Dont say Prometheus
Dont say Prometheus
Ok—it was Προμηθεύς.
Thanks for your compliance
It was discovered in pre-history, and almost certainly independently by many, many individuals. You aren’t going to get a name on it.
Counterpoint: I heard it was Richard
That prick!
It was the Roman ruler, Biggus Dickus.
I have a vewy good fwiend in Wome named Biggus Dickus.
How do you think the first manmade ignition happened?
My guess would be someone trying to make stone tools by banging rocks together, a spark fell into dry grass, etc. But, you know, just a guess.
2 rocks by accident
Whe a rock likes another rock very very much
Someone was careless with their cigarette.
We don’t know. Hell, we can’t even narrow it down to a specific place with certainty. There is strong evidence in human settlements for use of fire anywhere from a few hundred thousand to 1 million years ago. When, exactly, is hard to ascertain; for instance, some sites which are claimed to hold the oldest evidence have been criticized as resembling the aftermath of wildfires.
It is also depends on what you mean by “discovered”: Early proto-hominids were almost certainly aware of fire and the concept of burning, so are we counting from when they realized “hey, I can take a burning thing and put it where I want it, and it will spread burning there?” Or are we only counting from when fire began to be used as a tool (e.g., for clearing brush or cooking)? Or when humans discovered how to start fires in the absence of a natural source?
That last question is the most interesting to me. I guess it doesn’t take much intuition to realize that rubbing things together makes them hot. Rub your arm really fast.
Still, watching experienced woodsmen starting a fire from scratch is an education. Even the best struggle.
Even the best struggle.
I have watched Primitive Technology start fires with a hand drill so many times, he’s got it down pat.
Primitive Technology can also select their tools for maximum gain. Apparently it’s relatively easy when you’ve got the right woods and kindling.
When you’re somewhere in the wilds your wood might be too hard, too soft or too wet or whatever.
Oh, of course. He’s very familiar with his area and the best materials to use, and has lots of practice. But he’s also pretty famous for showing his work without cuts, and I am always amazed with his hand drill skills. He’s got an ember in like twenty seconds.
It really is an interesting question, yes! Fires started by frictional heating are pretty uncommon in nature, but early humans could pretty readily see that objects placed near a fire would begin to smolder and burn just from radiant heat.
It really depends on when we were able to take intellectual leap of realizing that all heat is equivalent, and fire is not a prerequisite of making new fire.
Not Billy Joel.
Fire wasn’t discovered or invented, it was mastered.
Tamed
What I meant. English isn’t my mother tongue. So, I learnt a new word, thanks.
Ryan
Mowgli invented it.
King Louie discovered it.Their name was Fire.
Similar situation to some of the other early inventors.
Wang Fire. Just don’t ask where he got it from, Hotman.
Someone flammable, I bet.
Or inflammable.
“‘Inflammable’ means ‘flammable’? What a country!”
It was always originally “inflammable”, as in “able to be inflamed”. It wasn’t until cargo warning placards came around (for trains, I’m sure), that the meaning got muddled up with “unable to be brought to flame”.
There was an official agreement to create the word “flammable”, and use that on warning placards instead.
It’s an old Simpsons quote, from Dr. Nick, a great side character.
I knew it was a quote from somewhere, I just didn’t care. ;)
It was Zog
Wouldn’t it be Hestia because Prometheus stole it from her?
Probably a titan. Who created the universe in Greek myth? 🤔
Fire is a fundamental force of nature. Like gravity. So it either wasn’t “invented” or was invented by the universe’s creator if one exists.
The famous villain John Fireman. He was eventually killed by firefighters.
Various individuals no doubt figured it out independently and then others in their tribe learned it from them. At first people probably took burning material from forest fires and brush fires that had been caused by lightning.
