Sunday, May 30, 2010

Time magazine lists the 50 worst inventions.

Here they are. (Via Metafilter.)

I clicked on the entry for "Pop-Up Ads." The piece says:

Blinking ads, flashing banner ads . . . . Though pop-up blockers were eventually created, you still never know when you're going to click on a link that will bring a flurry of pop-up ads or freeze the computer screen altogether.
But before I had a chance to read that text, I was distracted by a banner at the top of the page, where a blue credit card zips across the screen along with a big button urging me to "learn more." Meanwhile, on the right-hand side of the page, a blue pot containing some kind of asparagus entree fades to white, then fades back to the image, and so on, several times. These aren't pop-up ads -- they're even more annoying than pop-up ads. At least you can close a pop-up ad. (As a side note, I'd like to know when everyone decided that blue is the most effective color at selling a product.)

Another thing about the list (I also said this in a comment on Metafilter): here are a few of the entries:
New Coke

Agent Orange

Subprime Mortgages

Crocs
Having these all on the same list is kind of like saying, "You know what my pet peeves are? People who crack their knuckles, genocide, extreme poverty, and shopping cart wheels that get stuck." I mean, OK, but the juxtaposition is a little insensitive.

ADDED: Jason (the commenter) says:
Corsets, foot binding, blood letting, lobotomies; it's like Time couldn't be bothered to think.

2 comments:

Jason (the commenter) said...

Segway was just over-hyped, it's not a bad invention. I see people using them all the time.

Agent Orange was also a good invention, it was just manufactured poorly.

And the crinoline makes the list but corsets, which actually reshaped women's internal organs, don't?

I could go on; this list is just stupid.

Ignorance is Bliss said...

I think number one on the list of 50 worst inventions should be 'Lists of 50 Worst Inventions'