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Warpy

(114,579 posts)
6. The first anonymous women who played with grass and a stick
Sat Mar 30, 2013, 03:40 AM
Mar 2013

and discovered how to spin twine.

From that, the bow method of making fire arose.

Stone heads could be firmly affixed to shafts for arrows for bows strung with twine rather than sinew, meaning larger prey could be killed and diet improved as twine was cheap enough that the loss of a few arrows would not be tragic. Spear heads were similarly affixed.

People could move out of dank caves into tents, either woven or of animal skins held on sticks stabilized by grass twine.

Twine was used for primitive foot bridges across streams, increasing territory. Sinew had been neither long nor strong enough.

And this just barely scratches the surface of what spinning and textile arts have done to improve human life. Peoples who discovered spinning tended to progress technologically while those who didn't did not.

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whoever invented a means to hold fire DonCoquixote Mar 2013 #1
Gutenberg. napoleon_in_rags Mar 2013 #2
Or before that the Phoenecian guy who decided we needed an alphabet and writing. Squinch Mar 2013 #27
Jackie Gleason. Kurovski Mar 2013 #3
Gleason would be my pick too madokie Mar 2013 #20
That Gleason, Kurovski Mar 2013 #46
the cave person who invented the first diaper nt msongs Mar 2013 #4
Whoever invented the tampon. Control-Z Mar 2013 #7
Bing Crosby. He famously said "Everybody has an angle",like Ralph Nader taking the $$$$$ graham4anything Mar 2013 #5
The first anonymous women who played with grass and a stick Warpy Mar 2013 #6
Best answer! I had never thought of it that way. I would have said "fire," but as you point out patricia92243 Mar 2013 #30
Whoever threw the first stone RedCappedBandit Mar 2013 #8
Muhammad LittleBlue Mar 2013 #9
My giant book called "The 100" ranks Muhammad as #1. Gravitycollapse Mar 2013 #17
Hitler? sigmasix Mar 2013 #10
Alexander Flemming Niceguy1 Mar 2013 #11
Mavis Staples olddots Mar 2013 #12
NORMAN BORLAUG Cicada Mar 2013 #13
Perhaps the person or people who invented the wheel. LeftishBrit Mar 2013 #14
not going to be a popular answer BainsBane Mar 2013 #15
I'm an atheist, and I agree with you. mainer Mar 2013 #33
yep. I'm reading a bio of Charlemagne now elehhhhna Mar 2013 #40
Isaac Newton. Gravitycollapse Mar 2013 #16
Yep. That's my vote, too. DavidDvorkin Mar 2013 #38
I agree too! Paulie Mar 2013 #42
Alexander Fleming LuvNewcastle Mar 2013 #18
Dale Carnegie Orrex Mar 2013 #19
Influential in what way? UBEEDelusional Mar 2013 #21
Muhammad Ali...and he says so himself. VOX Mar 2013 #22
Descartes undeterred Mar 2013 #23
Descartes and the rise of mechanism. ananda Mar 2013 #24
Tim Berners-Lee. nt Comrade_McKenzie Mar 2013 #25
I think Robert Noyce had a far greater impact on how technology is used today. ( n/t ) Make7 Mar 2013 #39
Aristotle ... Newest Reality Mar 2013 #26
Einstein jessie04 Mar 2013 #28
Aristotle, without question alcibiades_mystery Mar 2013 #29
Elvis KG Mar 2013 #31
Socrates talkingmime Mar 2013 #32
Whoever was in charge of assembling the Biblical Canon. MineralMan Mar 2013 #34
I don't think there is one "most" influential person. LWolf Mar 2013 #35
Edward Bernays - and not to our betterment either 1-Old-Man Mar 2013 #36
I would say warrior1 Mar 2013 #37
Alexander the Great. bluedigger Mar 2013 #41
Charles Darwin.... Tikki Mar 2013 #43
Moon-Watcher ThoughtCriminal Mar 2013 #44
I'm going to cheat and mention an animal anyway Ron Obvious Mar 2013 #45
1) Napoleon 2) Darwin 3) Some Chinese guy I have never heard of cthulu2016 Mar 2013 #47
perhaps St. Paul -he pretty much built, systematized the Christian religion and created its theology Douglas Carpenter Mar 2013 #48
in the modern world -probably Marx and Freud -they fundamentally changed how people think about both Douglas Carpenter Mar 2013 #49
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