Ancient architecture isn't the only venue into our shared history. We can also find some wondrous inventions on a smaller scale. You might recognize some ancient tools that we still use today. Some of them have remained virtually unchanged since they were first made. Some have undergone multiple iterations over time and across places. On the other hand, some bygone inventions no longer exist. They may have been replaced by a different invention. Or their purpose was fleeting, and they are no longer needed.
Some simple inventions lay the groundwork for massive progress. The wheel was a small, simple invention that changed the course of history! As early as 4,500 B.C., the wheel was used as a tool in pottery. It wasn't until much later, though, that the wheel was first used on a vehicle. The earliest record of a wheeled vehicle is on a 3,500 B.C. clay pot from Poland. This means that almost 5,000 years ago, the first humans used wheels to make a brand new form of transportation! Most ancient inventions were first conceived of when humans tried to mimic nature. Hunters made sharp tools, for example, to mimic the sharp teeth on predatory animals. But the interesting thing about the wheel is that it does not occur anywhere in visible nature. How did the early inventors come up with the notion of the wheel? Did they perhaps observe some animals that rolled into a ball to move around?
Some inventions are so useful that they become the standard for future inventions. Otto Frederick Rohwedder invented a bread-slicing machine in 1912. You can now find sliced bread in grocery stores all over the world. My friend is so meticulous, she likes to cut the crust off of her bread. Well, someone has come up with a solution for that, too!
The Hertella Auto Kaffeemaschine also made its debut in the 20th century. Like sliced bread, this invention was made to help us save time eating. The pedestrian safety net was a shovel attached to the front bumper of a car. While its intentions were noble, it still left the pedestrian in a precarious position. Likewise, multiple inventors came up with whacky gizmos aimed at styling women's coiffures. These inventions probably weren't "the next best thing since sliced bread."
Some inventions continue to be used by technology geeks or for their nostalgic value, even though they have been replaced by more useful iterations. Turntables were used to play music recorded on vinyls. They were replaced by the more portable Walkman, which itself was a precursor for the Discman. HAM radios were used by people to communicate with each other over shortwave radios. Pagers were popular until the 1990s, but are still used in many hospitals. Wristwatches were primarily used as timekeepers, but have you seen a TV watch or a calculator watch? All of these inventions have now been miniaturized and merged into one device.
Hiroshi Ueda invented the selfie stick in the 1980s. This was decades before the smartphone paved the way for amateur photographers. The smartphone is a relatively novel invention, popularized in the 21st century. While its name suggests that it is a communication device like a cell phone, a smartphone can do much more. It is essentially a miniaturized computer that allows owners to connect to the internet on the go. Computers have come a long way from the 1962 Bell 103 modem.
When you think about inventions, what comes to your mind? For most people, famous important inventions include things like the telephone or the lightbulb. Most of us today are so involved in the modern world that it is hard to really appreciate how many inventions and scientific advancements have happened to make our modern world possible. It is easy to take for granted all the little things that we use every day. What would your life be like if the knife had never been invented? What if the toilet, or paper, or clothing had never been invented? It is thanks to the innovative and resourceful inventors of the past that many of the most important things in the world exist today.