What is a transistor?

Being in Skypeland is often entertaining, and often educational. Some regular casts deal with the good things that the United States has contributed to the world. It is interesting to me that few understand that the US helped the rest of the world by defeating the Axis powers in World War II, or many of the technical developments that came out of the United States and were given, without charge, to the rest of the world, such as the internet, or flat panel display technology, or the transistor. I have been mildly amused and surprised on a number of occasions for people sitting in Skypeland ask, "what is a transistor?" or "What is a transistor good for?" or "Why should I care about a stupid piece of shit like a transistor?" These kind of responses really tell me something about the average person who is walking around on this planet. Amazing, really. Wow.