The story of concrete is so ancient that we don't even know when and where it begins. It is a story of discovery, experimentation, and mystery. Emperors and kings became legends for erecting great concrete structures, some of which are still a mystery to engineers today. Many of history's most skilled architects found inspiration in slabs of the gray building material. Common bricklayers advanced the technology, and a con man played a crucial role in the development of concrete recipes.
Today, the world is literally filled with concrete, from roads and sidewalks to bridges and dams. The word itself has become a synonym for something that is real and tangible. Press your handprints into the sidewalk and sign your name to history. This is the story of concrete.
[...] Let's get this out of the way right here: cement and concrete are not the same thing. Cement, a mixture of powdered limestone and clay, is an ingredient in concrete along with water, sand, and gravel.
So ubiquitous and fundamental, that nobody thinks about it. Its inventor is unknown, but that person changed history.
Related: Volcanic Rocks Resembling Roman Concrete Explain Record Uplift in Italian Caldera
Roman Concrete Explained
(Score: 1, Insightful) by c0lo on Tuesday October 17 2017, @10:10AM (5 children)
Btw, do we know the inventor of the fire? No? How about the wheel? (as invention, not innovation [newscientist.com]). Still no?
How about the inventor of crispy bacon? Ok, ok, I got it, it's the same no.
Then why the hell are you so sure it was invented only once and by a single person?
And why should we wonder the inventors remain unknown?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 2) by nobu_the_bard on Tuesday October 17 2017, @12:40PM (2 children)
More importantly, how do you know they weren't all the same guy?
(Score: 2) by curunir_wolf on Tuesday October 17 2017, @08:04PM
I am a crackpot
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Tuesday October 17 2017, @08:31PM
Mmmm... perhaps. If you look at the history [wikipedia.org], one can't exclude the forefather of our aristarchus being involved across centuries and geographies, so maybe you are right.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 2) by HiThere on Tuesday October 17 2017, @02:23PM
Given the existence of hardpan, I think it's quite safe to say that concrete wasn't invented, but rather evolved. Particular formulations were invented by different people, some of whom are known. But concete covers a wide variety of formulations.
Javascript is what you use to allow unknown third parties to run software you have no idea about on your computer.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 17 2017, @06:30PM
I blame Ja Rule.