Almost all the global society-altering creations i can think of FROM THE PAST 100 YEARS are from America. I highly doubt that’s true, so I’m looking for counter-examples.

To clarify, I’m looking for items on the level of:

  • the internet
  • rock music
  • nuclear weapons
  • ai
  • airplane flight (older than 100 years)

And clearly I’m not just including things that improved the world.

The best ones i can think of are (I think):

  • Rocketry (Germany)?
  • Cheap tech manufacturing (Asian countries)?

EDIT:

Actually rocketry has been around much longer than 100 years. Even the category of “modern rocketry” begins in the late 1800s. Source: https://www.grc.nasa.gov/www/k-12/TRC/Rockets/history_of_rockets.html

EDIT 2:

A further explanation of what level I’m talking about.

There has to be a clear before and after, and it has to directly and quickly effect most of the world. For example the Internet. There’s life before the internet, and there’s life after the internet, which are both very different.

As opposed to for example if someone makes a groundbreaking foundational research discovery that effects the entire realm of their field of study, but doesn’t quickly and directly create a difference in most people’s lives, then it doesn’t fit the category.

  • Cowbee [he/they]@lemmy.ml
    10·
    2 days ago

    Surviving in space and successfully returning from orbit is absolutely an incredible achievement that spurred on the space race.

    • Glowstick@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
      43·
      1 day ago

      I agree, but it’s not a world-changing breakthrough. There had previously been humans extremely high up, but they just didn’t cross above the synthetic threshold we randomly drew

      EDIT

      Nope, i was totally wrong. I did some reading and it’s clear that Yuri’s flight was absolutely world-changing

      • Cowbee [he/they]@lemmy.ml
        7·
        2 days ago

        That’s why I am asking what counts as “world-changing,” as most people would consider the first man in space to be world-changing.

        • Luke@lemmy.mlEnglish
          5·
          2 days ago

          Especially considering that Yuri Gagarin’s flight inspired generations of people all over the world after him to a probably immeasurable extent. If the OP wanted “global society-altering”, then that certainly qualifies.

        • Glowstick@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
          31·
          1 day ago

          I did some reading and learned a bunch of stuff, and now i see that you’re right and I’m wrong. Yuri’s first spaceflight does in fact totally qualify, completely. I was under the misunderstanding thinking that he was the first to cross the synthetic goal line into space but i assumed that previous attempts were close-ish but not quite to the same altitude. Nope. I just learned that he DEMOLISHED the previous altitude record by an order of magnitude, 32 km vs 320 km, and that all previous flights were using atmosphere conditions to power their flight. You’re totally right, Vostok1 was a totally world-changing achievement

      • Glowstick@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
        11·
        2 days ago

        And i just realized i have to remove my item from my own list, because the wright brothers flight was more than 100 years ago