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Jethro Tull (1708)'s mechanical seed drill
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Helped plant crops
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Thomas Newcomen (1712)'s steam engine
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First commercially successful (though kind of clumsy) steam engine, used to pump water out of coal mines. Big deal, since we've just unlocked a new power source.
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John Kay (1733)'s flying shuttle
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Tremendously helped with making weaving easier, used in the putting-out industry at first.
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James Brindley (1761)'s Bridgewater Canal
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Allowed for barges to carry coal from Worsely to Manchester
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James Hargreaves (1765)'s spinning jenny
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Automated thread spinning
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Richard Arkwright's water frame (1769)
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More efficient thread spinning
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James Watt's efficient steam engine (1765)
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Like fifty years later, they finally came out with a steam engine with a condensing chamber, making it more efficient. Also a pretty big deal.
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First steam-powered mill (1779)
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Crompton's "mule" + Spinning jenny and water frame fully automated weaving process. Yeah.
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Cartwright's power loom (1787)
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According to wikipedia:
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William Murdock's cool thing he did (1792)
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Lit his home using coal gas. Also, he was James Watt's assistant.
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Eli Whitney (1793)'s cotton gin
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This separated the useful raw cotton from its seeds, making the cotton industry much more profitable. It had mixed effects — remember how a lot of cotton was farmed using slave labor.
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Robert Trevithick (1801)'s steam locomotive demonstration
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George Stephenson's Rocket, 1829, would lead to great railroad infrastructure, which helped with city planning, made moving to the city easier, and made trade and large-scale commerce much better. For example, now placing factories in population centers made more sense. (I barely understand why myself, but okay)
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Robert Fulton (1807)'s Clermont
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The first successful steamboat. Like the locomotive, made trade so, so much better. For example, now the US could leverage its advantage in having the Mississippi river.
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Marc Brunel's first underwater tunnel (1826-1842)
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Under the Thames
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Liverpool and Manchester Railway (1830)
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Began the first regular commercial rail service
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Michael Faraday (1831)'s discovery of electromagnetic currents
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Made generators and electrical engines possible
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Charles Babbage (1834)'s analytic engine
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First ancestor of the computer
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Samuel F. B. Morse's telegraph and Morse Code (1837)
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This would allow for long-distance communication
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Daguerre's daguerrotype (1838)
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Early form of photography
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Joseph Monier (1849)
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Reinforced Concrete
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Gasoline refinement
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First occurred in 1850. Gasoline is an important fuel source.
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Singer's first practical sewing machine (1851)
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Allowed for more sewing, including at-home
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Henry Bessemir's steel converter (1854)
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Revolutionized the production of steel
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First transatlantic cable completed
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1858
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Cathode rays discovered
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1858
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Alfred Nobel's dynamite (1867)
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First high explosive that could be safely handled. Useful for mining and clearing areas for infrastructure.
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Alexander Graham Bell's telephone (1876)
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Made communicating across long distances much easier, but such conversations still had to be done in public, etc.,
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Thomas Alva Edison's phonograph (1877)
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This is a record player. Useful for music, instructions, etc.,
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Thomas Edison (1879)
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Invented the incandescent lamp. Though he was, in general, prone to rude tendencies.
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First skyscraper (10 stories tall) (in Chicago)
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1883
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Brooklyn Bridge opened (1883)
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Large suspension bridge, "triumph of engineering."
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Hiram Maxim's machine gun (1884)
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Mass slaughter is now possible, begins mechanization of warfare. Unfortunately, as some predicted, his machine gun did not prevent war — people still fought, despite these monsters being on the battlefield.
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Karl Benz's internal-combustion automobile engine (1885)
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cars go vroom
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Eiffel Tower (1889)
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For the World Exposition in Paris
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Gugliemo Marconi (1896)'s wireless telegraph patent
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Useful for, like, ship distress calls. Say, for example, the one the Titanic sent out.
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Gugliemo Marconi (1901) transatlantic radio message
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From Cape Cod, Massachusetts.
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