# What are some overlooked impacts of the industrial revolution on everyday lives? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [November 13, 2025, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-overlooked-impacts-of-the-industrial-revolution-on-everyday-lives/1024833 "2025-11-13T18:01:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2025, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-overlooked-impacts-of-the-industrial-revolution-on-everyday-lives/1024833/121 "2025-12-04T15:42:16Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > It took Henry Ford and the development of what was then called “Fordism” which was both the development of the movable assembly line _combined_ with the minute division of labor using semi-skilled labor which you described (and Chaplin highlighted). In the novel _Brave New World_ by Aldous Huxley, the year dating system is replaced to indicate that what’s important in their society is Fordism. The novel takes place in the year AF 632, which is what would be called 2540 A.D. in our dating system. It’s dated by how long after the introduction of the Model T it is. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2025, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-overlooked-impacts-of-the-industrial-revolution-on-everyday-lives/1024833/122 "2025-12-04T15:59:02Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > There was a woman named Ruth Belville who had a business in London selling the correct time to her clients. She would set her pocket watch to a clock in Greenwich, then take it around the city for her customers to set their clocks to. Prior to the industrial era, there was no need to synchronize people to a common time standard. I think some towns with large factories had a large bell or whistle that served a similar purpose, to keep people synchronized so factory work could begin on time. > > Checking Wikipedia, I see Ruth’s business was actually started by her father in 1836. His widow took over from 1856 to 1892, and then Ruth until 1940. Ruth Belville was known to have been a difficult child, petulant teenager and atrociously poorly-tempered adult. Hence the phrase " Greenwich Mean Time ". 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2025, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-overlooked-impacts-of-the-industrial-revolution-on-everyday-lives/1024833/123 "2025-12-04T16:08:20Z")
You. In your room, _now_. You have no idea how disappointed we are with your actions here. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2025, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-overlooked-impacts-of-the-industrial-revolution-on-everyday-lives/1024833/124 "2025-12-04T18:24:46Z")
> [@md-2000](#): > > I recall a documentary that mentioned the Royal Navy’s use of assembly lines. In the heyday of the British naval dominance, the number of ships and the demand for something simple used in large quatnities - pulleys - meant they needed vast numbers of them. The Navy organized workshops where each person did a single job. One cut wood blanks, others turned them to pulley wheels, another group did nothing but prepare each of the metal parts, and another group assembled the final product. > > Ford just broke the system down further for a far more complex product. However he got the idea, it worked wonders for him. The Royal Navy went a lot further than that towards industrializing [block manufacture](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portsmouth_Block_Mills). The Portsmouth Block Mill employed steam-powered machines to automatically make blocks for the navy. It was revolutionary. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2025, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-overlooked-impacts-of-the-industrial-revolution-on-everyday-lives/1024833/125 "2025-12-04T20:32:27Z")
> [@jjakucyk](#): > > > [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > > > But working with smelted iron all day must be an even more horrible job in sub-tropic or even tropic climates than in the temperate zones. > > So maybe those industries don’t flourish in hot climates as much as in temperate ones, irrespective of the culture? There was iron smithing in Africa going way back. I’m not sure how far back, but somewhere I read that they discovered how to cast iron before the Europeans did. IIRC, Europeans started casting iron some time in the 14th century. ---
**Author:** ![jjakucyk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3d9bf3/32.png) [@jjakucyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjakucyk)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2025, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-overlooked-impacts-of-the-industrial-revolution-on-everyday-lives/1024833/126 "2025-12-04T20:52:46Z")
Sure but we’re talking about industrial revolution scale steel works with day/night if not 3-shift 24-hour operation. I’m not saying there aren’t steel mill in tropical climates (either in the past or today) but they seem to be more productive and/or prolific in temperate climates. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2025, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-overlooked-impacts-of-the-industrial-revolution-on-everyday-lives/1024833/127 "2025-12-06T07:23:56Z")
I think once you have a large iron furnace, the outside temperature doesn’t really matter. Anywhere near there, the temperature of the steelworks itself is going to be the dominant effect. ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2025, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-overlooked-impacts-of-the-industrial-revolution-on-everyday-lives/1024833/128 "2025-12-21T17:04:21Z")
I can’t find it now, but there was an interesting study done about marriage patterns in England in the 19th century. The introduction of the train and especially the bicycle allowed people to routinely travel further for social events than when they had to walk, and as a result marrying someone from your hometown became less common. Since people from the same town were often related, marriages between closely related people decreased. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2025, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-overlooked-impacts-of-the-industrial-revolution-on-everyday-lives/1024833/129 "2025-12-21T17:32:22Z")
> [@zimaane](#): > > Since people from the same town were often related, marriages between closely related people decreased. Improving public health? ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2025, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-overlooked-impacts-of-the-industrial-revolution-on-everyday-lives/1024833/130 "2025-12-21T17:58:19Z")
> [@zimaane](#): > > marrying someone from your hometown became less common. Not to mention the urbanization that accompanied industrialization and job opportunities meant people were more mobile, often moved far from their traditional family home. More mixing. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2025, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-overlooked-impacts-of-the-industrial-revolution-on-everyday-lives/1024833/131 "2025-12-26T13:38:27Z")
> [@zimaane](#): > > The introduction of the train and especially the bicycle allowed people to routinely travel further for social events than when they had to walk There was a joke (with a knowing wink) that “grandad had a bicycle” - not necessarily referring to marriage. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2025, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-overlooked-impacts-of-the-industrial-revolution-on-everyday-lives/1024833/132 "2025-12-27T00:58:56Z")
And the potential of automobiles to provide both mobility and privacy was obvious from the beginning. ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2025, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-overlooked-impacts-of-the-industrial-revolution-on-everyday-lives/1024833/133 "2025-12-27T16:42:16Z")
I would suggest that was more a side effect of suburb development in the post-war era. Before everyone was easily mobile, every urban neighbourhood would be like a small town - the gossipy hoursewives would share and snippets of data or observations about anyone in the neigbourhood, and the guys at the bar were just as bad. They would know your marital status and family size, your schedule, what direction or which train you took to work, Bob from down the block would mention he saw you walking near that big office tower, kids whould repeat what your kids said at school, etc. With the automobile and suburbs, you could hop in your car and never talk to neighbours, they were unlikely to see you 20 miles away in the big city unless you had a public-facing job, etc. you shopped at a mall, possibly miles away. Then came tall apartments with undergound parking and even more privacy. Not to mention, I think it was Heinlein discussing science fiction once - he mentioned that it was easy to predict the automobile - what would make SF interesting, was predicting the resulting social changes, and one example he gave was teenagers using the privacy of a parked automobile to turn it into a bedroom. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2025, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-overlooked-impacts-of-the-industrial-revolution-on-everyday-lives/1024833/134 "2025-12-27T21:07:14Z")
My wife related the anecdote that when she was a teenager her parents flatly forbade her to date boys who owned their own cars. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-overlooked-impacts-of-the-industrial-revolution-on-everyday-lives/1024833.md?page=6)