Can You Crack This? That Forgotten Netherlands Creation Which Shaped the Modern World
There are numerous contenders to claim the designation as “world’s greatest invention.” The wheel. The printing press. The steam engine.
As per a new book, however, that honor should go to a mechanised sawmill invented by Dutch inventor Cornelis Corneliszoon during 1593.
“Prior to mechanised cutting, constructing a modest merchant vessel necessitated around ten lumberjacks laboring over three months,” notes the author. “With wind-driven sawmills, the same quantity of processed timber might be manufactured in less than seven days.”
Owing to their speedy automated cutter, which converted logs to boards with almost no human effort, the Dutch could construct vessels more quickly compared to any other nation, an advantage that sparked a century of Dutch maritime, economic and cultural dominance in Europe and the globe.
The Original Genuine Manufacturing Machine
The inventor's lumber mill, contends the writer, represented “mankind’s initial true factory apparatus.” A wind turbine turned a gear. One component converted the circular motion to vertical action for the saw. Another component changed the spinning motion into a sideway’s movement feeding the log toward the cutter. A geared mechanism moved the wood ahead one precise increment each stroke.
“Each element was simple on its own. The Dutchman’s genius lay in how to integrate these parts so they acted in a precisely synchronized order, sawing on every descending stroke while advancing on every upward motion. This constituted a remarkably clever use of fundamental components.”
Which brings us to today’s puzzle. I’d like you to reinvent one of the basic ideas underpinning this historic invention.
Circular to Vertical
Design a machine which converts circular movement into vertical motion. You have these components only: A spinning wheel. Two pegs. Two bars. A “guide”, which is a tube or sleeve into which one of the bars will fit perfectly. (Assume you can put things on a stand, so the components don’t fall down.)
The solution returns later today UK time featuring the answer.
Meanwhile, PLEASE NO HINTS. Instead, please propose (non obvious) contenders as the world’s most impactful creation.
