Greatest Invention of All Time

Greatest Invention of All Time

Throughout history mankind has documented and recorded a wealth of information concerning events and deeds that have affected mankind in one way or another. Inventions and discoveries of all types have been applauded and heralded as important to the well being of man. Of course in the VERY early times it was the discovery of fire that forever changed man’s quest for comfort, be it warmth or food. Next came the use of tools albeit crude rough drafts of things to come, they none the less figured out that a club or a rock used in the given manner made the task at hand easier.
Exalted as the greatest invention of all is the wheel! After all the wheel changed life in many different areas. Aside from the normally thought of method of transportation, the wheel significally reduced the effort required to move any load for whatever purpose it needed to be moved. It also lead to further developments including gears, conveyors, and dozens of rotating machines. Objects, people, tools, and just about everything imaginable was enhanced via the wheel.
Now skip forward a few thousand years and the general populous has embraced the wheel with amazing vigor! Most noticeable is by way of the automobile. We LOVE our cars! We are so caught up with these personal transportation machines that there are over 700 different makes available world wide to suit whatever tastes you have. As if that weren’t enough, an entire industry has sprung up that manufactures aftermarket pieces and parts to further enhance or customize the car to personalize it more. Street rodding and customizing grew from that need to be different, to go faster, to individualize the metal dream boat to our own tastes. We can change colors, wheels, grilles, add spoilers,
Ground effect packages, bumpers, exhaust systems, and on and on and on
For really serious individualists, there are shops that can reshape anything on your car to whatever shape you think would make it look better. They can beat and bang panels into new proportions with almost magical skills.
Of course there are also those of us that prefer to modify the ole buggy ourselves into what ever floats our own personal boat. We will work diligently and tirelessly at our chosen task of remaking whatever part we decided needed redoing. We cut, weld , hammer, bend, twist, hammer some more, and then hammer again until we are satisfied with the results. That brings me back to where I started, the greatest invention of all time.
You see, I disagree with the boys that picked the wheel as our greatest triumph! Oh, I’ll concede that the wheel was an important discovery and that it has greatly improved life as we know it. BUT…… how do you suppose those cavemen made that first wheel? What was used to create such a marvel? After the wheel was perfected(?), what was used to make something to use it with?
Well kiddo, it was a hammer!!!! That’s right a hammer. Now it probably wasn’t one even similar to those in the work shops of today, but make no mistake it WAS a hammer.
Most likely the first hammer was a stone of some sort used by hand to beat the #*@* out of something. Later a brave and ambitious person attached it to a stick for handle and found that performed better. The rest is history!! We have been beating things into one shape or another for centuries. And it all started with that one man shaping a rock with a rock! Pounding that rock against the other until it began to form the desired shape.
Today there aren’t many places where a hammer can’t be found. They come, just like wheels, in all shapes and sizes. And yes even colors. We have claw hammers, tack hammers, body hammers, dead blow hammers, rubber hammers, sledge hammers, big hammers, little hammers, power hammers, electric hammers, drill hammers, and on and on. We build things with our hammers. We knock things down with our hammers. We shape things with our hammers. We even make hammers with our hammers. There isn’t a house, a car, a piece of furniture, a machine, or anything that didn’t get to its shape or purpose without the use of a hammer at some point in its creation.
Today’s hammers are most often a forgotten tool thrown into a tool box or closet just waiting for its next assignment. We don’t give it much thought. But when the occasion arises, that trusty ole hammer is ready and willing to assist us again in pounding the daylights out of whatever falls prey to our needs or desires. It even serves us, at times,
in a therapeutic manner. After several attempts at achieving a stated task has failed, folks have been known to beat the poor hammer mercilessly against whatever happens to be handy at the time. Or in rare instances, a hammer has been thrown madly any direction, thereby rendering instant relief to the frustrated user. Today we call that ‘multi-tasking’.
So in retrospect I think it’s safe to say that those in our past made a grave misjudgment by granting the honor of our greatest achievement to an item that was not possible without the use of our beloved hammer! While the hammer has been responsible for many a swore finger, bruised hand, broken window, bent part and so on, these things are just a fact of life. When compared to the legacy of the wheel…..well let’s just say we’re safe with the hammer. So in the future how about giving that trusted tool a little more respect. Maybe even a special place of prominence within the tool box. Say how about a whole museum full of nothing but hammers of all sizes and shapes . Or perhaps a holiday just for hammer owners, or how about…………. Naw!! Just remember, the hammer MAKES things when used correctly, and that the wheel came second!!!!!!!!!!

