"The outcome of this poll offers us tremendous insight into what Americans most admire in innovation," said Steve Hamp, president of The Henry Ford, a nonprofit educational institution and museum in Dearborn, Mich.

"Above all else, we want to be comfortable and healthy. While some might find the top vote getter, residential air conditioning, surprising, the fact is that it changed history. Home air conditioning, which became available in 1929, spurred growth in the U.S. Sunbelt, where it was previously too hot for people to live comfortably without it."