Jew + Gold = Denim?

Disclaimer: I am Jewish so I can make anti-semetic jokes.

Without the fact that Jews are drawn to gold, the greatest invention in the history of mankind would have never become a reality. I have a little notepad document on my computer at work where I keep track of future blog posts. I only go to it when I am out of material; it's sort of a reserve for emergencies, like Fort Knox. Anyway, the topic of today's blog post was inspired but some show I was watching on Discovery Channel about the greatest inventions in history. You can type "greatest inventions" into Google and find countless lists compiled by people from all walks of life. Most lists will include the telephone (my personal favorite until writing this blog post), the personal computer, or the printing press. Some lists compiled by out-of-the-box thinkers may include the toilet, medicine, or even the wheel.

As you might expect from reading the posts on Jordon's Deep Thoughts, I am an out-of-the-box thinker. I think there is an invention greater than all of these. First, let's examine what makes an invention truly great.

1. Do you use it almost every day?
2. Does the majority of the population use it every day?
3. Is it still around today?
4. Will it be around in the future?
5. Does it make life easier?
6. Has it seemlessly integrated itself into society?

There aren't many inventions that are the answer to all of these questions that haven't already been listed above. So what could I possibly be thinking about? Well, assuming you figured out my little clue, the answer is, of course, jeans!

Jeans were invented by the Jewish tailor Levi Strauss when he moved to San Francisco during the Gold Rush in 1853. Check him out on Wikipedia, very interesting. You are probably wearing a pair right now. They have been around for over a hundred years and I doubt we will stop wearing them in the future. You wear them to school, to work, to play, to go out. You may even have a jean jacket like Marty McFly in Back to the Future. Next time you are walking down the street, just glance around and notice how many people are wearing jeans.

You may not agree with me but just think of life without jeans. Can you imagine living in the early 19th century wearing heavy pants or living in the 18th century wearing tights? Neither can I. So I nominate Levi Strauss to be mentioned in the same breath as Benjamin Franklin, Johannes Gutenberg, and Thomas Crapper (inventor of the toilet, of course).

Now that I think of it, the fork is a pretty good invention but since such a large percentage of the population uses chopsticks instead I put the fork at number 11 on my top ten list. Also, girl's butts look really good in jeans so that's another reason I put them at number 1.

If a Log Falls in the Toilet...

We have all heard the old cliche: If a tree falls in the woods and no one around to hear it, does it make a sound? Of course, the technical answer is yes (unless the tree is in a vacuum) but the philosophical answer is maybe. So I flushed the toilet this morning before my shower and in my half-asleep state I somehow remembered that the shower would be hot as a result. So instead of jumping right in the shower I decided to brush my teeth first and then jump in. Much to my chagrin, the shower was still scalding hot. It was very upsetting.

Anyway, as I was standing there, I thought of a very good Deep Thought. When you flush the toilet, the shower gets really hot. That would lead you to believe that the toilet must use all of the cold water to fill the bowl. But how do you know? Have you ever stuck your hand in the toilet bowl after flushing it? I sure haven't. I guess the easy answer would be to ask a plumber but I feel better letting this philosophical question remain unanswered.

We Just Killed Bambi

Well in case you read my profile, you may have noticed that I turned 27 last Thursday and therefore officially entered my late 20s. I really don't care, it's just a number...besides, I am in the best shape of my life. I mean just look at that picture of me holding up a house.

A couple of things I would like to address in this post. First, I would like to give a special shoutout to loyal blog reader Jennifer who sent me an email the other day saying that she loves Jordon's Deep Thoughts. You have no idea how good this made me feel. I always thought the only people who read my blog were my parents who just kept hitting refresh to get my counter up! The Internet...It's Fantastic!

Second, I was in Maine last week for work. We were doing some post storm inspections of coastal towns. Let's just say there was some damage (again, see above photo). People, living next to the ocean is great and all but don't get mad when your house gets washed into the ocean. I'll live a few blocks from the ocean and sleep soundly at night.

Anyway, during my drive I noticed a dead deer on the side of the highway and, of couse, this got me thinking. Why are the bodies always on the shoulder? I assume the cars hit the animals on the road. Who is moving them to the side? There must be some governmental agency or department that is in charge of removing these carcases. And why don't they just remove it when the move it to the side? I highly doubt every car-deer collision results in Bambi being thrown onto the shoulder. Personally, I have never seen anyone picking up a dead deer and tossing it in the back of a pickup truck. Have you? Is this done in the middle of the night? Do these trucks just drive along every road from 2-5am looking for dead animals?

Now this is one of the great mysteries of the world that needs to be answered? Drive safely loyal readers.