Major Innovations in Human History

So I was thinking about this as I hobbled down to the Student Health Center the other day. The idea originally occurred to me around the time I was on crutches following my knee injury, and reccurred naturally as I am having problems walking. Walking is quite possibly the biggest innovation in human history. I broached the subject with Mark at the bar on Thursday, and got to talking about other ones that would make the list. It's a short list to be sure. But walking, agriculture, energy, and the internet/communications are certainly on there. Another one that occurs to me, although its impact may not be fully felt until later is the mapping of the human genome.

But walking seems to be the most fundamental and changing of them all. Given the fact that by freeing up the hands, it allows humans to use tools, which eventually leads to agriculture. Agriculture leads to the establishment of civilizations and history hits the ground running, so to speak. It just seems like its something that people take very casually for granted. But if you stop and think about it, or see what it's like to be unable to do it, walking has a major impact on not only the life of one person, but the course of human events.