# The Last Codex

> An illustrated codex of human inventions: what they are, how they work and how to rebuild them.

- [JSON](https://lastcodex.org/data/en/index.json): filter/search locally; static files, no search API.
- [OpenAPI](https://lastcodex.org/openapi.json)
- [/en/](https://lastcodex.org/en/index.html.md)
- [/en/atlas/](https://lastcodex.org/en/atlas/index.html.md)
- [/en/timeline/](https://lastcodex.org/en/timeline/index.html.md)
- [/en/glossary/](https://lastcodex.org/en/glossary/index.html.md)
- [/en/materials/](https://lastcodex.org/en/materials/index.html.md)
- [/en/about/](https://lastcodex.org/en/about/index.html.md)

## Domains of knowledge

- [Fire & Shelter](https://lastcodex.org/en/domains/survival/index.html.md): How to make fire, find safe water and build a shelter with what the land provides.
- [Agriculture & Livestock](https://lastcodex.org/en/domains/agriculture/index.html.md): Growing crops and raising animals year after year on the same land.
- [Food & Preservation](https://lastcodex.org/en/domains/food/index.html.md): Turning a harvest into food that keeps until the next one.
- [Medicine & Hygiene](https://lastcodex.org/en/domains/medicine/index.html.md): Hygiene, remedies and the discoveries that made infections treatable.
- [Materials & Chemistry](https://lastcodex.org/en/domains/materials/index.html.md): Clay, metals, glass and rubber, and the heat and chemistry that transform them.
- [Tools & Making](https://lastcodex.org/en/domains/tools/index.html.md): The tools used to make other tools, from knapped flint to the lathe.
- [Building & Cities](https://lastcodex.org/en/domains/building/index.html.md): Walls, bridges, water supply and drains for people who live close together.
- [Mechanics](https://lastcodex.org/en/domains/mechanics/index.html.md): Levers, gears and pulleys that change the direction or magnitude of a force.
- [Energy & Prime Movers](https://lastcodex.org/en/domains/energy/index.html.md): Machines that put water, wind and heat to work.
- [Electricity & Electronics](https://lastcodex.org/en/domains/electricity/index.html.md): Producing, carrying and using electric current.
- [Optics & Imaging](https://lastcodex.org/en/domains/optics/index.html.md): Lenses and instruments for seeing distant objects, observing tiny details and recording images.
- [Writing & Communication](https://lastcodex.org/en/domains/communication/index.html.md): Writing things down, copying them and sending messages over a distance.
- [Land Transport](https://lastcodex.org/en/domains/land-transport/index.html.md): Moving people and loads over land, from the cart to the railway.
- [Ships & Navigation](https://lastcodex.org/en/domains/navigation/index.html.md): Building boats, sailing them and finding the way at sea.
- [Aeronautics](https://lastcodex.org/en/domains/aviation/index.html.md): How people learned to fly, first with balloons, then with wings.
- [Textiles & Everyday Life](https://lastcodex.org/en/domains/everyday/index.html.md): Thread, cloth and the household objects people use every day.
- [Time & Measurement](https://lastcodex.org/en/domains/measure/index.html.md): Clocks, scales, rulers and thermometers, and the numbers needed to count and measure.
- [Defence & Fortification](https://lastcodex.org/en/domains/defense/index.html.md): Weapons and fortifications: how they work and how they changed warfare. Explosives are covered without any making instructions.

