‘What’s a problem humanity solved so well younger people don’t even realise it used to be an issue?’ – 23 incredible wins

Open pretty much any page of the internet these days and you’ll be told that we’re all on our way to hell in a handcart and have zero chance of sorting our issues out. But is that actually true?

Perhaps not, as it turns out that some things are much better these days because we put our heads together and fixed them.

They’ve been discussing the things we’ve been good at as a species on the AskReddit page after Puzzleheaded_Bit_802 asked this:

And lots of people chipped in with stuff that will make you feel way better about our future chances as a species, like these…

1.

‘The hole in the ozone layer. One of our biggest (and only) global environmental success stories.’
–obligated_existence

2.

‘And leaded petrol. And asbestos in most countries. Turns out we can do stuff when we want to…’
–steadyeddddy

3.

‘And acid rain.’
–LazerWolfe53

4.

‘Creating a vaccine for polio also had the knock on effect of allowing children to learn how to swim and resulted in less drowning deaths.’
–She-Ra-SeaStar

5.

‘It is astounding that I can hop into a hot shower. I just turn a handle and there I am, safe and sound and warm. Only 2-3 generations old. So recent it’s something like .03% of human history. Thank god I lived during this time lol. I am weak and pampered and I know it.’
–CapableAd9294

6.

‘Clean water.’
–Longwell2020

7.

‘Getting online maps and directions.’
–Jinxybug

8.

‘People don’t realise that fresh produce year round is a very recent creation. Heck, people used to RENT pineapples.’
–bluecheetos

9.

‘Refrigeration and laundry. Two inventions that have completely changed our lives yet mostly every one nowadays takes them for granted.’
–brit_jam

10.

‘I thought one of my friends was fucking with me when she said she thought “washing machines” were probably one of the things that progressed feminism the most. It sounds silly at first but after her explanation I was pretty onboard.’
–xSuperZer0x

11.

‘Iodine deficiency. People need iodine to be healthy, but didn’t get enough until we started adding it to table salt.’
–Fluffy_Salamanders

12.

‘Opening aluminium drink cans, without having to carry a church key, without leaving jagged edges on the can, and without detached tabs as both a choking hazard and a litter problem.’
–w_domburg