Editor's note: This story is part of the WardsAuto digital archive, which may include content that was first published in print, or in different web layouts.
We dissent, but the ballots are in and counted. The automobile ranks a mere second on the 20 Greatest Engineering Achievements of the Century, second to electrification. Nominations from 20 professional engineering societies were selected and ranked by a distinguished panel of the nation's top engineers and announced by astronaut/engineer Neil Armstrong during National Engineers Week last month. We take nothing away from the merits of those, in all technological fields, who have forged the future in a tireless pursuit of universal truths. Our real qualm lies in the fact that one key engineering advent was missed entirely - the moveable type printing press and ensuing printing technologies. The top five are: electrification, the automobile, the airplane, safe and abundant water and electronics.
