Inventions That Changed the World

Inventions That Changed the World

From ancient tools to the latest digital advances, these human inventions changed the world and transformed life on earth.
Human inventions and technologies have shaped civilizations and transformed life on the Earth. As expectations and capabilities evolve, each generation cultivates its own set of innovative thinkers.
Right from the invention of the wheel to the development of the Mars rover, a large number of these inventions have been truly revolutionary, even if hadn't been so obvious at the time.
Most major inventions don't have just one inventor. Instead, they have been developed separately by many people, or many people have had a hand in their evolution from basic concepts to useful inventions.
Here is a list of our top picks of revolutionary inventions that changed the world:

1. Wheel

The wheel stands out as an original engineering marvel, and one of the most famous inventions. This basic technology not only made it easier to travel, but also served as the base for a huge number of other innovative technologies. Yet, the wheel is not actually that old. The oldest known wheel is from Mesopotamia, around 3500 B.C. By that time, humans were already casting metal alloys, constructing canals and sailboats, and even designing complex musical instruments such as harps.
In fact, the main invention was not the wheel itself, which was likely invented the first time someone saw a rock rolling along, but the combination of a wheel and a fixed axle, which allows the wheel to be connected to a stable platform. Without the fixed axel, the wheel has only very limited utility. 

2. Compass

This modern invention may have originally been created for spiritual purposes. Later it was adapted for navigational purposes. The earliest compasses were most likely invented by the Chinese, around 200 BC. Some were made of lodestone, which is a naturally-occurring form of the mineral magnetite. There is also evidence that other civilizations may have also used lodestone. At some point, possibly around 1050 CE, people began suspending the lodestones so they could move freely, and using them for navigation. A description of a magnetized needle and its use among sailors occurs in a European book written in 1190, so by that time, it is likely that the use of a needle as a compass was commonplace.