Are You Able to Solve It? That Overlooked Netherlands Invention That Forged the Contemporary Globe
One can find numerous candidates for the designation as “world’s most significant invention.” The circular axle. The movable type. The steam engine.
According to a recent publication, however, that title belongs to the mechanised sawmill invented by Dutchman Cornelis Corneliszoon in 1593.
“Prior to automated cutting, constructing a simple merchant vessel necessitated approximately ten lumberjacks working over three months,” writes the author. “Using wind-driven sawmills, an identical amount of cut lumber could be produced within a week.”
Thanks to their rapid automated saw, that turned timber to boards with virtually no manual labor, Dutch builders could build ships more quickly compared to any other nation, an advantage that sparked a century of Dutch maritime, financial as well as artistic dominance in the continent and the world.
The Original True Industrial Machine
The inventor's sawmill, contends the writer, was “mankind’s first true factory machine.” A windmill turned a gear. One component transformed its rotary motion into up-and-down action for the cutting blade. Another component transformed that same spinning movement into a lateral movement advancing the log to the blade. A ratchet system shifted the log ahead one precise increment each cycle.
“Every component seemed simple on its own. Corneliszoon’s brilliance lay in how to integrate these parts so the machine acted within a precisely synchronized sequence, cutting on every downward motion and moving on every upward stroke. It was a remarkably intelligent application of fundamental parts.”
A fact that brings us up to today’s puzzle. I’d like you to reinvent a key the fundamental ideas underpinning this historic machine.
Circular to Vertical
Design a mechanism that turns rotary movement to vertical motion. Your available these components exclusively: A rotating disc. Two pegs. Two rods. A “guide”, which is a cylinder or sleeve through which one of the rods will fit perfectly. (Consider that you can put things on a base, so the components do not collapse.)
I’ll be back at 5pm UK featuring the answer.
In the interim, NO SPOILERS. Rather, feel free to suggest (non obvious) candidates as the world’s most impactful creation.
