🔗 Share this article Can You Solve This? The Overlooked Dutch Creation That Shaped our Modern Globe There are numerous contenders to claim the designation as “world’s most significant innovation.” The circular axle. The movable type. The steam engine. As per a recent publication, however, that title belongs to the mechanised sawmill invented by Dutchman Cornelis Corneliszoon in 1593. “Prior to automated sawing, building a modest trading ship necessitated approximately ten lumberjacks laboring for three months,” notes Jaime Dávila. “Using wind-powered sawmills, the same amount of processed timber could be manufactured in less than seven days.” Owing to this speedy mechanical cutter, that turned timber into planks using virtually no manual labor, the Dutch were able to construct ships faster compared to any other nation, an advantage that sparked a century of Dutch maritime, financial and artistic supremacy in the continent and the globe. The Original True Industrial Device Corneliszoon’s sawmill, argues Dávila, represented “mankind’s initial authentic factory machine.” A wind turbine turned a gear. One component transformed the rotary movement to up-and-down action for the cutting blade. Another component transformed that same spinning movement into a sideway’s motion advancing the log to the blade. A ratchet system shifted the wood ahead one precise increment per cycle. “Each element seemed simple on its own. The Dutchman’s genius lay in how to combine these parts so they operated in a precisely synchronized order, cutting on every descending stroke while moving on every upward stroke. It was a remarkably intelligent use of basic components.” Which leads us to the current challenge. The task is you to reinvent a key the fundamental ideas underpinning Corneliszoon’s invention. Round and Up Design a mechanism that turns circular movement to up-and-down motion. You have these components only: A spinning wheel. Two pins. Two rods. A “guide”, which is a tube or housing into which one of the bars can slide snugly. (Consider that you can put things on a base, so the parts do not collapse.) The solution returns at 5pm UK with the answer. In the interim, PLEASE NO HINTS. Instead, please propose (non obvious) candidates as the world’s greatest creation.