Black & white illustration of people brainstorming a new invention & image of a laptop

Glasshouse Images/Alamy Stock Photo (Johannes Gutenberg); Shutterstock.com (all other images)

Article Options

Presentation View
Teaching Resources

Language

Which of These Inventions Is the Most Important?

From a simple sheet of paper to the most advanced smartphone, many inventions have changed the way people communicate. But which creation has had the greatest impact?

Papyrus Paper

Invented in Egypt around 3000 B.C. 

Tolga TEZCAN/Getty Images (paper); Shutterstock.com (plant)

Paper may not seem all that important. You probably use it every day without much thought. But when it was invented more than 5,000 years ago, paper was revolutionary. Back then, many people carved their writings into stone, wood, or tablets made of clay. 

Ancient Egyptians had a better idea. They came up with a way to use a plant called papyrus to make paper. Their creation was lightweight and strong. Best of all, it wasn’t that difficult to make. 

Papyrus paper was so life-changing that people used it for thousands of years to record and share their ideas. Few other inventions have lasted nearly as long.

Papyrus was just the beginning of using plants to make paper. Rice and cotton have been used too. Today, paper is mostly made from trees.

Printing Press with Movable Type

Invented in Germany around 1439

Glasshouse Images/Alamy Stock Photo

Imagine if you had to copy your favorite book entirely by hand. In the early 1400s, most books were still created that way. That made them very rare and expensive.  

“One book could cost as much as a house,” explains historian Ada Palmer.

But then Johannes Gutenberg developed a printing press. It had individual metal letters that could be rearranged and reused. The letters were set in place to spell words and coated with ink. A piece of paper was placed on top and pushed down to make a copy.

In time, Gutenberg’s printing press could create about 250 pages an hour. Books became much more affordable as a result. That led to an explosion in learning—and even more innovations.

Telephone

Invented in the United States in 1876 

H. Armstrong Roberts/Getty Images

For centuries, most communication was done in person or in writing. It wasn’t uncommon to have to wait days, weeks, or even months to get in touch with someone who didn’t live nearby.    

But then in 1876, Alexander Graham Bell introduced the telephone. It allowed people to talk in real time over long distances.

“The telephone introduced a new way of living, where it was possible to connect with people at any time, instantly, whenever you’d like,” explains historian Josh Lauer. 

Businesses could expand too. They could open new offices in distant cities.    

Today’s phones do much more than make calls. They allow us to communicate through text messages, email, FaceTime, and social media. In 2022, there were about 8.5 billion cell phones worldwide. That’s more than the number of people on the entire planet!

Internet

Invented in the United States in the 1960s

Shutterstock.com

It may be hard to picture a world without the internet. You’d have to search through stacks of books to do research. You couldn’t play video games with your friend in another state. And, of course, there would be no YouTube, TikTok, or FaceTime.

The internet was created in the 1960s as a way for government researchers to share information. It wasn’t until the early 1990s that the World Wide Web become available to the public.  

Today, the internet is a major part of how we live and work. With just a few taps of a keyboard, people near and far can stay in touch, share information, conduct business, and so much more. It’s no wonder that the average internet user spends nearly seven hours a day online!

What does your class think?

Which invention is most important?

Please enter a valid number of votes for one class to proceed.

Which invention is most important?

Please select an answer to vote.

Which invention is most important?

0%
0votes
{{result.answer}}
Total Votes: 0
Thank you for voting!
Sorry, an error occurred and your vote could not be processed. Please try again later.
Skills Sheets (1)
Games (1)
Text-to-Speech