This book was originally printed in French in 1988, translated into English three years later by Melanie Hanbury. Source of this writing is the second edition of The Wordsworth Dictionary of Inventions, a slightly over 200 pages pocket edition published in 1995.
Human being, the only known creature who can think in abstract and envision his desires, creates tools and materials which assist him in an endeavor of compatibility with the nature, and in a quest to live more comfortable, healthier, and longer. Some animals use tools to feed themselves, or build nests for breeding, or construct damns and other structures for multitude purposes. Such actions are unique to certain animals. In addition, those actions are believed to be more of a genetically inherited reaction than abstract thinking. Without going in depth in discussing the differences between human and animals, it is certain that human evolution is as a result of innovations, which stems from his ability to think in a way that other creatures are not adept to. As a result, we find new substances to enlighten our daily lives, and we shape our material world for our advancements, which we call inventions and discoveries. There have been certain inventions which completely changed the course of human history, such as artificial fire, harvesting, animal domestication and many others, without which we would perhaps be still living in caves! Such inventions predate history and their sources cannot be discerned through manuscripts, artifacts, or other means of archeology. Therefore, we may never know the origins of our vital and the most crucial inventions.
The Wordsworth Dictionary of Inventions lists about 220 inventions, from iron, soap, and pencil, to atomic theory, rockets, and submarines. All inventions are listed alphabetically and they are divided into ten categories for easy access. Categories are in alphabetical order as well: Agriculture and Food; Chemistry and Physics; Communication, Culture and the Media; Daily life; Energy and Mechanics; Industry, Construction Materials, Civil Engineering and Tools; Measuring Instruments and Mathematics; Medicine and Health; Transport; Warfare. It is interesting to learn that the origin of most of the inventions date back to great ancient empires, such as China, Greece, Mesopotamia, Egypt, Persia, Rome, and India. A great majority of inventions belong to Chinese inventors however. As such, we can witness today that most of the inventions and technological advances originate in great powers of the world. The great powers, empires, or first world countries accumulate massive wealth (by depleting other countries resources), which in return it provides basic necessities for their nations, and can attract great thinkers and inventors from all over the world. The book searches throughout the history to find origination of every invention. If the inventor’s name or the country the invention was known to have originated from is available, it is mentioned in the book. Some of the inventions have gradually been advanced and perfected. In such cases, the process of improvement is briefly mentioned as well.
Knowing who invented an everyday object, and the process through which it was invented is a common, as well as fascinating and stimulating knowledge. For example, it sounds enthralling to know who invented canned food! We learn from a chapter under the same title that it was invented in the late 18th century. The question arises as to what people did before this invention and whether they were able to preserve perishable foods. It is explained in the same chapter briefly: ‘Chinese seem to have mastered three techniques of preservation by the first millennium: the first, by salting, the second by using spices, and the third by fermentation in wine… Moreover, the Chinese had improved the process of drying with that of smoking… These techniques hardly varied for at least two and a half millennia…Nicolas Appert, a confectioner in Paris, was the first to have the idea, in 1780, that applying heat to sealed jars could prevent the fermentation of food; he began to put it to the test.” [Page11] The discussion of food preservation begins in this chapter by stating that early man searched for various ways in order to preserve the uneaten portion of the hunt. He accomplished it using various ways such as drying (which continues to this day), in addition to the methods quoted here that advanced into “vacuumed tin can” and “pasteurization”.
In addition to commonly used inventions mentioned above, there are some which are highly scientific and specialized. One of these inventions (or discovery in this case) is atomic theory. Almost every scientific discussion in 20th century physics involved atoms in one way or another. The first atomic bomb was made (and also was used) in the 20th century. Arm race during the cold war was a hot subject mostly related to nuclear arsenals of the East and the West. It created a misunderstanding that atomic theory was a discovery of the 20th century. However, the book dates it back to 25 centuries ago, without necessarily explaining its development passed 1808: “The notion of atom (from the Greek a-tomein which means ‘undividable’) dates back to the Greek philosopher Leucippus in the 5th century BC, who passed it on to his disciple, Democritus, and seems to have been a success, for Epicurus and his disciples carried it on into the 4th and 3rd centuries.” [Page 26] The problem with atom was that it could not be measured and physically examined by scientists of the time: “…the notion of the atom was metaphysical, since it did not rest on any scientific observation.” [Page 26] That is why the discussion of atom was among philosophers, and although majority of scientific discoveries originate from a vision and a hypothesis, the subject of atom was quenched for centuries until it was picked up briefly in the 17th century. In the 18th century new ideas helped the progress of atomic theory: “…John Dalton, who was a professor at the age of twelve, published a treatise on meteorology, this being his favourite field of scientific investigation…having invented a notation system and determined the weight-volume relations of various gases, Dalton had established the proportional numbers of particles by gases. Thus he founded the scientific bases for the atomic theory.” [Page 27]
Buying presents is one of the social amusements, and sometimes worries, of modern life. It seems to be easier to select presents for children considering toys of all kinds in the market. But when they are older and of the opposite sex, it makes it much more difficult. However, there are several generic gifts that can be purchased for almost everyone passed the childhood. The most popular one of such gifts is eau de cologne. In order to be attracted by other people, we stimulate their senses by making ourselves look good and smell good. This is an old tradition going back to ancient times. Wearing scented oil had been around for millennia. However, eau de cologne (in water) is a new invention replacing the use of various scented oil products (such as olive oil) to acquire a pleasant aroma: “The first known mention of a non-oily scented liquid was that of Anger water which was the speciality of Montpellier from the 19th century. It was used for cleansing. Thereafter, several other waters came into vogue, breading with the ancient tradition of oily perfumes. The first one, which was composed of alcohol and citrus and known as ‘eau de Cologne’ made its official appearance in France in 1855, presented by a member of the Farina family of perfumers.” [Page 63] Accordingly, the new invention is about one and a half centuries old.
