MICROWAVE MYSTERY: Where Did Our Micro Minutes Go?

Hmmm, it seems at first blush that we've effectively harnessed the power of technology to free us from many of life's more tedious tasks. So why is, pray tell, that we are still so confounded busy?

I came across an article on the web yesterday titled "Popular Mechanics Best Inventions of the Last 50 Years". Browsing through the list, it quickly became apparent that many of them were designed to make our lives easier and relieve us of time-consuming, mundane tasks. A few examples:

1955: The...