Before mankind developed various forms of transportation, our ancestors used to travel on foot. One can only imagine how many days, weeks, or even months it would take for someone to walk from Los Angeles to New York. Fortunately, humans were resourceful enough to use animals such as horses, donkeys, and camels as their means of transportation.
Though horses, donkeys, and camels still exist today, they aren’t the primary means of transportation anymore. Our species evolved and utilized transport by land, air, and by sea. Here’s a short overview of how our means of transportation evolved throughout the centuries:
Means of Transportation Before
The first humans who figured out that they could use animals as a means of transportation deserve a ton of credit. As we said, horses, donkeys, and camels used to be our ancestor’s primary means of transportation. Transportation using animals was widespread from 4000 BC to 3000 BC, and in 3500 BC, humans started building different transportation alternatives.
Our ancestors, during 3500 BC, eventually invented the wheel, and it was first conceptualized in Iraq. The first wheel was made from wood. Humans continued to experiment with wood shortly after, they built canoe-like structures to be able to travel through water. Our ancestors built their first canoes by burning several logs and digging the burnt wood out.
In 3100, the Egyptians were able to master the art of making a sailboat while the Romans built roads throughout Europe. Speaking of roads, more roads and the first modern highway became a reality through the efforts of John Loudon McAdam. He has the credit for developing the idea, and it certainly paved the way for new modes of transportation to rise.
New Modes of Transportation
The 17th and 18th centuries brought new alternative modes of transportation. The list includes bicycles, motor cars, trains, trucks, airplanes, and trams. The first car was developed in 1906, and it worked by using an internal combustion engine. During that time, transportation systems such as trains, boats, airplanes all featured internal combustion engines.
Automobiles in the United States also featured internal combustion engines, and the three biggest companies were Chrysler, Ford, and General Motors. Since they all offered the same product, they had to quickly diversify the style of automobiles. Some of the current styles that they deserve credit for are two-door cars, small, large, and sports cars. These companies led the revolution of cars as we know them today.
History of Automobiles
Transportation as we know it today wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for the automobile patents from the 18th and 19th centuries. The man behind the first internal combustion engine patent was Jean Lenoir of France. Lenoir deserves a ton of credit for envisioning a future filled with cars with internal combustion engines.
The automobile industry continued to evolve after decades and decades of development. One cannot forget the American automobile movement and its automobile industry during the 1900s. The time saw brilliant minds develop exceptional automobiles during the time. Some of these brilliant minds were Alfred Sloan and Henry Ford.
Today, the automobile industry is currently producing around 70 million cars worldwide. The development also prompted an increased demand for oil and gas. With this fact, people were able to use different alternatives such as hybrid cars, hydrogen cars, battery-operated cars, and cars that run on alternative fuels.
Airplanes & Trains
Humans have certainly learned how to make transportation much faster and easier. In turn, trains and airplanes have played an enormous role in molding society as it is today. We certainly wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for the brilliant minds behind airplanes and trains!
The Wright brothers were the first ones to develop a powered aircraft back in 1902. However, someone else deserves the credit of being the first person to create something that could fly. This honor belongs to Enrico Forlanini, and his invention was an unmanned helicopter that was powered by a steam engine. Today, air travel is composed of a fleet of commercial aircraft that can fly at the astounding speed of 960 km/hr. You could certainly say that the whole world is more connected today than before thanks to airplanes!
Trains have long been a mode of transportation. It’s way faster to take a train than to ride a horse from point A to point B. Trains can be powered by electricity, diesel, and even steam. Trains that are powered by steam are mostly fueled by wood, oil, or coal. It was also a steam-powered train that was the first rail transportation, and it was used to move coal from several mines to rivers.
Fast forward a few centuries later, and the steam locomotives have been replaced by diesel. Today, the fastest high-speed Rail trains use a unique technology called magnetic levitation, and it can help trains reach speeds of up to 431 km/hr!
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