The other day my husband and "medical/chemistry whiz" turned to me and said, in all seriousness, "You know, I was reading about the history of iodine today ..." My first thought was, "Gee, what a page turner," but my second thought was, "I'm in for some fabulous insights" (stay with me here).

He shared how iodine — something used frequently in hospitals as an antiseptic — was accidentally discovered during the time of Napoleon by chemist Bernard Courtois, who was attempting to find a way to increase the production of saltpeter, a major component in gunpowder. At the time, France was at war and was using huge amounts of gunpowder. After further work by others, the purple vapor discovered by Courtois became the helpful antiseptic (iodine is Greek for "violet colored").

Why do I take you down this nostalgic road of iodine? Because as my husband and I talked, we shared how many things we use, need or value today have been brought to us by the awareness, ingenuity and sacrifice of others.

So I made a list of things others have provided that I'm thankful for. After the usuals (family, home, Danish butter cookies), I considered the lesser-thought-of yet truly meaningful ones, such as ... Ziploc bags. No laughing, I love these. I truly feel these were invented just for me, and I use them every day for random items such as pennies, cereal, unused hardware that can't be parted with or wipes that my daughter pulled out — one by one — from the baby-wipes bag. And while we're on that subject, BABY WIPES, where would I be without them? They clean everything my children can conceive of dirtying. And when our city lost water for a month (YES, WE WERE WITHOUT WATER FOR A MONTH), we did baby-wipe baths for a week until house water was restored.

The number of our daily conveniences is staggering yet often unheralded. Several years ago I heard a man speak about living as a child in India and then being adopted and raised in America. As an adult he still felt wonder every time he went to the refrigerator.

I think of the inventions that help smooth my daily life, from the domestic vacuum cleaner, oven, dishwasher; to the familial big ol' Suburban, lawn mower, automatic garage door opener; to the simply fantastic readily available books, computer and Sees chocolates.

And, of course, one of my ultimate favorites is the grocery store. Consider how we blithely walk up and down the aisles of a store that consumes acres of land, choosing our favorite brands of just about any item you can imagine. And to think we can get frustrated, actually frustrated, when they don't carry just what we want.