# What took longest to invent? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 4, 2011, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-took-longest-to-invent/584290 "2011-06-04T05:30:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![chacoguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-took-longest-to-invent/584290/41 "2011-06-06T05:49:16Z")
Sharpened stone flakes took millions of years of experimentation and testing to develop. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-took-longest-to-invent/584290/42 "2011-06-06T14:37:49Z")
> [@chacoguy](#): > > Sharpened stone flakes took millions of years of experimentation and testing to develop. Cite? ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-took-longest-to-invent/584290/43 "2011-06-06T16:17:41Z")
The automobile had to have successful parallel developments to be possible: -smooth surfaced roads (McAdam, late 18th century) -cheap gasoline (late 19th century) -rubber tires (early 19th century) -cutting tools that could handle hardened steel gears (late 19th century). There were attempts at building steam cars in the early 1800’s-but these were only a limited success. For people like Henry Ford to scceed, you needed a lot of other stuff to be available. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-took-longest-to-invent/584290/44 "2011-06-06T16:27:27Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > The automobile had to have successful parallel developments to be possible: > -smooth surfaced roads (McAdam, late 18th century) > -cheap gasoline (late 19th century) > -rubber tires (early 19th century) > -cutting tools that could handle hardened steel gears (late 19th century). > There were attempts at building steam cars in the early 1800’s-but these were only a limited success. > For people like Henry Ford to scceed, you needed a lot of other stuff to be available. That would be an excellent offering for a thread concerning the exact opposite question the OP is asking. Not sure what use it is in this thread, though. ---
**Author:** ![Swords\_to\_Plowshares](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b38774/32.png) [@Swords\_to\_Plowshares](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swords_to_Plowshares)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-took-longest-to-invent/584290/45 "2011-06-06T16:37:12Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Cite? > **[Levallois technique](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levallois_technique)** > > The Levallois technique (.mw-parser-output .IPA-label-small{font-size:85%}.mw-parser-output .references .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .infobox .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .navbox .IPA-label-small{font-size:100%}IPA: \[lə.va.lwa\]) is a name given by archaeologists to a distinctive type of stone knapping developed around 250,000 to 400,000 years ago during the Middle Palaeolithic period. It is part of the Mousterian stone tool industry, and was used by the Neanderthals in Europe and b It... Not developed until near the end of the Lower Paleolithic age. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-took-longest-to-invent/584290/46 "2011-06-06T16:41:24Z")
The television remote control. Early cavemen must have stared at the cave wall and wondered why they couldn’t see moving pictures of people delivering distorted news ( Smilodons big danger! Details after sun go sleep) , informercials (NEW IMPROVED OG ROCK not available in caves, 6 rabbit skins shipping and handling), mindless sitcoms ( Thag: Ugh! — Everybody: THAG!), and sports (Dag has rock, throws, hits Ig head!). Yet they realized the cruel irony of such an invention ("Why Drog stand, walk cross cave change wall picture?). ---
**Author:** ![constanze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@constanze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/constanze)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-took-longest-to-invent/584290/47 "2011-06-06T17:43:32Z")
> [@elmwood](#): > > I’d consider the printing press among them. The concept was there about 5,000 years before Gutenberg’s printing press, in the form of [Mesopotamian cylinder seals](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cylinder_seal). [Ink](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ink) was around for about 3,500 years before the printing press. Do you know how many tries it took Gutenberg to work out all the problems, and that he had many precurors who failed? It’s like James Watt - the steam engine was there long before him, he just invented that small detail of the relief valve to keep the thing from exploding. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-took-longest-to-invent/584290/48 "2011-06-06T17:45:26Z")
> [@constanze](#): > > Do you know how many tries it took Gutenberg to work out all the problems, and that he had many precurors who failed? It’s like James Watt - the steam engine was there long before him, he just invented that small detail of the relief valve to keep the thing from exploding. I thought he invented the valves and condensor that kept the engines from reaching heat equilibrium. Am I wrong about that? ---
