All through human history, we have innovated and developed every manner of technology to assist us with one basic goal – to simplify the work that we do. From simple machines like the lever and the pulley that helped us lift and move that which we ourselves could not, to amazing modern machines that help us build skyscrapers or tunnel beneath the earth in what would once be reserved for tales of fiction. The toaster, the telephone and the toilet – everything that we take for granted in our everyday lives did not exist at some point. Many of us who are middle-aged may well remember our parents’ wringer washing machines, with two counter-rotating ‘rolling pins’ through which wet clothes were fed to squeeze out the water. Once most of the water was eliminated, the clothes would get hung outside to dry. Today, we can’t imagine laundry without our computer-controlled washers and dryers.