There are 4 very important pieces of our automobiles we take for granted everyday — the wheels. If we actually sat down and thought about them we would recognize just how magnificent this invention was and how it revolutionized the way we live our lives, even today.
History shows that most inventions were inspired by the natural world, but no wheels exist in nature, thus making the wheel solely a human innovation. Wheels are the archetype of a primitive, caveman-level technology.
We often think of the wheel to be one of the earliest inventions and that it was created for transportation, but we are wrong on both parts.
Woven cloths, basket weaving, ropes, boats, and even sewing needles are amongst the list of items that were invented before the wheel.
The invention of the wheel didn’t happen until 3500 B.C. The first wheels were created to serve as potter wheels and not for transportation, in fact, it wasn’t until many, many, many years later that the wheel was used for chariots.
For centuries, tinkerers, mathematicians, and others, tried to design a motion device that produced more energy than it consumed, thus, to continually rotate, but to no avail.
It wasn’t until August 26th 1791, the first patent was issued to a man named, James Macomb. His invention was a design for a horizontal, hollow water wheel to create hydropower for mills.
It has been founded by archaeologists that the earliest wheels in North America were actually used for toys. It wasn’t until European settlers that the wheel was used for transportation. From there, carriages, bicycles, ferris wheels, automobiles and so many more wheel-operated inventions were born.
The wheel changed our lives so much so that, once it was created, we could not go backwards. Like the wheel, we move forward to see what is next for this incredible invention and we’re sure it will be interesting.
