🔗 Share this article Can You Crack It? That Forgotten Netherlands Creation That Forged the Contemporary Globe One can find numerous contenders for the title of “planet’s greatest invention.” The circular axle. The printing press. The combustion motor. According to a new book, though, that honor belongs to a mechanised timber mill conceived through Dutch inventor Cornelis Corneliszoon in 1593. “Before mechanised cutting, constructing a simple merchant vessel necessitated around 10 sawyers laboring for 90 days,” notes the author. “With wind-powered sawmills, the same amount of cut lumber might be manufactured in less than a week.” Owing to this rapid automated saw, that turned timber to planks with virtually no human effort, Dutch builders were able to construct ships more quickly compared to anyone else, an advantage that sparked a century of Dutch maritime, economic and cultural dominance across Europe and the globe. The First True Industrial Machine Corneliszoon’s lumber mill, contends the writer, was “mankind’s initial true factory machine.” A wind turbine turned a gear. One component converted the rotary movement to up-and-down motion for the cutting blade. Another component changed that same rotary movement into a lateral motion feeding the timber to the blade. A geared mechanism moved the wood forward a measured step per cycle. “Every component was simple on its own. Corneliszoon’s genius was to combine them in order that they acted in a precisely synchronized order, cutting on every downward motion while advancing on every upward stroke. This constituted an astonishingly clever application of fundamental parts.” A fact that brings us up to the current challenge. The task is for you to reinvent a key the basic concepts underpinning this historic invention. Circular to Vertical Design a machine which converts rotary movement to up-and-down motion. Your available these items exclusively: A spinning wheel. Two pins. Two rods. A “guide”, which is a cylinder or sleeve into which a single the bars will fit snugly. (Consider that you can mount components on a base, so that the parts do not collapse.) I’ll be back later today UK time featuring the solution. Meanwhile, PLEASE NO HINTS. Rather, please suggest (less celebrated) candidates for the planet’s most impactful invention.