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Inventions: Behind the wheel

It’s not possible to make a comprehensive list of the world’s greatest inventions since it would include medicine, electronics, safety pin, paper clip, not to mention the parachute.

Inventions: Behind the wheel


H. Kishie Singh

It’s not possible to make a comprehensive list of the world’s greatest inventions since it would include medicine, electronics, safety pin, paper clip, not to mention the parachute. One of the greatest life-saving inventions!

I decided to stick to things automotive. The internal combustion engine. An outright winner! Nothing has given humanity such mobility like the internal combustion engine.

Not since the Roman chariot. How did the Roman chariot achieve this feat? The wheel! So actually the evolution of the automobile started with the wheel.

In 1885, along came Gottleib Daimler and Wilhelm Mabach. By 1889, the first four-wheel automobile was on the streets, powered by an internal combustion engine, their invention — the horseless carriage.

Alas! There was a downside.

Cars have killed more people than all the wars, famines, pestilence, natural calamities put together. Not only are they killing people, but the internal combustion engine has depleted the planet Earth silently over the last 100 years. Road Transport accounts for one-fifth of the global carbon monoxide emissions. More people die of pollution in India than anywhere else in the world. More people are killed by cars in India than any other country in the world. Thanks to the internal combustion engine!

However, the internal combustion engine has made its contribution to mankind. Wilbur and Orville Wright, pioneers of the flying machine, had perfected a heavier-than-air machine controlled and powered by an internal combustion engine. This was in 1903. Thanks to the internal combustion engine, in half a century commercial airliners crisscrossed the globe.

Aircraft also became an awesome weapon of war.

As the aircraft got bigger, like bombers, more powerful engines were required. The only way to get more power was more cylinders. The radial engine was born. It is considered one of the greatest inventions of the 20th century.

The automobile also evolved to make a social and style statement.

Not everything about the automobile and the internal combustion engine is detrimental. Because of the increasing road speed each passing year, safety became an issue. Definitely, the most effective and consequently important invention for safety was the seat-belt. It started off as a simple webbing-strap across the hips, then a three-point across the chest and finally today a four-point seat-belt.

Then came the air-bags. The combination was very successful and saved millions of lives. Next was the laminated wind-screen. It did not shatter and disfigure the front-seat occupants. It also prevented them from flying out of the gap left by a broken wind-screen.

The most vulnerable part of the body was still exposed and prone to injury — the head. Along came the helmet. From heavy steel-head coverings with two holes for eyes to carbon-fibre light-weight full-face helmets of today, the defence forces have used helmets, always.

F1 drivers, rallyists, cyclists, bungee jumpers... in any sports activity wear a helmet. It saves lives. It is virtually impossible to crush today’s helmets and like the seat belt, they are considered the prime life-saver for two-wheeler riders.

Ladies you should be wearing one also.

Happy motoring!

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