the wheel - an invention that changed the world...

The wheel is one of the oldest & most important inventions ever created. It originates back a long time ago in ancient Mesopotamia in the 5th millenium B.C.E.... which was waaaaaaaaaaaaay before any of you were born, yet we still use it today, hundreds of thousands of years later. I mean it. Go outside and look around you. If you look at the road you'll see plenty of wheels, for instance: cars, trucks, planes (I guess, if you live near the airport..) , taxis, bikes and motorcycles. Now hop inside your car, and inside you'll see a different kind of wheel. The steering wheel is also a wheel, but used for a different purpose - steering a car. Drive (or get your parents to drive if you're not 16 and don't have your driver's lisence yet...) to the amusement park and try to spot some wheels on some of the rides.... The rollercoaster obviously uses wheels to move, and the ferris wheel (Notice, the name is the ferris wheel.) is one giant wheel that spins as you sit on it. The wheel is amazing. I mean, could you imagine Six Flags without it???

The wheel originated back in the late Neolithic age, (Look Mrs. Reiser!! I found an invention that had to do with what we're studying for social studies!! Yay!!) and is one of the technological advances that gave way to the early Bronze Age. Several graves from back then were found with people buried on carts and wagons in them.
Without the wheel, life would be a lot harder. Almost all transport uses wheels - in fact, right now the only transport I can think of that doesn't use wheels is the boat, and it's not like you're going to sail to school everyday - and so, if wheels didn't exist we would have to find alternatives for getting around to where we need to be. Here's some 'wheel-less transport' I found on wikipedia:

Being raised by electromagnetic energy (maglev train and other vehicles)
Dragging with runners (sled) or without (travois)
Being raised by air pressure (hovercraft)
Riding an animal such as a horse
Human powered:
Walking on one's own legs
Being carried (litter/sedan chair or stretcher)
A walking machine
Caterpillar tracks (although it is still operated by wheels)
Spheres, such as used by the Audi RSQ concept car, and Dyson vacuum cleaners

Yeah, so there you are, one of the most amazing inventions ever, and the huge way it influences our lives. Ladies and gentlemen: The wheel!
~Helena