Short answers, pulled from the story.
The earliest evidence of a ship is a miniature clay replica discovered in Mesopotamia dating back to the fourth millennium BC. This artifact hints at a technology that would eventually allow humanity to cross oceans, trade continents, and wage wars on a scale previously unimaginable.
Ferdinand Magellan and Juan Sebastián Elcano circumnavigated the globe between 1519 and 1522. This voyage was made possible by the full-rigged ship, a three-masted vessel that could carry enough stores for a long voyage and sail against the wind.
The SS Aberdeen demonstrated that triple-expansion steam engines could serve virtually all routes competitively by 1881. This development occurred after the introduction of the screw propeller and compound engines made long-distance steam cargo vessels commercially viable.
The comb jelly Mnemiopsis leidyi caused the anchovy catch to fall from 150,000 tons in 1984 to zero in 1993. This single species, introduced in 1982, wreaked havoc on the local fishing industry and demonstrated how a seemingly harmless planktonic organism could alter landscapes.
The Allies lost some 5,150 ships during World War II. Today, the majority of the world's ships are built in just three countries: China, South Korea, and Japan.