Smoke Detector Considered The Pinnacle Of Innovation
from the say-what? dept
The details of how this study was conducted are not entirely clear, but apparently, when asked, folks in the UK consider the smoke detector to be the top innovative gadget, beating out mobile phones, microwave ovens and digital cameras. I keep looking for the punchline about how this study was sponsored by a smoke detector company, but can't find it. It's not that the good old smoke detector isn't a useful gadget - it's just that it seems strange that so many people would pick it as the most innovative. The article quotes people saying that this shows how much the Brits value practicality, but it makes me wonder if the Brits are having trouble filling out surveys properly - or if they just tend to set themselves on fire too often.
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This explains it
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Depends on the wording
It really depends on how the question was phrased to them in the first place ?
If the question was: " Do you think the smoke invention is a more important invention than x ? " , then chances are the average joe is going to answer : Yes
Studies are manipulated constantly and this one could have been as well.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Dry sense of humor
I can well imagine my British friends deadpanning that the smoke detector is definitely more innovative than a cell phone.
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