Oriental Contributions

Oriental Contributions

Argue-to give reasons for against something;

assert-to state or declare positively and often forcefully or aggressively;

assume-to take to or upon oneself;challenge-to invite someone to compete or take part especially in a game or argument claim-to say that something is true or is a fact, although you cannot prove it and other people might not believe it;

contend-to compete in order to win something;

establish-to start something that will last for a long time, or to create or set something in a particular way;

object-to feel or express opposition to or dislike of something or someone; recommend-to suggest that someone or something would be good or suitable for a particular job or purpose, or to suggest that a particular action should be done;

contradict-to say the opposite of what someone else has said, or (of one fact or statement) to be so different from another fact or statement that one of them must be wrong;

examine-to look at or consider a person or thing carefully and in detail in order to discover something about them;

persuade-to make someone do or believe something by giving them a good reason to do it or by talking to that person and making them believe it; refuse-to say that you will not do or accept something;

describe-to give a written or spoken report of how something is done or of what someone or something is like;

find-to realize that something exists or has happened;

propose-to offer or suggest a possible plan or action for other people to consider;

reject-to refuse to accept, use, or believe something or someone;

dispute-to disagree with something that someone says;

maintain-to keep something in good condition.

Nicolas Joseph Cugnot's Steam Vehicles

In 1769, the very first self-propelled road vehicle was a military tractor invented by French engineer and mechanic, Nicolas Joseph Cugnot. He used a steam engine to power his vehicle, which was built under his instructions at the Paris Arsenal. The steam engine and boiler were separate from the rest of the vehicle and placed in the front. It was used by the French Army to haul artillery at a whopping speed of 2 and 1/2 mph on only three wheels. The vehicle even had to stop every ten to fifteen minutes to build up steam power. The following year, Cugnot built a steam-powered tricycle that carried four passengers. In 1771, Cugnot drove one of his road vehicles into a stone wall, giving the inventor the distinct honor of being the first person to get into a motor vehicle accident. Unfortunately, this was just the beginning of his bad luck. After one of Cugnot's patrons died and the other was exiled, funding for Cugnot's road vehicle experiments dried up.