Every year on Thanksgiving, we eat too much, feel momentarily grateful, and go to bed early to take advantage of the Black Friday sales. Well, some do—others prefer to ignore the whole fiasco, and with good reason. But while you should definitely take a moment every day to be thankful for food, shelter, jobs, and loved ones, you should also take a moment to be thankful for human ingenuity, the strength that gave us the iPhone, the IV bags made by heat sealing, and the internal combustion engine. Since we are constantly inundated with new technologies, this may seem redundant, but there are actually a lot of technological and scientific advances that we see every day… and take for granted. Here are a few that you can benefit from every day.

germ theory

The five-second rule may not be accurate, but think about it: it wouldn’t even be possible without the germ theory and the various experiments and medical breakthroughs that followed. If it weren’t for the germ theory, you wouldn’t see heat-sealed bags in hospitals. You wouldn’t see Hazmat teams walking through contaminated sites in specialized radio frequency sealed suits. The germ theory has extended our lifespans, lowered our infant mortality rate, and made our little excursions into infectious diseases mostly short-lived and non-fatal. Sure, science has yet to cure the common cold, but at least it can treat an ear infection.

Woven fabric

Do you know how durable your backpack is? The technology responsible for heat-sealing the bags made it possible. In fact, any number of consumer goods, from tents to car seats, are made using coated fabric welding and other joining techniques. While you may think advanced industrial processes like radio frequency welding are for thought, these products actually have a history that stretches back millennia, all the way back to the earliest hominids who realized that weaving fibers together can create durable, long-lasting, and relatively light. (at least compared to stone and wood) containment vessels, not to mention clothing, bedding, and even waterproof products made of coated fabric. Advanced welding helped, but it’s not the be all and end all of innovation.

Plastic

That being said, don’t knock on RF welding. It has made almost all materials more versatile, even the most versatile material of all, plastic. With a history dating back to the late 19th century, plastic is now frequently derided as an environmental nightmare. Of course, it all goes back to human use: plastic can be quite harmless as long as it’s treated as a resource rather than a disposable material. It is of particular value in the medical industry, but can also be used to create coated fabrics; it can be welded to form durable shapes and is imminently malleable. As for its environmental impact, it can be drastically reduced through recycling and developing degradable varieties, and most plastic companies invest heavily in both processes.