Curated category
Ancient inventions
- WatermillThe Greek engineer Philo of Byzantium wrote about water-driven wheels in his technical treatises Pneumatica and Parasceuastica around 280 BC.
- Toilet419 million people have no access to a toilet at all. They must openly defecate and urinate in the open air. This lack of infrastructure leads to diseases…
- Roman concreteThe harbor of Caesarea in Roman Judaea rose from the sea between 22 BC and 15 BC. Massive quantities of pozzolana arrived from Puteoli to build its…
- Armillary sphereA brass framework of graduated rings stands at the center of an armillary sphere. This metal skeleton represents lines of celestial longitude and latitude.
- TragedyIn the 6th century BCE, Athenian tragedy emerged as a dance-drama form during an annual state religious festival honoring Dionysus.
- LeverThe word lever entered the English language around 1300. It sprang from the stem of a verb meaning to raise. That verb traces back to an adjective levis…