history8

World History - Lesson 8

Jaron Summers

A history book for

Becki, 9, a distant cousin in Canada.

This chapter is about inventions.

Humans have invented millions of things and they continue to do so at an astonishing rate. These inventions have determined much of our history.

Speaking of inventions, Becki, you have invented something that is incredible. Can you guess what it is? Just think, of the six and one half billion people living on earth, you (all by yourself, on your very own) have invented something that no other person ever came up with.

Well, maybe they came up with something close, but it’s not like the one you have. This thing you have invented has done more to insure the continuation of humans than anything else under the sun.

When you look at all the inventions on earth, you have to admit that we humans have come up with some startling gadgets.

Take the wheel. Someone had to invent that, it’s really hard to ride a bike without wheels. Of course they don’t have to be round.

A car is simply an invention of a bunch of inventions: engines, batteries, spare tires, gas tanks, spark plugs and on and on. Someone even had to invent the glove compartment.

But before that they had to invent gloves. Maybe the first glove didn’t have any fingers. It was a mitten and then someone said let's put fingers on.

In the seed of everyone there are great ideas and the history of the world would never have came about as it did if we had no inventions. There would be no planes, no trains, no buses, not even pogo sticks.

And certainly no ships so people could sail around the world. What would Magellan have done without a ship?

He would not have managed to be the first person to go around the world. He needed a ship and a way to power it. He used sails, and later people invented engines that ran on steam and turned propellers.

They invented submarines and powered them with nuclear reactors.

The Chinese invented a way to make silk. They kept it a secret for many years and killed anyone they thought would let the cat out of the bag.

If it had not been for silk, Marco Polo, the great Italian explorer, would never have been nearly as famous as he was. And there would have been no silk road–the first trade route between China and Europe.

And you would have no silk handkerchief.

Think about anything in your room. Someone had to invent it. Imagine how your world would be if computers and software had never been invented.

You no doubt have a mirror. Look in it and smile.

Do you know that almost the first thing a baby learns is to smile? It only takes them a few weeks.

Babies are just helpless little creatures and then they smile and right away everyone makes a big fuss over them.

Without smiles, babies might not bond with their parents. Their parents might abandon them because a lot of them are very demanding and smell funny.

So each child that comes into this world soon realizes that he has to invent a smile. That becomes a part of his or her life. It is one of the most important things a human can do.

Simply smile.

I bet you can think of thousands of ways the smile of a child could have changed the history of the world.

Guess what? Each person’s smile is unique. Just theirs. And it is a magic way to communicate with other human beings.

Of course you already knew that because when you were a little baby you invented a smile that was just yours.

Remember, I said there was something you had invented that was unique and had insured the survival through history of the human species.

A smile.

It has changed the history of the world and with it you can change the future.

Smile at three people today and see how that smile can change their future.

I bet you never realized how much power you had, did you? Take a bow.

Becki, remember, if you use your smile at the right time and the right way, you’ll change the world.

Cleopatra did.

PS - I invented something. Look: The Fridge Magnet.