A scientist stated once that the one single factor that made human being above all other species in intelligence was the discovery of fire. In prehistoric time, fire would glow light in dark nights, which would produce more protection for early man by enabling him to view farther into his surroundings and safeguard him from dangers. The warmth of fire in cold climate would keep primitive man healthier. Torches could also be used as a weapon in combating animals. However, the most important use of fire was in cooking. When animals’ flesh was cooked, it was easier to be consumed, as well as it could be preserved longer for future consumption. The importance of the ability to consume more flesh lies in development of brain. Protein is the best source for development of brain neurons. Having the ability to consume more “brainy” food and providing our brain with more nutrition, our mental capacity was allowed to grow faster and larger. Therefore, fire played a pivotal role in becoming superior to all other species. As it was mentioned earlier origination of the invention of fire (by rubbing two sticks together) is not known. However, in a chapter titled “Matches”, although the book does not delve into discovery of matches since: “the history of matches is strangely long for what seems to be a simple invention, for it lasted for nearly two centuries” [Page 68] but it explains latest development of it. Alchemists (the origin of the word is “Kimia” which means a magical potion in Persian, further Arabized with “al” after the invasion of Iran by Arabs, and eventually shortened in English to Alchemy) from the ancient times had been looking for a substance that could be converted to gold. This turned into an unintentional discovery of phosphorus, the substance that creates fire: “The first ‘father’ of matches was the Englishman Robert Boyle, who discovered in 1680 that thick paper covered with phosphorus would ignite twigs covered with in sulphur when they were rubbed on to it” [Page 68]. The book continues advancement of production of matches to the present times.
There are several articles in this book about pharmacology, medicine, medical treatment, and surgery. Considering that working of the inside of human body was not known until after the dark ages, the knowledge of human organism and internal systems was nothing but a guesswork, and at the best, resemblance to animals anatomy. In a chapter titled “Autopsy”, the book explains that only Galen, a Greek surgeon who resided in Rome, had knowledge of laryngeal nerves and some other internal organs. In fact, he acquired this knowledge because he was the physician of gladiators, so he could observe and learn through the performance of autopsy. However, there is an interesting chapter under the same category about the history of repair surgery, and the work of a first century B.C. Hindu physician by the name of Susruta: “… It consisted of treating intestinal perforations and obstructions by joining together the damaged or occluded part of the intestine after cutting into the abdomen below the navel. Susruta sutured the segments in what may seem to be rather a strange way; he placed the freshly cut heads of giant black ants on the edges of the opposing sections. This process is all the more surprising for the 20th –century [note that the book was published in 1900s] observer because it shows a knowledge of the powerful antiseptic properties of formic acid (H. COOH) secreted by the ant heads; these properties were particularly useful in the treatment of highly septic wounds.” [Page 185]
Considering the knowledge of ancient times, the discoveries disclosed in this book compels one to ponder about the intelligence of human from the earliest time, and whether the trend of knowledge has moved upward or to the opposite! For some reason, we always think to be more intelligent than our forefathers. Archeologists have discovered that the size of our brain has not changed since early man. People in the old time did not have the technology we have today, but we should realize that today’s technology stems as a result of a progression in science that has evolved from the ancient times. Unfortunately for advancement of science, we have passed through several centuries when scientific knowledge was forbidden, and scientists were prosecuted. When scientific endeavor was banned by the church for more than ten centuries during dark ages, the progression of advancement in daily life was slow, if not halted. The regression continued in Europe before the time called “the enlightenment period”, when religious leaders were taken off the power structure and they were sent to churches and religious buildings to concentrate on their religious dogma only. At such time, science and technology shouldered a giant leap. For the same reason, in countries (such as in the Middle East) where religion plays a determining factor in people’s lives, bright minds cannot flourish, and they become distracted with metaphysics. Those who know what is forbidding the progress of their knowledge, move out of such environments if they can. That is why we witness many scientists and thinkers in different fields migrated from the Middle East to western countries, where their knowledge is more appreciated. There has not been a single invention originated from any religious society, and obviously there will not be one.
First published in France as Les grandes inventions de l’humanitk. Published as Great Inventions through History by W&R Chambers Ltd. Edinburgh. This edition published 1995 by Wordsworth Editions Ltd. Cumberland House, Crib Street, Ware, Hertfordshire SG12 9ET. Copyright © Bordas, Paris 1988. Copyright © English text edition W&R Chambers 1991.
