十個比你想象中還要歷史悠久的發明(下)

Odometer

5.里程錶

The odometer is present in most modern vehicles, used to track travel distance. It has been around since the ancient Greeks. It is not certain who the inventor is. Vitruvius first talks of an ancient odometer in his book, and some believe that the device had been invented previously by Archimedes.

里程錶是現代交通工具用於記錄行進距離的一個儀器。但其實它在古希臘就已經被髮明出來了。但是發明者是誰卻不得而知。維特魯威在他的書裏第一次提到了里程錶的存在，這讓人們認爲里程錶是由阿基米德發明的。

The concept of this early odometer was based around chariots having a standard wheel size. A wheel had to turn 400 times to complete a Roman mile. The axle's pin engaged a 400-tooth cogwheel, itself attached to another gear. When a full revolution completed, the gear released a stone into a box. At the end of the trip, counting the stones determined the distance traveled. We have no absolute evidence this device was built. However, during his travels, Alexander the Great had specialists called bematists who measured the distances of routes. Their measurements were Later recorded by Pliny the Elder in his Natural History, and they are so accurate compared to modern measurements that a mechanical device was almost certainly employed. It wasn't long until another odometer was invented completely separately in ancient China. Created by prolific Chinese inventor Zhang Heng, the concept is similar, except that a drum was struck every half a kilometer.

發明早期里程錶的原理是基於當時標準大小的二輪車的輪子。一個輪子滾動400次就等於戰車行進了一個Roman mile的距離。車軸上有一個400齒的齒輪，這個齒輪連着另一個傳動裝置。當車輪轉滿400次後，這個傳動裝置就會掉一個石頭到一個小盒子裏。因而戰車行進結束後，只要數數石頭的個數就可以算出行進的距離。我們沒有確切的實際的證據證明這樣的裝置確實存在過。但是在亞歷山大大帝的一次行進過程中，他特別叫了計步師來計算他到底走了多長距離。他們所記錄的數據被老普林尼記錄在了他的一本名爲自然歷史的書裏。他們記錄的數據的精確度比起現在來都毫不遜色，他們就像是被僱傭的機械一樣。在這之後不久，中國的大發明家張衡便發明出了另一個完全獨立的里程錶。原理與古希臘的里程錶相似，不同的是每走500米，裝置上的小鼓就會敲一下。

Heels

4.高跟鞋

We consider high heels a modern accessory used exclusively by women to enhance their beauty and create the illusion of long, slender legs. However, as popular as they might be today, they are definitely not modern. High heels date all the way back to the ninth century, when they were worn by men.

我們通常會將高跟鞋看作是一種現代女性爲了好看和修飾她們那細長苗條的腿而穿的衣物配件。但是，雖然高跟鞋在現在很受歡迎，但這卻並不是現代社會的產物。高跟鞋的歷史要追溯到9世紀，並且在那個時候男性纔會穿高跟鞋。

Ancient Persian ceramic bowls from over 1,000 years ago depict men wearing high-heeled shoes. Back then, the heels had a practical purpose rather than a cosmetic one. The men in question were archers, and the high heels allowed them to secure their feet in stirrups when shooting from horseback. The heels remained in use for centuries, allowing Persia to assemble the fiercest archers on the planet. Eventually, Persian culture spread to Europe. By the 17th century, high heels became all the rage over there as well. Again, men wore them, but this time, it was the aristocracy, not the soldiers. The shoes were status symbols. They were completely impractical—the higher the heel, the better. An impractical (and often uncomfortable) wardrobe was constantly used by the European elite to signify privilege. The heels were also dyed red because red dye was an expensive luxury item.

超過1000年曆史的古波斯瓷碗上就有描繪男性穿高跟鞋的畫面。那個時候高跟鞋傾向於實用主義而不僅僅是裝飾品。那時穿高跟鞋的男性基本上都是弓手，因爲這樣可以保證他們在射箭時能將自己的腳固定在馬鐙上從而保持平衡。高跟鞋這樣的使用方法持續了好幾個世紀，並使得波斯擁有了這個星球上最兇猛的弓手。後來，波斯文化傳到了歐洲。到了17世紀，高跟鞋開始風靡歐洲。在這個時候男性同樣也穿高跟鞋，但是這些男性並不是士兵，而是貴族。自然而然地，高跟鞋便成爲了地位的象徵。鞋跟越高，地位就越高。因而高跟鞋完全失去了它的實用價值：因爲歐洲的精英們總是喜歡穿着一身不實用的（同樣也不舒服的）行頭來彰顯他們的特權。高跟鞋的鞋跟也被染成了紅色，是因爲在那個時候紅色染料是最貴最奢侈的染料。

Seismometer

3.地震儀

An earthquake can be incredibly devastating. Even though we can't stop it, an instrument to warn us of seismic motions could prove to be invaluable. Nowadays, we have access to such instruments, and so did the ancient Chinese. The famed Chinese polymath Zhang Heng has the world's first seismograph to add to his impressive list of invention known as Houfeng Didong Yi ("instrument for inquiring into the wind and the shaking of the earth") was created in A.D. 132. It was later described in the History of the Later Han Dynasty as a giant bronze vessel. It had eight contact points in the form of bronze dragons with balls in their mouths on the outside of the vessel and a bronze column inside. When an earthquake approached, the column shifted in a particular direction, and a lever made that dragon drop the ball, thus revealing the quake's direction.

