In a world of technological breakthroughs, the selfie stick is a really simple invention. Somebody had the bright idea to stick a holder at the end of a rod and voila, the selfie stick was born.

And what an invention it has turned out to be. It has solved the problem of close up shots being really closed up, especially for the one pressing the smartphone button. Also, group shots would have been really tough with the presser looking really big relative to the rest of the folks.

But, it was only during a recent trip to the UK that I truly appreciated the value of the selfie stick. From the airport to the various tourist attractions, my wife and I could take couple shots without me having to look disproportionately larger or having to keep asking passers-by for their help.