If you could write a letter to one of the greatest inventors in history, what would you say?
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Every Wednesday we ask our Brain Game contestants one interesting, thought-provoking or just plain quirky question. Their answers will be published anonymously in Young Post. Then readers vote for their FAVOURITE answer. We will eliminate the contestant with the LEAST votes every week until we have a winner. The ultimate Brain Game winner will win a Mobile Pixel Duex duo monitor, which has been sponsored by searchingc.com, one of Asia’s leading online shopping platforms.
Votes close at midnight on Sunday.
The contestants
Contestant 1
Most honourable Sir Harington,
Your invention, the ajax, is most remarkable. It has benefited us greatly. Her Majesty must have been pleased with your wisdom and foresight.
Over the centuries, the ajax has blossomed and grown. It has been given a new name: the toilet. The toilet is now used by all, whether noblemen, working-class people, or servants. Chamber pots are no longer in use.
Today’s toilets are commonly made of white porcelain. Most look as plain as chamber pots, but they are more useful. They can be flushed after every use, and the amount of water used for each flush is precisely measured. The flush is also less vigorous now, which means very little water splashes out of the toilet bowl.
But the development of the toilet has not yet ended. Scientists are now adding detectors to check users’ health. This toilet will be amazing.The evolution of the ajax to the toilet has been most significant. The ajax paved the way for an ingenious invention, and has flourished.
A kind farewell to thee.
Contestant 2
Dear Mr Jobs,
You once said that being the richest man in the cemetery doesn’t matter to you. Now that you’re dead, I’d imagine you have found you were right. You seemed quite content with your work, and so you should.
Speaking of your work, your “reinvention” of the phone and the computer with the iPhone and the Macbook was more than a breakout success; it was revolutionary. It has made both devices indispensable in our daily lives.
All the predictions you made way back in 1995 became true, as people buy stuff from websites like Amazon all the time, and gaming has become a billion-dollar industry – not just on home computers, but on smartphones as well. All of this would not have been possible without your Apple philosophy, which ushered in a golden age of nanotechnology.
Alas, the golden age of tech we live in also created some issues related to privacy, which you also predicted. I’m glad to say Apple has continued to lead the way in ensuring customers’ privacy – another part of your vision. Let’s hope your successors keep up the great work.
You were an inventor, a visionary, and probably very, very tired. Enjoy your moment of zen.
Contestant 3
Dear Fritz Haber,
I am honoured to write to a Nobel Prize winner who achieved such remarkable success in the field of chemistry.
You made a great scientific leap when you found a way to develop ammonia, which has many important uses in agriculture, such as in crop fertilisers. You boosted agricultural development and made people’s lives easier. For that, I would like to express much gratitude to you.
However, with great knowledge comes great responsibility. I believe that you were devoted to improving the lives of ordinary people, and indeed you no doubt made life easier for some. But why then would you decide to create weapons such as poisonous gas? Why would you turn to building weapons in the first world war? Why would you choose to do harm to so many people?
Mr Haber, I am living in a city lit with fire, where citizens have to bear the physical damage of tear gas almost everyday. Wouldn’t it be better if scientists invented helpful tools instead of weapons of destruction? I hope you’d agree that the answer is yes.
Contestant 4
Dear Johannes Gutenberg,
This letter is sent to you from the year 2019, an era where books are easily accessible all over the world.
Without your amazing invention of the printing press, the first stepping stone in the mass production of books, I would not have been able to enjoy my favourite books of all time. The Harry Potter series and George Orwell’s 1984 have been very important in my life and in the lives of millions of people.
I would like to thank you for the huge role you played in bringing books to the world. You have contributed massively to the entertainment and education of countless people, long after your lifetime, and you should be very proud of your achievement!
Edited by Nicole Moraleda
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