# What is the history of the spring as a mechanical object of interest? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 16, 2014, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-history-of-the-spring-as-a-mechanical-object-of-interest/686276 "2014-04-16T17:10:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 2\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2014, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-history-of-the-spring-as-a-mechanical-object-of-interest/686276/1 "2014-04-16T17:10:09Z")
It’s like the wheel, I guess, where the “invention” is lying around, from springy plant things that can be used for bows. 1. Do bows have a historical starting date? What were other first uses of springs? 2. But for man-made materials, I would think it’s a major technological leap. Is there any record of someone saying, “Man, this springy-thing I constructed from scratch can be used for all sorts of things”? 3. What is the earliest natural-science investigation of springs? (Greeks, etc.) 4. Milestones in mathematics of springs? Good references specifically on topic? ETA: I have in mind, for everything but bows, etc, a helical spring. _That_, I think, is major intellectual creativity. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2014, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-history-of-the-spring-as-a-mechanical-object-of-interest/686276/2 "2014-04-16T17:54:40Z")
Are you talking about coil springs or any springs? The former are a relatively recent invention, but humans have certainly been using pliable tree limbs and the like for springy qualities since prehistoric times.