The use of tools 4

Kay's flying shuttle: 1733

In 1733 John Kay, son of the owner of a Lancashire woollen factory, patents the first of the devices which revolutionize the textile industry. He has devised a method for the shuttle to be thrown mechanically back and forth across the loom. This greatly speeds up the previous hand process, and it halves the labour force. Where a broad-cloth loom previously required a weaver on each side, it can now be worked by a single operator.

The use of tools 3

Gutenberg and western printing: 1439 - 1457

The name of Gutenberg first appears, in connection with printing, in a law case in Strasbourg in 1439. He is being sued by two of his business partners. Witnesses, asked about Gutenberg's stock, describe a press and a supply of metal type. It sounds as though he is already capable of printing small items of text from movable type, and it seems likely that he must have done so in Strasbourg. But nothing from this period survives.

The use of tools 2

Rotary power: c.200 BC

The turning of a drum by pressure on projecting arms (the principle of the capstan or windlass) is a necessary part of any rotary machine, such as a screw press. The same principle makes it possible to grind corn between millstones. The manual grinding of grain, together with the baking of bread, go back at least 8000 years to settled communities such as Catal Huyuk. Early forms of grinding involve rubbing one hard surface against another by hand (the pestle and mortar is one such method). Rotary mills, turned by slaves or animals, are known from at least the 2nd century BC.

The use of tools

It is a commonplace that humans are distinguished from other creatures by a technological ability, and man has often been described as a tool-using animal. The distinction is not entirely valid. Some animals do use tools. Chimpanzees are the most often quoted example, stripping a twig to plunge it into an anthill and then eating the tasty termites which cling to the end of it. A more modern example of tool-using is that of crows living in a walnut avenue in the Japanese town of Sendai. The walnuts are too hard to crack. So the crows have taken to dropping them on a pedestrian crossing where they are crushed by the passing traffic. When it is the pedestrians' turn, the crows fly in to bear

6 Insane Discoveries That Science Can't Explain

#6. The Voynich Manuscript

The Mystery:
The Voynich manuscript is an ancient book that has thwarted all attempts at deciphering its contents. And it's not like some idiot just scribbled a bunch of nonsense on paper and went, "Figure THIS out, fuckwads." It is actually an organized book with a consistent script, discernible organization and detailed illustrations.

Computer chip can think like a human brain

IBM has developed a sophisticated new chip that works by simulating the neurons inside the human brain.

The concept of creating a 'thinking' computer has been the dream of computer engineers and futurists for years and while this latest development doesn't quite achieve that goal it does open up the door to a whole new way of performing complex tasks using computers.

The size of a postage stamp, the new chip contains 5.4 billion transistors and is capable of simulating 1 million neurons and 256 million neural connections.

Life found half a mile below Antarctic ice

Researchers in Antarctica have revealed the discovery of a whole ecosystem living beneath the pack ice.

It seems a long time since scientists first started to drill down through the ice to sample the waters of one of Antarctica's many subglacial lakes, bodies of water that have remained completely isolated from the outside world as far as half a mile under the surface where by all rights nothing should be able to survive.

This week however the research team finally confirmed that this cold, dark environment is indeed home to some remarkable forms of life and may offer hope for finding life on other worlds as well.

Where is Genghis Khan buried?

Japan-Mongol Joint Research Team via AP

Genghis Khan united warring tribes in 1206 and became the leader of the Mongols, creating an empire that eventually stretched from China to Hungary. The famed warrior's tomb, however, has remained a mystery ever since his death in 1227.
According to legend, his burial party killed anyone who saw the procession. The slaves and soldiers who attended the funeral were also killed. Horses then trampled evidence of the burial, and a river was diverted to flow over the grave, which is thought to

ANTIKYTHERA MECHANISM

This curious mechanical device is often described as the World’s first analogue computer was retrieved by sponge divers off the coast of Antikythera in or around 1900AD.  Scientists all agree that it is real and that it dates from some time during the 2nd century BC making it well over 2,000 years old.  It comprises of a complex system of dials, gears and cogs of extraordinary precision. Experts agree that it represents a standard of production that would not be seen again until the rise of complex clocks and clockwork in the 18th century.  After many years of research the current thinking is that it was used as an astronomy calculator to predict and measure the movement and cycle of the planets in relationship to the Sun, Earth and the Moon.  For decades after its original discovery the importance of the find was overlooked until archaeologists and modern scientist began to appreciate the significance of such early mechanical sophistication.  Since then it has been x-rayed many times using evermore advanced equipment.  Working reconstructions have been made and entire research groups established to unlock the secrets of its manufacture and its purpose.  Its existence has challenged many preconceived ideas regarding the technological abilities of the ancient civilisations