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.