inventions and discoveries that changed history
we often wonder if things might or could have been different. would the world be a better place ? what are the advantages or disadvantages of different inventions?
the wheel
if the Sumerians hadn't invented the wheel in 5,000 b.c.e. , they couldn't have moved heavy loads. six thousand years later, the Mayans and incans in the Americas used the round shape in their architecture , but they had no wheel.
airplanes.
if the wright brother hadn't invented the first successful airplane, people might still be traveling long distances on ships, and there wouldn't be as much contact among people on different continents. the wright brothers first flew in an engine-propelled plane in 1903
oil
if people hadn't discovered a lot of sources of oil, cars that run on gasoline wouldn't have become so common. the first commercial oil well drilled in north america was in oil springs, Ontario, Canada in 1858
electricity
if electricity hadn't discovered, people would probably still be using candles or gaslight. Thomas Edison developed the first incandescent electric light bulb in 1879
penicillin
if Dr. Alexander Fleming hadn't discovered penicillin in 1928, millions of people would have died from infections. however, the widespread use of penicillin as an antibiotic did not begin until the 1940s , during world war II
computers
if we didn't have computers, a lot of work would still be done with paper and pencil, and people in their homes wouldn't be able to be in contact with the entire world. the first PC was introduced by IBM in 1981