4 ms·
The wheel is one part of a two part invention: 1) The wheel 2) smooth hard-ish surfaces that are large enough to be worth going anywhere Without either, the
by bane 10y ago
The wheel is one part of a two part invention:
1) The wheel
2) smooth hard-ish surfaces that are large enough to be worth going anywhere
Without either, the wheel on its own isn't worth much. It turns out roads are a much older, more useful invention without which the wheel doesn't make much sense.
- pbhjpbhj 10y agoRollers work well on all sorts of terrains. Wheels are good, eg wheelbarrows, on hardened earth of a footpath.
- maxerickson 10y agoSettlers beat trails across the American west. Granted, much of it is hard and flat, but it didn't take a lot of improvement to get that way. There's also still lots of relatively major roads in undeveloped countries that are not smooth or hardish. http://www.flickriver.com/photos/globalizepeace/3832727846/ http://www.flickriver.com/photos/globalizepeace/3832727846/
- Houshalter 10y agoYou can use wheels without roads. Wheels were used before roads were built. Wheeled chariots were even used on battlefields, which is far from optimal circumstances. And also wheelbarrows and similar things are very useful for doing work.
- ghrou3epuri 10y agohence why the wheel never really evolved in nature, because legs are far more adaptable to terrain and probably easier to grow. (modern) wheels do work on rough terrain (e.g. mountain bikes) but they're highly sensitive to scale. It's possible the idea was thought of many many times but only became practical with the advent of roads.