Posted on 10/10/2014 12:14:30 AM PDT by Windflier
This original and fascinating book sets out to discover which of the ten centuries from 1000 to 2000 saw the most change in the human condition.
Surely, most of us would say, it can only be the 20th century? Flying, mass motoring, space travel, advanced weapons, atomic power, telephones, radio and television, computers and iPads — what more change do you want?
Ah, says the historian Ian Mortimer, history is not just a matter of inventions. More important are changes in the conditions under which we live and, above all, in the ideas that are ruling at any one time.
Many crucial inventions are ones we take for granted. People can get by without laptops but not without buttons, introduced in the 1330s, which transformed the way people looked, from loose hanging garments to tight-fitting ones.
Think of how life indoors was transformed in the 1500s with the coming of efficient chimneys to take the smoke out and glass windows to let the light in (but not the cold). Or the coming of gas light in the streets in the 1820s and soon afterwards in the home with the boon of a gas cooker instead of the coal-fired range from 1834.
Electric light bulbs (1870) led to all kind of electrically powered appliances — kettles, toasters, fans and sewing machines by the end of the 19th century. And the Great Exhibition of 1851 unveiled the flushing lavatory which soon led to dedicated bathrooms for the well-to-do.
Columbus discovered the New World in 1492 but America’s existence made little difference to life for the average European except for the novelty of potatoes, tomatoes and tobacco.
Tea, coffee and chocolate did not appear till the 17th century, along with Dutch gin, French brandy, champagne and humble lemonade.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
That's what I picked. Nothing's more basic to life than clean, fresh water.
On the other hand, you can make your own clean water with electricity and the right equipment. You'd probably have to haul it from outdoors, but you'd have that, and all of the other things that electricity enables.
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