The Wheel: A Surprising History

The wheel wasn't actually invented once but discovered independently by different civilizations

across thousands of years. The oldest known wheel dates back to 3500 BC in Mesopotamia,

but here's the crazy part. It wasn't invented for transportation. The first wheels

were potter's wheels used to make clay pots. It took another 300 years before

someone thought to attach wheels to a cart for moving stuff around. Even crazier,

some advanced civilizations like the Incas and Aztecs knew about wheels but only used them for toys,

never for practical transportation. They had the technology but chose to carry everything on their

backs instead.