Some things I want people to invent

and it will have to be other people. I am no engineer and I am no scientist. 

Like a lot of other people I have sometimes said, "We should have a machine to do that" or "they need to invent something which can...."

On Christmas Day the Senior Cat was in earnest conversation with "young J...." who is working in the area of 3D printing. His final design for his degree involved a tiny modification to a tool often used by surgeons. I am not allowed to say anything more than that but it is an elegant and, as they often are, simple solution to a problem. Of course he won't get paid for it...but his university will. That's the way the world works. Still it is a good idea, a very good idea and J...is actually pleased about it because "it helps people". Good. The Senior Cat has had a very, very small part in all this - from two summers back when J... put the original problem to him. He's delighted for J.... too.

It made me think of other things I would like invented though. I want someone to invent a noise emitter for electric cars, one that would not allow the car to be driven without one which was properly functioning. Electric cars are almost silent - and dangerous because of it. I once lived in a city where fog was common. It was before electric cars were anything more than workshop ideas that were taken out on tracks for testing. One of the staff at that university would, more often than not, walk to work. She was quite deaf - and getting deafer - and she did not feel safe driving in fog or at night. P... relied on being able to see cars clearly. It was a problem she was aware of but other people often don't consider. So we need a regular engine noise please, one which must be fitted to the car and, unless it is functioning correctly, then the car cannot be driven. (Yes, I know noise emitters exist but they need to be compulsory and have that added function.)

And there is the other thing which must cause cars not to be able to be driven - the mobile phone.  It is surely not beyond the capacity of someone to invent something which does does not allow a mobile phone to be used in a moving car? 

This morning's paper has a report saying that around one third of fatal accidents are caused by "inattention" - inattention brought on by mobile phones and related devices. I know you can switch your phone off. I know you can simply not answer it. The reality however is that people don't do those things. Even people who acknowledge it is dangerous will think "just this once" or "there's not much traffic" or "I really do need to take this call" and so on. No! What has changed that we now "need" to be always accessible? Emergency services might need mobile communications but the rest of us should be able to wait  until, at very least, we are stationary at the side of the road. Someone can surely invent something? 

I will put aside ideas like knives that never need sharpening, bread that stays fresh and doesn't grow mould after two days, shirts where the buttons never come off, shoes that stay clean and don't track dirt inside, regular bike tyres that never get punctures and a diet pill which will allow you to eat what you want to eat and still lose weight. All those things may be possible but I can live without them. 

I would like the first two things though - and something which will allow me to "switch off" so I stop thinking about these things in the middle of the night and just sleep instead.