My second favourite invention…

…is so simple it’s incredible that no-one’s thought of it before. If you’ve ever had to move a washing machine, you’ll know how difficult it is because of the heavy lump of concrete that has to weigh the machine down during its spin cycle. But now the concrete could soon be replaced by a light plastic tank that’s filled with water to weigh the machine down once it’s in place. If it then needs to be moved, you simply drain the water out. The average washing machine will be now be almost 40% lighter and 40% easier to move. Genius. Rather like this hugely influential record which I bet you’ve never heard before. It was the first time this now ubiquitous rhythm was given a name. And in nearly fifty years, all that’s really changed is the spelling.