We use tools every day for just about every part of our lives. There’s very little we do in the modern day that doesn’t have a tool to make it easier. This is as true now as it was a thousand years ago. A lot of the tools we use now stem from similar devices decades or even centuries in the past. Here’re some historic tools that we still use today.
Walking Stick
One of the oldest tools that people use is a stick. The first people to consistently use a stick as a walking tool were shepherds. The sticks helped them to stand all day, herding animals and defending themselves from predators or thieves. However, this is only the beginning of the history of walking sticks.
Odometer
We use odometers to measure distance and how far we’ve traveled. It’s very useful for correctly gauging the distance between two points. However, this tool saw its first use just before the start of the A.D. era. It was simple but very useful for measuring distance.
Compass
The compass isn’t a new invention, but you can see it in just about every vehicle. It’s easy to see why, as travel and exploration are basically impossible without one, especially over the ocean. Compasses have helped people so much that we don’t have a replacement for them, even now.
Alarm Clocks
Many people hear the term “alarm clock” and think of the loud mechanical devices, but even older eras had contraptions to help them wake up and tell time. Candle alarms, which dropped a nail once enough wax melted, were some of the first attempts at alarm clocks.
As you can see, a lot of the technology we use today echoes throughout history. These are just some of the historic tools that we still use today. Although we’ve made vast improvements to these technologies, they’ve been around for a long time and will continue to evolve in the future.