Verbatim: What’s the 1 Invention You Would Take Away From the World if You Could?

Is this an easy question for you to answer, or is it a tough one? Some of our Verbatim responders say it’s simple and others gave it deep thought. You’ll find that this month, there is more agreement in the answers than we’ve seen before. 

In this column, adopted from the familiar “Heard on the Street” format, we offer our responders a chance to answer the question posed in the title. These are their replies, reported verbatim. 

Arguably, the No. 1 Offender 

For obvious reasons, nuclear weapons are one invention I’d take away from the world. I don’t believe they serve a purpose other than to destroy civilization. I know you didn’t ask for two inventions to take away from the world but, personally, I could do without fish sticks as well. They’re not good. If you’re reading this and happen to like fish sticks, I’m sorry. You don’t have to eat them. 

Don Montroy 
Bergquist Inc. 
Rockford, Michigan 

The one invention I’d take away from the world is nuclear fission, the process of splitting heavy atoms into lighter ones. Although used for the benefit of generating electricity, the downside is obviously its use in atomic and nuclear bombs, a continuing threat to the existence and advancement of humanity on this planet. I’m hoping for the expeditious scaling up of the nuclear fusion process, which produces more energy with much less radioactive waste. 

Bruce Swiecicki 
Consulting Engineer 
Tinley Park, Illinois

I would take away the invention of weapons of mass destruction. Nuclear bombs, chemical and biological weapons are extremely dangerous and have the potential to cause catastrophic damage to the environment and mass scale loss of human life.  

Lauren Clark 
Bergquist Inc. 
Toledo, Ohio 

The serious answer to this question would be nuclear weapons, aka the atomic bomb. Though we would lose the option of nuclear energy as a power source, it would be worth it never to have to worry that our world could be destroyed if someone pushes a button. The fun answer to this question is ‘The Clapper.’ Walk into a room, clap your hands and the light turns on? I’m still scarred by the horrific commercials. 

Leslie Woodward 
Fairview Fittings 
Oakville, Ontario, Canada 

Offender With Passionate Criticism 

My impression is that social media has become the tobacco of the 21st century — discovered and promoted in a way that made its use common long before anyone understood its actual consequences. I’m not going to pretend to know the cause and effect of social media on our society, but I will point out how it is used to threaten, harass and intimidate young people. I think the world was a happier place before we unleashed the power of ‘influencers’ in hot pursuit of likes and shares without any connection to truth or consequences. 

Josh Simpson 
Little Kamper LP 
Manteca, California 

I believe the one thing I would take away from today’s world is social media. As fun as it can be to connect with friends and family, I think it is the one thing that has caused so much anger and hatred in our society. People are too quick to repost things that are not true or respond to posts in anger. FYI: No debate, civil or cruel, has ever been won on Facebook. Stop fighting! 

Judy Taranovich 
Proctor Gas Inc. 
Proctor, Vermont 

Social media! Sorry, I think it does more harm than good. That can be defined from young kids to adults talking more than they should. It is like in a crowded room, you say one sentence to the first person and by the time it goes around, the original sentence has been said in so many different ways and would not be what was originally said. You get the idea. I know it is not all of that. However, for the most part, it is out of control.   

Richard Strycharz Jr. 
Walter’s Propane 
Sunderland, Massachusetts 

When I first read the question, the first thing that came to mind was smartphones. But after more thought, I think my answer would be social media. I’m not sure the amount of time people spend on social media is healthy for our youth or real-life relationships. I gave up all those platforms except LinkedIn years ago. I didn’t realize how much time I spent scrolling through them — not to mention how much division there is on many of them. 

Boyd H. McGathey 
EDP 
Parkville, Missouri 

Let’s Not Forget These Inventions, Either 

Probably electric appliances. Propane generators remind us that electricity doesn’t always deliver, but propane does. Honestly, our jobs would be a whole lot easier without constantly fighting the electrification trend. We could spend less time explaining why propane outperforms and more time just enjoying the fact that it does. 

Staci Rammel 
Woodruff Energy 
Bridgeton, New Jersey 

Agent Orange, which is a chemical herbicide and defoliant — used not only by the U.S. during the Vietnam War but also by other countries. Nine chemical companies produce it. At first, the concern was for people’s health, but now more research shows its toxicity to our environment. Using steam or flame powered by propane to control pests or weeds is a safer solution.   

Julie Johnson 
Ted Johnson Propane 
Baldwin Park, California 

This one is easy to answer: photovoltaics! I was born and raised in a beautiful area of southeastern Oklahoma known as the 12-mile prairie. Both my mom’s and dad’s families have lived in the area for close to 200 years! Solar farms are taking over the area, and it makes me sick to see beautiful land covered in those damn old solar panels — yep, I’m cussing! Both my boys still live in the area, and they will be surrounded by them. Hope everyone has seen Billy Bob Thornton’s speech on an episode of ‘Landman’ about the importance of petroleum as the energy source we all need. And he cusses more than me! Feeling very strongly about this subject right now. I’m sure they may have their place in our world, but please don’t cover the beautiful farmland that raises our cattle and other foods. I would say I’m sorry for my rant but, really, I’m not! 

Paula Moore 
Blackburn Propane Service Inc. 
Durant, Oklahoma 

Water bottles. It is a love-hate relationship in our household. My children love shopping the newest water bottles on the market, but the cabinet space that holds these water bottles is like playing a game of Tetris. 

Abby Thurston 
Rural Computer Consultants 
Bird Island, Minnesota 

I know this is not an invention, but it is something that I would like to discontinue: bottled water. Every time I buy a case, which I don’t often do, I think of all the plastic bottles that are not recycled and end up in all kinds of places where they don’t belong. I am so happy when I see people walking about with their reusable, insulated water bottles. I hope that continues to take off and we can somehow provide bulk water at events for refills vs. getting 16 ounces of water in a plastic bottle for $3 that will end up in a landfill, the side of the street or worse, in our oceans. I just think that we have become such a wasteful society and are only hurting the future of our environment. Unfortunately, it’s too expensive and not profitable to recycle these empty bottles. Probably gonna get some comments on this one … 

Tom Krupa 
NGL Supply Terminals Co. 
Richmond, Virginia 

Duality of Inventions 

Some inventions have two aspects, both the beneficial and the detrimental contributions to human beings and the environment. We have often struggled with the creation of some inventions — whether to embrace or deny the beneficial parts while faced with the opposing, damaging parts. In this column, we raise “what-if” questions to explore human nature, to provide different opinions and to bring our propane community together.