What would the world be like without the simple screw?

We take the simplest devices for granted in our modern technologically advanced world. We open a tap and water comes out, hot, warm and cold. We hit a wall switch and the darkness is overcome by light. We open the refrigerator door and peer into a compartment containing climate-controlled food. These conveniences are ubiquitous in the developed world in the early 21st century.

And yet we give little thought to the simplest and most important inventions that make all forms of products possible. Consider the humble screw. Yes, the little holding vehicle that is ubiquitous in every toolbox, prepackaged do-it-yourself or kitchen drawer. The ability to join two opposing items or surfaces together and ensure that their bond is permanent is essential to the structural integrity of virtually every non-consumable product we use today.

Nobody knows who invented the screw. We know that wood screws were in use during the time of Christ. They were widely used in the Middle East for pressing grapes for wine, olive oil production, and woodworking. The uses applicable to screws did not really change much until the 18th century. Englishman James Ramsden invented the first “screw-cutting lathe” to mass-produce steel screws in 1770. This advance made screws cheaper, and their use in industrialization processes began to increase exponentially.

In the 1930s, Henry Philips, in response to the automotive industry’s growing need for tighter tolerances, invented the Philips head screw. This square head screw was a significant advance, as it allowed machine tools to apply more torque to the screw head, thus providing a much tighter fit and finish between joined parts.

Billions of screws are now used each year in millions of applications. Screws of every size and metal composition are essential to every product we make. As useful and universal as the common screw is in our lives, we never really reflect on its importance, its efficiency, its economy, and what the world would be like without these nifty little connecting devices.

Here is a contemporary lesson. The simple screw has made life easier and more convenient for all consumers. Jobs are created to produce screws, distribute screws, and use screws. Prosperity is enhanced by the usefulness of this invention, the simplest of all.

Many entrepreneurs and inventors seek to improve lives and make business profits by creating innovative new products. The lesson we can all learn from the plebeian vise is that sometimes the most valuable and useful concepts are the simplest. You don’t need to reinvent the transistor or discover a new water desalination system to make a profit. Digging into your world of work, family or play and finding a simple improvement that benefits consumers is the easiest path to business success.

At my consumer product development and marketing consulting company, we review hundreds of product submissions each year. The best, the most commercial are inevitably the simplest. They offer the greatest utility to the greatest number of consumers. Typically, these concepts do not require re-educating the consumer, which can be a difficult and expensive proposition.

So keep it simple and apply the simple “screw” test to determine simplicity, ease, cost effectiveness and applicability. This is a wonderful template that can be transferred from an old product to modern inventions to determine the prospects for success.