Are You Able to Crack This? That Forgotten Netherlands Invention That Shaped our Modern Globe

There are many contenders to claim the title of “world’s most significant innovation.” The circular axle. The movable type. The combustion motor.

As per a new book, however, that honor belongs to the automated timber mill conceived through Dutch inventor Cornelis Corneliszoon during 1593.

“Prior to automated cutting, building a modest merchant vessel necessitated approximately ten lumberjacks laboring for 90 days,” notes Jaime Dávila. “Using wind-driven lumber mills, an identical quantity of cut lumber might be manufactured within a week.”

Thanks to this rapid mechanical cutter, which converted logs to planks using almost no human effort, Dutch builders were able to construct vessels more quickly than any other nation, which sparked one hundred years of Netherlands maritime, economic and artistic dominance in the continent and the globe.

The First True Manufacturing Device

Corneliszoon’s sawmill, contends the writer, was “mankind’s initial true factory machine.” A windmill turned a wheel. One component transformed its circular motion into up-and-down action for the saw. A separate mechanism changed the rotary motion into a lateral motion advancing the log toward the blade. A geared mechanism shifted the log ahead a measured step per cycle.

“Every component seemed modest on its own. Corneliszoon’s genius was to combine them in order that they acted within a precisely synchronized order, sawing on every downward motion and moving on every upward stroke. It was a remarkably clever application of fundamental parts.”

Which brings us to today’s puzzle. I’d like you to reimagine a key the fundamental concepts underpinning Corneliszoon’s invention.

Round and Up

Design a mechanism that turns rotary movement into vertical motion. Your available these components only: A spinning wheel. Two pegs. Two bars. A “guide”, that is a cylinder or sleeve through which a single the bars will fit perfectly. (Consider that it is possible to mount components on a base, so the parts don’t fall down.)

I’ll be back later today UK featuring the answer.

In the interim, NO SPOILERS. Instead, please suggest (less celebrated) contenders as the world’s greatest invention.