每一場地震都充滿了難以置信的毀滅性。儘管我們不能阻止地震的發生，但是一種能夠提前警告我們地震將要來臨的儀器是具有很大價值的東西。現在，我們已經能夠做出這樣的東西。但是在古代的中國，他們早已做出了這樣的東西。由博學著稱的中國發明家張衡發明了世界上第一臺地震儀，這臺地震儀也是他最偉大的成就之一。這臺發明於公元132年的儀器的名字叫做"候風地動儀"。它在一本叫做《後漢時期的歷史》的書裏被描述爲一個巨大的青銅器。它由中間的銅柱和他周圍的八條口含銅球的青銅龍組成。如果發生地震，銅柱因爲受到震動失去平衡，這樣就會觸動到八條龍中的一條，使相應的龍嘴中的銅球掉入下方蟾蜍的口中，這樣便能判斷出地震發生的時間與方向。

er Skates

2.輪式溜冰鞋

We might associate the rise of the roller skates with the popularity of the roller discos of the '60s and '70s, but these inventions are far older. The first record of something we would call a pair of roller skates dates back to the 18th century. A Belgian inventor, John Joseph Merlin, created inline skates in the 1760s. They were ice skates with wheels instead of blades. He wanted to show off his new creations in style, and he wore them at a masquerade ball in the city of Huys, Belgium. However, the story goes that he couldn't stop and crashed full-speed into a giant mirror.

我們可能將輪式溜冰鞋的發展與六七十年代的輪滑迪斯科聯繫到一起，但是這項發明的出現要更早一些。最早的我們可以稱之爲一雙輪式溜冰鞋的記錄可以追溯到18世紀。一個比利時的發明家，約翰·喬瑟夫·馬林， 在17世紀60年代發明了直排輪溜冰鞋。顧名思義，直排輪就是將老式溜冰鞋的冰刀換成了一排輪子。爲了炫耀他時尚的新發明，馬林穿着他的直排輪去參加了在比利時huys舉行的化妝舞會。然而故事的結局並未朝他所想象的方向發展：他滑得太快以致於根本停不下來，最後直直地撞到了一面大鏡子上。

The first inventor to patent a roller skate design was Frenchman M. Petitbled. His creation looked more like wooden sandals with three wheels attached to the sole. Like Merlin's invention, the problem with the Petitbled skate was that it was incredibly difficult to turn, stop, or do practically anything other than go wasn't until James Leonard Plimpton invented the precursor to modern roller skates in 1863 that the concept really took off. His design with two pairs of wheels was the first of its kind and was a lot safer and easier to use. Plimpton then turned the office of his furniture business into a skating floor and later founded the New York Roller Skating Association to promote the sport.

輪式溜冰鞋設計的專利最終屬於法國人佩佈雷德，他的設計看起來更像一塊木片和三個輪子直接粘在鞋幫上。和馬林的發明一樣，佩佈雷德的溜冰鞋很難做到轉彎、停止和除開前進以外的其他動作。一直到作爲先鋒的詹姆士·萊昂納多·普林普頓開闢了通往現代輪式溜冰鞋的道路之後，輪式溜冰鞋才受到公衆的關注。他的設計有兩對滑輪並且更加安全和容易使用。普林普頓在之後將他做傢俱生意的辦公室改裝成了一個小型溜冰場，並且在之後創立了紐約輪滑聯盟來推廣這項運動。

ing Gum

1.口香糖

In one form or another, chewing gum has existed for a really long time—somewhere around 5,000 years, in fact. The oldest known chewing gum was discovered on a dig in Finland, and it dates back to the Neolithic age. It was a lump made out of birch bark tar, but it had clear tooth imprints in it. Even back then, chewing gum had a medical benefit. The birch bark contained phenols with antiseptic properties, so the chewing gum was likely used to treat gum infections.

事實上，口香糖在某種程度上已經有大約5000年的歷史了。最老的口香糖是在芬蘭進行挖掘工作時被發現的，它的年齡可以追溯到新石器時代。那是一塊由樺樹脂做成的東西，上面還有清晰的牙印。即便是在遠古時代，口香糖也有醫療作用。樺樹皮含有具有防腐作用的酚類化合物，因而這塊口香糖被認爲是用來治療口腔病害的的東西。

Over the centuries, many other ancient cultures enjoyed their own types of gum. The Greeks made theirs from the resin of the mastic tree. Native Americans chewed resin from spruce trees. However, it is the Aztecs who helped launch the modern chewing gum craze. They once chewed chicle, a natural gum derived from several species of South American trees. In the 1860s, Mexican general Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna brought chicle to America to inventor Thomas Adams, wanting to use it to manufacture rubber for tires. This failed, but Adams then thought of using chicle as the main ingredient for his Adams New York Chewing Gum. It was a big success, and two years later, Adams was mass-producing it. Chicle remained the core ingredient of gum for 100 years until it was replaced with synthetic rubbers that were cheaper to manufacture.

好幾個世紀以來，不同的文化有着不同類型的的口香糖，但他們都很享受。希臘人的口香糖是由乳香樹的樹脂做成的，美洲原住民則使用雲杉的樹脂。而現代的口香糖讓人如此狂熱的原因卻是因爲阿茲特克人的緣故。他們最開始的口香糖是產自南美的一種樹的天然樹脂。18世紀60年代，墨西哥將軍安東尼奧·德·桑塔·安納將這種樹脂帶回給了美國發明家托馬斯·亞當，他們準備用這個樹脂來製作輪胎用的橡膠。但是失敗了。亞當後來又試着將這種橡膠作爲他的亞當紐約口香糖的主要原料。令人沒想到的是，這次嘗試卻獲得了巨大的成功，並且在兩年以後，亞當開始大量生產這種口香糖。這種橡膠在一百年以來一直作爲口香糖的主要原料，一直到它被人造橡膠所代替：作爲原料而言人造橡膠要便宜得多。

翻譯：趙雨晴 來源：前十網