There were two things that immediately came to mind when I thought about life-changing designs; irrigation and soap. And as irrigation can't be called a product, I chose the latter.
I feel I have nothing to say about it but a lot at the same time. Soap has had a ginormous (probably a word) impact on the level of personal hygiene in the western world. It was not from smooth beginnings however, initial soap products burned the skin, and only the privileged had access to it. It's funny now to think of soap as a luxury as it has become something of a necessity today.
All soap is is a fat or oil soaked in an alkaline (acidic) solution to produce properties which rid the skin of grime and bacteria. Obviously the medieval prototypes I mentioned before burned the skin because of an uneven mixture. I can't think of anything else really, I'm just trying to think back to an horrible histories episode I watched on soap and I can't remember anything.
In conclusion, I can't think of anything more influential than soap. Bread, nope; shelter, probably not; preservatives, flint? I dunno. Oh yes irrigation is better.
God, this might be the worst article I've ever written. I'm going to bed.
- Everybody's favourite student, Tom Millward
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