Innovative Tuesday: Duel Inventions - Pencils & Batteries

     Hello everybody and welcome back to another edition of Global History Hub! I'll be your host, Mr. Nations, your tour guide to this massive world we all call home! On today's edition of Innovative Tuesday, we'll be taking a look at the invention of pencils and batteries. Well, what are we waiting for? Let's dive straight into it, shall we?

     Pencils:

     The first version of a pencil was called a stylus, and it was used to leave marks on papyrus, an early form of paper that made of a durable plant material. Other early styluses were made with lead, but for obvious reasons, those caused health problems. It wouldn't be until the 1550s when using graphite in pencils became more and more popular. Originally, the sticks of graphite were wrapped in string to make them more grippy, but soon wood became a more popular alternative and thus the wooden pencil was born! 

     Nowadays, modern wooden pencils are used and loved by schoolchildren and office workers alike. Mechanical pencils also take the form of a classic pencil and have been revered by many for their efficiency and lifespan. Who knows where the history of the pencil will go next?

     One of the first pencils

     

     Sources: https://pencils.com/pages/the-history-of-the-pencil

     Batteries: 

     Batteries have a longer history than you might think. The first instance of ancient batteries was found in the late 1930s by Wilhelm Konig who found some strange clay pots outside of modern day Baghdad. They were examined and tested, and were found to have contained an acidic substance like vinegar or something of the likes. That, combined with the odd metal structure of the device, led Konig to believe it was a battery from the year 200 B.C.E. Since this discovery, scientists have recreated the devices and have found that they do indeed hold a charge. They may have been used for religious purposes, medicinal purposes, or even electroplating. 

     In 1799, Alessandro Volta created the first battery by stacking alternating layers of zinc, brine-soaked pasteboard, and silver. This arrangement, called a voltaic pile, was not the first by any means to create electricity, but it was the first to emit a steady, lasting current. The next breakthrough in battery development came in 1836 when John Frederick Daniell created a new battery. In it, a copper plate was placed at the bottom of a glass jar, and a zinc sulfate solution was added. This then generated small amounts of electricity. It was not very practical, but worked just fine. Soon, batteries became commercially available and they are now sold all over the world in bulk. 

     

     The Voltaic Pile

     

     Sources: https://electronics.howstuffworks.com/everyday-tech/battery1.htm#:~:text=In%201799%2C%20Italian%20physicist%20Alessandro%20Volta%20created%20the,the%20first%20to%20emit%20a%20steady%2C%20lasting%20current.