Within about 10 years, the heavy computer that used to sit on my desk, is now a small device that fits in my pants pocket. Yet the umbrella, ever since the day of its invention, has not been improved one bit.
The umbrella is an item that crosses all social-economical, gender, age, and racial boundaries. But no one has come up with a better idea. The umbrella is a clunky tool that is hard to store, hard to use, and extremely easy to loose and break. It is almost as if umbrella makers purposely impede the development of umbrellas just so they could sell more.
I am hoping that within the near future we will see rapid advancement in umbrella technology. Such as an electronic force field that will repel rain, a hovering umbrella that does not require you holding, or maybe we would all have personal transportation devices that will protect us from rain water.