Quote:
Originally Posted by WillAdams
::applause:: (for Roger for mentioning Pygmalion)
Remember, the Greeks invented everything --- all else is variation.
William
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Why, thank you. I wish I could claim the benefits of a classical education but sadly no. I read it in a book of my wife's (who really does know everything).
I must, again sadly, disagree with your second comment. The Chinese invented everything. Well, just about. Gunpowder is only the start. Stirrups, the compass, the seismometer (very relevant here in NZ just now), paper (real paper, not the Egyptian stuff) incl toilet paper, the overshot water wheel, the water clock, the list goes on and on and on.
We've touched on alternate time line stories in this thread* and I sometimes wonder what might have happened if Admiral Cheng Ho had sailed past the African Cape and continued on to the straights of Gibraltar. If was only a short time after he was near there that Vasco Da Gama from Portugal sailed around the Cape in the other direction to 'discover' the Indian Ocean. Da Gama had about 300 grim faced men, Cheng Ho's fleet was the size of a decent city. They even brought their own hair stylists with them. They were so far ahead of Europe by then
Someone should write that story... maybe I will one day.
*edit: I meant the thread about time, sorry.