See You On The Street
Ron Goben

WHAT PRICE TICKET????

It seems as though everything in life has a ‘range’, if you will. You know, while you’re shopping for just the right whatever you find a ‘good, better, and best’ scenario. The advertising folks would have us believe that it’s all for your benefit. Something for everyone and every budget kind of logic. You be the judge and decide for yourself which of their product line fits you.

Let’s start at the beginning with their ‘basic’, economy, or standard line. Most of the time it will perform its intended task. In short it gets the job done. No frills, extras or additives, just the straight forward job at hand. It is always priced below the rest of the product line. As such it sometimes gets labeled as economy ’, ‘bargain or just plain ‘cheap’! But still it fulfills a need.

Next we go to the ‘better’ product. It is the same as the good, but with some ‘extras’ added. This time we get a little extra action for the end result. We not only accomplish the task at hand but we also get a couple of other benefits as well. Perhaps it performs an additional related task to that of the original problem. Maybe just a stronger application of the ‘good’ version. Whatever, but the jest of it is that it’s better AND more expensive.

Of course we can always choose to go straight for ‘best’ of what is being offered. There we are lead to believe is the greatest benefit from the use of the product that can be obtained. Here we are going to not only accomplish the original task, and the ‘extras’ of the better version, but go way beyond that. The accolades are never ending. The satisfaction derived is unparalleled (so “they” say).

Now as a new comer to the whole shopping scene, I find all these choices difficult to navigate. I mean my wife sends me to the store for a can of green beans. Simple, right? However when I get there and find the bean isle I’m confronted with a dozen or so varieties of green beans!! Not only are there different kinds of beans, there several brands and prices differences. Geez, do I get the French cut, the string, the whole, the chopped or the whole *#@^$# bean plant just so that I get the right thing??? Next do I buy the cheaper store brand, the national brand, or the premium brand bean?? I mean come on, all I want is a can of beans!!

Lots of choices. Several decisions to be made. In the back of my mind I’m thinking that all I’m going to do is EAT the things. No matter which I choose, I will still have a meal and enjoy them. So all I really have to decide is which of the choices suits ME best. Sounds simple enough. But wait, if I get the store brand and everyone else here buys the more expensive stuff, will I be a cheap skate? Or do the others know something that I don’t? Will I be laughed at for buying that brand?? Why do I care what someone else might think anyway??

Truth is we all care what others think. Some people care more than others, but we all consider what’s being said about us and our choices. That also applies to our hobby.
You see the end result should be to have fun with our old cars and make good friends while doing so. It shouldn’t matter if you drive a primered beater or a professionally built $200k show piece. If you DRIVE it and it suits you, then who cares what others think? Just as the selves of my local grocery is stocked with a large variety of products of varying quality and costs, so are the many rod runs and shows I attend every year. There is a place and need for all of them.

Street rodding can be enjoyed in the “store” brand same as it can be in the “premium” brand. The only difference in getting into the show is the cost of your ticket!!!! If you can afford the premium quality, great!!! Go for it. But if your budget dictates something less, go for that!!! Fun is in the doing and sharing. You only loose out if you don’t join in! We can and should all learn from each other. The cars I build today are a great improvement over the first couple I attempted to assemble. I learned from those more experienced and affluent.

Nothing gets me going faster than to have some one look at my ride and ask, “How did you do that?” I love it. It’s my turn to help someone else decide which can of beans is right for them!!!!

SEE YOU ON THE STREET
Ron