At 02:04 PM 1/29/01 -0800, Josh Bell wrote:
>>Anyone have any other examples of inventions that never hit it big in our
>>history, but in another timeline might have much more signifigance?
>
>Let's see - how about gunpowder being used for military purposes?
Well, gunpowder *was* eventually used. I am thinking more along the
lines of technological advances that quickly became obsolete. If we had
had them a little sooner, they might have had time to be influentual before
obsolesence. A balloon, for example, could easily have been developed
many many years before it was. As it is, it did not come along until the
days of the rifle, and with airplanes just on the horizon. Thus, it was
doomed to never be a big thing. Bring a balloon to the ancient Romans,
however, and you might have a much different story.
JDG
__________________________________________________________
John D. Giorgis - [EMAIL PROTECTED] - ICQ #3527685
"Never tiring, never yielding, never finishing, we renew that purpose today:
to make our country more just and generous; to affirm the dignity of
our lives and every life." - George W. Bush Inaugural Address 1/20/01
