Stones Make Fire

Stones Make fire

Image Credit: Flickr User Gary Edenfield, via CC

Eve was a chirpy and playful ten year old. She never went to school. For her, it was all play no work. Wonder why? She lived in different times. She was one of the early humans that lived millions of years ago. She lived in the stone age. Where did she live? She lived in caves with her parents who were hunter-gatherers. She played hide and seek with her friends in the forests, plucked flowers, collected stones and took care of her little brother and sisters when her mother was away.

One day she was playing hopscotch of sorts, she noticed her father sharpening his stone tools. Then something strange happened. The two pieces of stones repeatedly got rubbed together and created a spark! Eve was horrified and scared. So was her family. The shiny yellow spark seemed like the same fierce thing that had burnt down the forests. This thing, usually, happened whenever the weather was too hot or if there was lightning. Were they under some curse? Not at all!

What accidentally got discovered was Fire!

In the beginning, early humans were too scared of the fire to develop the idea any further.For them, it was something that destructed and killed.

But humans have always been very keen observers. Slowly they realized that the fire can be productive too. Once there was a wild fire, and Eve along with her friends noticed that wild animals were running away from the fire. They rushed to the elders to let them know what they saw. Slowly, Early humans realised that benefits of fire were plenty. Fire could light up their dark caves after sunset. It kept them warm in chilly winters.The meat cooked on fire tasted much better. The fire in front of their cave assured that no wild animal lurked around nearby, so they slept better. Social life improved. Now Eve could socialize with her friends even after dark. What fun it was! Using bright light from the fire, they even made paintings on cave walls! Eventually, it became essential to their existence.

This discovery was probably the first step for humans into civilized life. It completely changed the way they lived. Can you tell a recent discovery that might  change the future of mankind? The possibility of finding water on Mars and other planets;)

Well, humans have a come a far way from discovering fire to discovering new planets. Who knows what you might be discovering or inventing in a few years?