**Author:** ![constanze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@constanze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/constanze)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-took-longest-to-invent/584290/49 "2011-06-06T17:48:07Z")
> [@Kevbo](#): > > As for not needing to move heavy stuff, the plains indians in the US transported their camp goods by pack horse and [travois](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Travois). Wheeled carts probably would have allowed them to cover more ground in a day, but the travois poles could be repurposed for tent poles when the new camp is reached, So you’d have to move the weight of the cart in addition to your tent poles each time, and the cart would be sitting around useless until the next time you moved camp. Actually, the Plains Indians used big dogs first, and horses only after the Spaniards introduced them. Secondly, when the white settlers with their oxen wagon went across the treeless plain, they found out how much trouble wooden wheels on bad roads are, because they keep breaking. The wheel was invented in ancient Mesapotamia because it had a civilsation that needed to move a lot of stuff and relativly smooth roads on the hard earth. Jared Diamond in “Guns, Germs and Steel” also points out the lack of strong big animals elsewhere, that prevented the development from sledge (like the travoise) being pulled to putting a log under the sledge. That’s why the Incas and others only had wheels as playthings: because the llamas and Alpakas could carry not more than 50 kg, and not pull anything heavy. > [@](#): > > Wheels are useful things to be sure, but without pneumatic tires they wear out quickly, wear out roads quickly, and are fairly limited in the sort of surfaces they work well on. Until you are building good roads, and figure out how to vulcanize rubber, I think the wheel is of limited utility. Yes. ---
**Author:** ![constanze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@constanze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/constanze)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-took-longest-to-invent/584290/50 "2011-06-06T17:54:35Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > I thought he invented the valves and condensor that kept the engines from reaching heat equilibrium. Am I wrong about that? No, we are both right, kind off. [here](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_steam_engine) it says: > [@](#): > > Watt solved the problem of the water spray by removing the cold water to a different cylinder, placed beside the power cylinder. Once the power stroke was complete a valve was opened between the two, and any steam that entered the cylinder would condense inside this cold cylinder. This would create a vacuum that would pull more of the steam into the cylinder, and so on until the steam was mostly condensed. The valve was then closed, and operation of the main cylinder continued as it would on a conventional Newcomen engine. As the power cylinder remained at operational temperature throughout, the system was ready for another stroke as soon as the piston was pulled back to the top. Maintaining the temperature was a jacket around the cylinder where steam was admitted. Watt produced a working model in 1765. which is what you said; further down it says > [@](#): > > Watt never ceased improving his designs. This further improved the operating cycle speed, introduced governors, automatic valves, double-acting pistons, a variety of rotary power takeoffs and many other improvements. Which is the part I remembered about his improved safety design leading to a commercial breakthrough because people didn’t want to buy an engine with the tendency to blow up. ---
**Author:** ![FatBaldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecd19e/32.png) [@FatBaldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FatBaldGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-took-longest-to-invent/584290/51 "2011-06-06T19:28:29Z")
I humbly submit that whatever is the most recent thing invented is the one that took the longest to invent. It took from the beginning of time until the present moment. You can’t get much longer than that. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-took-longest-to-invent/584290/52 "2011-06-06T19:36:24Z")
> [@FatBaldGuy](#): > > I humbly submit that whatever is the most recent thing invented is the one that took the longest to invent. It took from the beginning of time until the present moment. You can’t get much longer than that. Except that’s not what the OP is asking. ---
**Author:** ![code\_grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@code\_grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/code_grey)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-took-longest-to-invent/584290/53 "2011-06-06T19:41:28Z")
it seems that modern horseshoe was invented only during the post-Roman Dark Ages in Europe [Horseshoe - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horseshoe#History) . Whereas chariot horses and regular cavalry that could have benefited from it existed a thousand years and more before that time. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-took-longest-to-invent/584290.md?page=2)