Gutenberg would be proud

I recently had a lot of time to think about printing. The concept of the printing press rocked the world. Putting ink to paper in order to express ideas created in our minds!  It may be doing so again.  The obvious next step in this printing process (over 500 years later) is to use printing to create things.

Sidenote: I love Ted Talks.  I love knowing what people research.  Research is someone dedicating their life's work to a concept they believe in - a concept that most of the world doesn't know exists and, depending on its usefulness, may never know.  Even after printing press, you can't make people pay attention.  There are so many ideas out there that these ideas, people's life's work, their research, sometimes struggle to gain traction or even get seen.

With the Internet, you need to not only to have the idea written down, but you need to present them with the passion you have.  You need to ...okay I'm rambling.  Anyways, you can now print things.  Actual things!

Anthony Atala spoke at a Ted Talk about printing a human kidney.

 
(I hope that's the correct video. First video I've posted.  If it's wrong here a link to the Ted Talk website.) I guess you just print tissue on top of tissue...okay, I don't know, just watch the video.

You can even print a house.  Dr. Seuss-style housing!! Do you know how many people could use a house??

Unfortunately (maybe?), they can also print guns now.

As I sat outside my house, it got me thinking.  I really wish I could print my keys.  I had a lot of time to think about this all since I had locked myself out of my house.