🔗 Share this article Can You Crack It? That Forgotten Dutch Creation That Forged the Modern World There are many contenders for the title of “planet’s greatest innovation.” The circular axle. The movable type. The combustion motor. As per a new book, though, that title should go to the automated sawmill invented by Dutchman Corneliszoon van Uitgeest during 1593. “Prior to automated cutting, building a simple merchant vessel necessitated approximately ten sawyers laboring for 90 days,” notes the author. “With wind-powered lumber mills, an identical amount of cut lumber might be produced in less than a week.” Owing to this rapid automated saw, that turned logs to boards using virtually no human effort, Dutch builders were able to build vessels faster compared to anyone else, an advantage that sparked one hundred years of Netherlands naval, financial as well as artistic dominance across the continent and the globe. The Original Genuine Manufacturing Device The inventor's sawmill, argues the writer, represented “humanity’s first true factory machine.” A windmill turned a wheel. A single part transformed the circular motion into vertical action for the saw. A separate mechanism changed the rotary movement into a lateral motion feeding the timber to the cutter. A ratchet system moved the log forward a measured step per cycle. “Each element seemed modest by itself. The Dutchman’s brilliance was to combine these parts so they operated within a precisely synchronized order, cutting on every downward motion while advancing on every return motion. It was a remarkably intelligent use of basic parts.” A fact that leads us to today’s puzzle. I’d like for you to reimagine a key the basic ideas behind this historic machine. Circular to Vertical Construct a mechanism that turns rotary motion into up-and-down action. Your available these items only: A rotating disc. Two pegs. Two bars. A “guide”, which is a tube or housing into which a single the bars will fit perfectly. (Consider that it is possible to mount components on a base, so the components don’t collapse.) The solution returns at 5pm UK with the answer. Meanwhile, NO SPOILERS. Rather, please propose (non obvious) contenders for the planet’s most impactful invention.