If you could time travel back to 1950 and ask people what they thought life would be like in 2017, what do you think they’d have said?
They probably would have imagined the world quite like The Jetsons; the cartoon so often cited when we talk about futuristic living. They’d probably be surprised to learn that not much has changed. Sure, our lives are more automated now and we carry about devices that let us access all of humankind’s knowledge – but we tend just to use them to laugh at cat pictures.
(This one, in particular, might be boggling. Explaining lolcats and Buzzfeed lists to someone from the 50s – well, it’d be interesting at least.)
So it’s fair to say that technology might be lacking a little. While eco-friendly tech is improving all the time, it’s hard not to wish for a few innovations that would make life even easier.
Powering Our Own Homes
Have you ever thought about what a waste a static bike is? You use it for exercise, but you don’t actually go anywhere. Yes, it’s good for burning calories, but think of all the energy that is being expended. Wasted.
Wouldn’t it be really something to able to exercise and power my home at the same time. Think of it: your own mini power grid. Even if you can’t generate much energy, it would be nice to see that energy being harnessed in some way rather than just sweated out.
With a clever eye and the help of a residential electrician you still can go more off-grid and onto power you generate yourself. It’s worth considering doing too, though don’t try anything too complex without someone on hand who knows what they’re doing. You want to go off-grid but stay on-earth alive, remember!
What would be wonderful would be that it’s a lot easier and – what’s more – becomes standard.
Automatic Mail Sorters
Junk mail is one of those things that just shouldn’t exist in the modern age. It’s a horrific waste of paper and materials, not to mention the carbon footprint of delivering all those things that no one wants.
What about an innovation that stops junk mail as soon as it lands on your doormat and goes straight into the recycling. While most of us might recycle junk mail anyway, you can guarantee that many others don’t – so it goes in the usual garbage and then to landfill. A simple device that let someone detect what’s worth having and what’s just nonsense advertising would make a big difference.
More Combination Products
There are so many different kitchen gadgets these days, especially if you try to eat a varied diet. There’s blenders, steamers, rice cookers, ice cream makers, spiralizers – the list literally could go on and on. The carbon footprint of making these all separately is worrying, so why don’t we bring items together more to try and give the planet a boost?
It would also save work surface space, so really, someone needs to get on this ASAP.
