How closely have you examined the desks and chairs around you, if you’re in an office? There is a rich and interesting history to many of the things around us that you would never know unless you chose to look a bit deeper, underneath the curtain that often separates us from seeing plain objects as tools that have a history as old as human civilization.
Manufacturing tools and devices, for example, often come off as cold, metallic, and uninteresting to the average layman. And yet, some of them are actually quite fascinating. Here are three little known stories of the bits and pieces of industrial mechanics you walk past every day.
1. Magnets
Imagine for a moment you are in ancient China and notice that a magnetite metal, known as lodestone, attracts iron. This is the first recorded notation of magnetism, way back in the fourth century BCE. These observations were dutifully remembered and by the 12th century AD, Chinese sailors were using lodestone as directional compasses for ocean navigation. Today, magnets are often used as lifting magnets for scrap metal, helping to sort different scrap without the use of claws or hooks.
2. Clamps
You are hurt on the battlefield, and need something to quickly close the wound until help can be found. What might you turn to? A clamp is one option. Though you might assume this is a modern invention, it actually dates back to the ancient Egyptians, around 1,000 BCE. They had two main uses for the clamp. One was to hold glued boards together until the edges dried; the other was for medicinal purposes. Like surgeons now, they often used stitches, as well as other tools like scissors, scalpels and saws. Today, clamps such as Destaco clamps help hold manufacturing pieces tightly together.
3. Compression Springs
You’re a hunter lying still in the grass, watching your prey pass by. If you’re alive thousands of years ago, what are you hunting with? Possibly, the bow. This was the first way springs were used. By the time of the Bronze Age, spring tweezers were popular in many cultures. Coiled springs finally appeared in the 15th century as a part of door locks. Today, compression springs are designed so that springs shorten as loads are applied. They are used in many industries, including both automotive and electronic.
Do you know the history of any Destaco items in your life? Let us know. Helpful info also found here.