🔗 Share this article Can You Crack This? The Forgotten Netherlands Creation Which Shaped the Modern Globe One can find numerous contenders to claim the title of “world’s most significant invention.” The circular axle. The movable type. The combustion motor. According to a new book, though, that honor should go to a mechanised sawmill invented through Dutchman Cornelis Corneliszoon during 1593. “Prior to mechanised cutting, constructing a modest trading ship necessitated approximately ten sawyers laboring over three months,” writes Jaime Dávila. “With wind-powered lumber mills, an identical amount of cut lumber might be produced within seven days.” Thanks to this rapid automated saw, that turned logs into boards using virtually no manual labor, Dutch builders were able to construct ships more quickly than anyone else, an advantage that sparked a century of Dutch naval, financial and cultural dominance across Europe and the world. The Original True Industrial Device Corneliszoon’s lumber mill, argues the writer, represented “humanity’s initial authentic industrial machine.” A windmill rotated a gear. A single part converted the rotary motion into up-and-down motion for the saw. A separate mechanism transformed the rotary motion into a sideway’s movement advancing the log toward the cutter. A ratchet system moved the log ahead one precise increment per stroke. “Each element seemed modest by itself. Corneliszoon’s brilliance was to integrate them so they operated in a perfectly controlled sequence, cutting on every downward motion while moving with each return motion. It was a remarkably clever application of basic parts.” Which brings us to the current puzzle. The task is you to reinvent one of the fundamental concepts underpinning Corneliszoon’s invention. Circular to Vertical Construct a machine that turns rotary motion to vertical motion. Your available these items only: A rotating disc. Two pegs. Two bars. A “guide”, that is a tube or sleeve through which one of the bars will fit perfectly. (Assume you can mount components on a base, so the components don’t collapse.) I’ll be back at 5pm UK featuring the answer. Meanwhile, NO SPOILERS. Rather, please propose (less celebrated) candidates for the planet’s greatest creation.