Week 1 Summary Essay

             Could you imagine what the world would be like without the fire hydrant?  Or the train?  I know I can’t!  Many inventions are so important that it would be very difficult to live without them.  In fact, many of the inventions that were developed within the last 300 years shaped our history!              

             I’ll start with suspension bridges.  Ancient Romans built their bridges out of stone and cement, but that means that they were very expensive to build.  China built their bridges out of vines and chains, because it was cheaper, but their bridges weren’t very stable.  Finally, James Finley built the first suspension bridge in 1801, and whoever wanted to copy his idea would have to pay him.  That obviously made him rich, because everybody wanted to build suspension bridges.  His new suspension bridge could hold tons and tons of people and goods.              

             Along with the suspension bridge, the fire hydrant also came out in the 1800s.  In mainly Europe, they made pipes out of elm wood using water from lakes and spreading it everywhere.  When there was a fire, firefighters would dig down in the ground until they reached the pipe.  Then they would drill a hole into the pipe.  The water would come rushing out and when there was enough in the hole, they would dunk their buckets in, using the water inside the bucket to put out the fire.  After the fire was put out, they would take a wooden plug and stick it inside the hole.  Fredrick Graff, born in Pennsylvania, designed the iron plug.  He also made the first fire hydrant.

             Last, but not least, is the locomotive.  Before trains, they basically just traveled around on wagons, which honestly is not very good for transportation. Richard Trevithick, born in England in 1771, invented a locomotive!  He called it the “Puffing Devil.”  The locomotive is the part of the train that pulls the rest of the carts.  At one point, the “Puffing Devil” broke, but Trevithick built a new one for the company of Coalbrookdale.  His locomotive could hold ten tons of iron for about ten miles.  It could also hold seventy men and five wagons for about the same distance.  Trains ended up helping a lot of people.  Food wouldn’t spoil as quickly in between long distances.  This also made it easier for men to get jobs.       
       
              Out of all these inventions, my personal favorite is the fire hydrant.  I like it, because it is one of the most important inventions on this planet. I learned about the huge San Francisco earthquake in 1906.  One fire hydrant (called the Golden Hydrant) saved an entire neighborhood just because it was there, and it was working.              

              These three inventions have changed history in major ways, and all have at least one thing in common.  They are involved in transportation.  Suspension bridges and locomotives allowed people to travel faster and transport items more efficiently, while the fire hydrant transferred water to put out fires quickly. This helped to protect the cities and allow them to grow.