What is the most important technological advancement of the past 150 years?

The technological change that had the biggest effect on us is the motor. My reasoning for this is based on transportation and relative ease of travel enabled by the magnificent motor engine. The invention of the motor has made a plethora of live much easier because people traveling basically anything over one mile helped a lot and people really take this for granted. Also, the motor help other things than just cars and other means of transportation such as lawnmowers and tools that help with everyday life. Besides the lawnmower some other tools which help to build houses, cars, and generally every known object that turns on.
Before the invention of the motor, people generally stayed close to home; some never traveling farther than a few miles in their lives. They lived at or within walking distance of their work. The different modes of travel were walking, horseback, carriages, boats, and steam powered locomotives which were slow and often required provisions to last the journey (except for the locomotives; but even then, if the station debarked from was not your final destination, one still had to resort to one of the other modes of travel). Journeys greater than a short distance could take days, weeks, or even months to complete. But with the motor,people were able to travel farther distances in even less amount of time then people did back then. I wonder why people take such a priceless item for granted.
The motor has helped with many other items besides transportation such as lawnmowers, tools, and even things to make food. Such as blenders, microwaves and even toasters. All these items have some sort of motor in them and help us in our daily lives.Have you ever seen a old lawnmower? Those things were just propelled by a metal propeller and took forever to mow the lawn but now there are these awesome machines that literally cut the grass for you. Can you imagine life with out this?
The business of trading was severely restricted by time and distances. Fresh fruits and vegetables couldn't travel too far without spoiling, and meats had to be salted or smoked to preserve them for any length of time. Furthermore, crop sizes were limited by how much plowing, planting, and harvesting could be accomplished in a set period by hand or with draft animals.
The invention of the motor has changed all that with planes, trains, and automobiles. Today, the country can be crossed in a handful of days in an auto or train, or in hours by plane. No longer are people restricted to working within walking distance of home. Commuting 20 or more miles one way is not uncommon. Fresh fruit, vegetables, meat, poultry, and seafood can be shipped to anywhere in the nation in days or even hours. Tractors and combines have greatly increased the crop size that can be managed by a single person.
In conclusion, I believe that the technological change that had the biggest effect on us is the motor. The reason why is based on transportation and relative ease of travel enabled by the magnificent motor engine. The invention of the motor has made a plethora of live much easier in every known way there is because people do not even have to walk anymore. Also, the motor help other things than just cars and other means of transportation such as lawnmowers and tools that help with everyday life. Besides the lawnmower there are tools which help to build houses, cars, and generally every known object that turns on.