Science and technology

Mankind has come a long way during its existence. People started changing the world, trying to make their lives easier and more comfortable. They invented the wheel, started transporting goods and traded precious materials. They built water mills which use wind energy.
In the 15th and I6th centuries there happened the important events - the discovery and exploration by Europeans of new continents, such as America, Asia, Africa: the invention of the printing press; and developments in the true sciences like astronomy, philosophy, medicine and biology.
The 18th and 191h centuries witnessed the industrial revolution that completely changed the world. It brought important inventions: the steam engine (J. Watt), the electric light bulb ("T. A. Edison), the electric motor (Michael Faraday), and the first petrol-driven car (G. Daimler, K. Benz). Small manufacturing businesses changed into large factories and hand-made goods were replaced by machine-made products. Traditional materials (wood, stone, horns, steel, silver, gold, copper) were still used, but as technologies improved new and cheaper materials were introduced, e.g. rubber, glass, paper and later plastics.