The ancient empire of Mesopotamia is accredited with several modern-day inventions. The Mesopotamians were indeed an intelligent lot and had plenty of scientific thinking. Agriculture, writing, wine, the wheel, and domestication of animals are just a few of the things that this civilization introduced to the world. They used a wooden lever that was placed adjacent to a water bank. On one end of the lever was a bucket and to the opposite end was attached a counterweight. When the lever was pushed down, the bucket filled with water and the counterweight bounced back the lever, bringing the bucket up. This was then emptied into a trough