5.  The Automobile

This is a controversial selection since few can argue that the modern automobile is a far cry from the Model T of 1912, but how different is it really? Certainly the basic function of the combustion engine has not changed, nor has the way one operates an automobile. Ford’s rickety cars had transmissions, clutches, brakes, headlights, left-handed steering, and everything else we still see today. Obviously the technology has improved dramatically, and great grandpa never had the luxury of having a radio, a heater, or cup holders, but the basic modus operandi of the automobile itself remains largely indistinguishable from 1912 and probably won’t become truly different until they learn to fly—or at least hover.