come to the forefront. This has allowed people to have cars that rely less on fuel, get better gas mileage and have cars that will last longer and run more efficiently.

10. Blackberry

While the idea of having a Blackberry today may not appeal to everyone, this device helped to launch the importance of text messaging that exists today. It allowed you to send messages while you were mobile and was the business tool that everyone needed to have in the early 2000s.

9. HGP

HGP is known as the Human Genome Project and involved mapping out the human DNA. While the idea was originally started in the 1950s, it was only in the 1980s that work really began and it was finally completed in 2003. This mapping provides the blueprint for doctors, scientists and researchers into the human body, allowing them to find cures for diseases and understand how the body works and why.

8. Skype

The use of Skype seems routine to many people today, but the idea of being able to use your computer to see and talk to someone in real-time around the world might have seemed right out of a science fiction movie twenty –five years ago. Now, people use Skype more than they use email or their home phone.

7. DVR

The use of the DVR has completely altered the way most people watch television today. Instead of needing to record shows on videotape, DVRs allow for many shows to be saved and watched later, letting you skip through and watch at your leisure.

6. Cloud Technology

Cloud technology has set the tone for the future and the way people save information both personally and for business. It also allows for much more file-sharing than was ever possible before and has opened the door for all kinds of possibilities in the future.

5. GPS

The days of having to rely on paper maps and stopping for directions ended with the use of GPS technology. You can now map out your plans to go anywhere and find just what you need along the way thanks to global positioning and satellite technology right in your car or on your phone.

4. Cell Phones

The idea of cell phones started before 2000, but the evolution of the device since then has been drastic and now, where cell phones were once a luxury item, everyone has a cell phone to communicate while on the go.

3. Wi-Fi Technology

The use of mobile broadband and Wi-Fi technology now allows people to have instant access to the Internet on a multitude of devices from nearly anywhere on the planet at any time. This technology has changed everything for people from the way they communicate with each other to the way they play and find information to the way business is conducted.

2. iPod

The iPod completely revolutionized the music industry and helped to usher in the digital age, making music accessible on this tiny device, and now games, movies, TV shows and much more. It seems almost unimaginable today for a person not to have an iPod or what the world was like before they existed.

1. iPhone

Apple introduced the iPhone in 2007 and it was one of the pioneers in using a multi-touch interface. This was the beginning of a new era in mobiles, with new standards for smartphones usability and design.