There was a time when a creature named “human” didn’t know about him and his existence but due to his intelligence and power today he’s ruling the world. Man has invented umpteenth astounding things . He has conquered the forces of mother nature with the help of his inventions. From the invention of eraser to the invention of artificial satellite, man has left no stone unturned to make this world a marvellous place. One of his wonderful inventions has been wheel. This may sound a bit weird as a wheel might appear to be an insignificant thing. But the truth is wheel absolutely is a great creation of man. It can be called as a basic invention since many stunning things were invented through the wheel.
There are numerous things on the earth which consist of wheel like the car, the bike, the train, even the aeroplane which flies 1000s of kms through the air needs wheel for taking off and landing. Not only in the transports but in the machines too wheel plays a crucial role. For instance, watches which tell us time, generators which produce electricity, machines which manufacture various goods have wheels in them and many more. In fact, the whole universe is full of wheels. The planets, the sun, the moon and many other countless celestial bodies are round in shape and act as a wheel. Everywhere there is wheel and wheel and wheel within wheel.
The wheel was invented around 3500 BC in Mesopotamia. Evidences claim that it was at first used as the “potter’s wheel” with the help of which early man made vessels of various shapes and sizes. So that they could store their grains, liquids and cook food. After 300 years an ingenious person observed that the wheel could also be used as a mode of transport. And then it was used for chariots and wagons for several years.
How was the wheel invented? Thousands of years back in time, man needed a helper to make his lifestyle easier than before. The first animal he tamed for his purpose was dog. It protected its master from jeopardy and was even used for hunting. Shortly, man realized that a pack of dogs could be useful for carrying his items. He prepared a frame of sticks, put loads on it and made dogs pull it. Such kind of vehicle was called sledge. This was the first ever vehicle invented by man. Soon man too begin sitting on the sledge and travelled. Later, other animals like donkeys, cows, oxen, horses, etc., started doing the same work after being tamed and trained by their masters. Still man wasn’t satisfied, he wanted something better that could carry him and his loads with ease and cover long journeys with faster speed.
By and by a genius invented wheel. The earliest kind of wheel was made of three planks of wood held together by wooden struts and was not utterly round in shape. That’s how the wheel came into existence. Soon it was found that the larger a wheel the smaller was the effort required to carry the load. In this the discovery of metals helped a lot to make bigger and better wheels. A strip of metal was placed around the outer circumference of the wheel which acted as a tyre and let the vehicles work more smoothly. Also the metal tyres could stand wear and tear better than wood. Initially just one pair of wheels were used in cars and wheel-barrows. Later two or more pair of wheels were attached to carts and wagons which carried more items.
But as everything has it’s own pros and cons, same was with the wheel. As it was large in size so it was heavy as well. Due to its heavy weight it sunk into the ground. Situation used to get worse after rain because of the muddy land. It was rather difficult pulling heavy objects on such surface. Man decided to build a hard surface for the smooth movement of transports and thus invented road. Multiple things related to transports were invented in past centuries like the steam- engine and the motor car which brought faster mode of transports. But, at this time too man didn’t have good and comfortable experience with road transports.
Ultimately a major breakthrough took place in the history of transportation. In 1888 a British veterinary surgeon named John Boyd Dunlop invented air filled pneumatic tyre. John Dunlop’s invention has spread all over the world. His invention is counted among one of the most important inventions. In today’s world these amazing tyres are used in bicycles, buses and what not.
Henceforth, it can undoubtedly be said that the wheel certainly is one the crucial and basic inventions on the planet. Life would have been impossible sans wheel. Because of it today anyone can travel any distance no matter how long it is. No other invention has so greatly helped man to conquer distance. Places which in earlier days seemed to be so far now appear to be just round the corner. The inventor of wheel is still anonymous but his great mind has carried us a long way along the path of knowledge, advancement and progress.