## Atlas

- [Control of Fire](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/control-of-fire/index.html.md): Light, heat and cooked food
- [Writing](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/writing/index.html.md): Knowledge that outlives memory
- [Internet](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/internet/index.html.md): Networks joined through shared protocols
- [Printing Press](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/printing-press/index.html.md): Movable type, copied by the thousand
- [Steam Engine](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/steam-engine/index.html.md): Heat turned into motion
- [Stone Tools](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/stone-tools/index.html.md): The first cutting edge
- [Semiconductor image sensor](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/image-sensor/index.html.md): Turning light into electrical signals
- [Coinage](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/coinage/index.html.md): Stamped metal, trusted value
- [Drinking Water](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/drinking-water/index.html.md): Draw, settle, filter, boil
- [Integrated circuit](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/integrated-circuit/index.html.md): Components and connections on a chip
- [Wheel & Axle](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/wheel/index.html.md): Rolling instead of dragging
- [Animal domestication](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/animal-domestication/index.html.md): Breeding wild animals into herds
- [Hygiene & Antisepsis](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/antisepsis/index.html.md): Stopping the spread of germs
- [Automobile](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/automobile/index.html.md): An engine, wheels and the controls to manage them
- [Braille](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/braille/index.html.md): Reading with the fingers
- [Computer](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/computer/index.html.md): A machine with its program in memory
- [Electric Generator](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/generator/index.html.md): Motion turned into current
- [Iron Smelting](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/iron-smelting/index.html.md): Wider adoption around 1200 BCE; ore, charcoal and a bloomery
- [Irrigation](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/irrigation/index.html.md): Leading water to the crops
- [Penicillin](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/penicillin/index.html.md): An antibiotic made by a mould
- [Plough](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/plough/index.html.md): Opening the soil for seed
- [Positional Numerals](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/positional-numerals/index.html.md): Digits worth what their place says
- [Vaccination](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/vaccination/index.html.md): Teaching the body in advance
- [Granaries](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/grain-storage/index.html.md): Keeping the harvest dry
- [Anaesthesia](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/anaesthesia/index.html.md): Surgery without pain or awareness
- [Bound book](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/bound-codex/index.html.md): Folded sheets held together by sewing
- [Electric Motor](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/electric-motor/index.html.md): Current turned into rotation
- [Lathe and screw thread](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/lathe/index.html.md): The machine that makes machines
- [Mining and Quarrying](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/mining/index.html.md): Reaching minerals underground and keeping the workings safe
- [Reinforced Concrete](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/reinforced-concrete/index.html.md): Steel for tension, concrete for compression
- [Steam Turbine](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/steam-turbine/index.html.md): Steam spinning the world's generators
- [Steel](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/steel/index.html.md): Iron with just enough carbon
- [Synthetic nitrogen fertiliser](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/synthetic-nitrogen-fertilizer/index.html.md): Nitrogen from the air for the fields
- [World Wide Web](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/web/index.html.md): Documents joined by addresses and links
- [Windmill](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/windmill/index.html.md): Wind turned into flour
- [Blood transfusion](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/blood-transfusion/index.html.md): Giving blood from one person to another, safely matched
- [Crop Rotation](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/crop-rotation/index.html.md): Keeping fields fertile year after year
- [Flash memory](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/flash-memory/index.html.md): Stored charge and erasure in groups
- [Harvest and threshing](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/harvest/index.html.md): From standing wheat to stored grain
- [Oral rehydration](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/oral-rehydration/index.html.md): Salt, sugar and water against cholera
- [Rammed earth](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/rammed-earth/index.html.md): Earth compacted between formwork panels
- [Road construction](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/road-construction/index.html.md): Carrying traffic on layers of stone
- [Seed selection and saving](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/seed-saving/index.html.md): Choosing plants, keeping the next crop alive
- [Sewers and sanitation](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/sewerage/index.html.md): Keeping waste away from water
- [Transformer](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/transformer/index.html.md): Raising and lowering the voltage
- [Water Turbine](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/water-turbine/index.html.md): Falling water turned into electricity
- [Aeroplane](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/airplane/index.html.md): Lift, thrust and control
- [Blast Furnace](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/blast-furnace/index.html.md): Liquid iron from a shaft that never goes out
- [Internal Combustion Engine](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/combustion-engine/index.html.md): Small explosions, steady power
- [Copper Smelting](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/copper-smelting/index.html.md): Copper won from ore with charcoal and a blast of air
- [Gears](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/gear/index.html.md): Teeth that trade speed for force
- [Hut](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/hut/index.html.md): A frame of branches under a covering of leaves and grass
- [Measures and standards](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/measures-and-standards/index.html.md): The cubit, the balance and the metre
- [Paper](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/paper/index.html.md): A cheap surface for memory
- [Portland Cement](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/portland-cement/index.html.md): The binder that hardens under water
- [Rope & Cordage](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/rope/index.html.md): Twisted fibres that hold the world
- [Synthetic plastics](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/synthetic-plastics/index.html.md): Materials built from long molecules made in chemical plants
- [Transistor](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/transistor/index.html.md): A switch without moving parts
- [Water Wheel](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/water-wheel/index.html.md): A river turned into work
- [Weaving](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/weaving/index.html.md): Threads crossed into cloth
- [Fusion welding](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/welding/index.html.md): Joining metal by melting it
- [Wind Turbine](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/wind-turbine/index.html.md): Wind turned into electricity
- [Needle and hand sewing](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/needle-and-hand-sewing/index.html.md): A polished eye carries the thread
- [Stethoscope](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/stethoscope/index.html.md): Carrying sound through a hollow tube
- [Arch and Vault](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/arch/index.html.md): Stones that hold each other up
- [Bellows](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/bellows/index.html.md): Moving air with a flexible chamber
- [Paddy rice cultivation](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/paddy-rice-cultivation/index.html.md): Rice grown in level, bunded, flooded fields
- [Quarantine](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/quarantine/index.html.md): Keeping apart those who may carry a disease until it would have shown
- [Quipu](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/quipu/index.html.md): Accounts tied into cords
- [Transformer architecture](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/transformer-network/index.html.md): Weighting relationships within a sequence
- [Aluminium](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/aluminium/index.html.md): Alumina turned into metal by electricity
- [Ball bearing](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/ball-bearing/index.html.md): Consistent balls for industrial rotation
- [Battery](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/battery/index.html.md): Chemistry that pushes a current
- [Bread](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/bread/index.html.md): Ground grain, water and heat
- [Canning & Pasteurisation](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/canning/index.html.md): Seal, heat, keep the microbes out
- [Magnetic Compass](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/compass/index.html.md): A needle that points north
- [Drilling machine](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/drill/index.html.md): Turning a bit and feeding it into the work
- [Incandescent Light Bulb](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/light-bulb/index.html.md): A glowing filament in a vacuum
- [Splints and casts](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/orthopaedic-immobilization/index.html.md): Holding a broken bone still while it heals
- [Pottery](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/pottery/index.html.md): Clay turned to stone by fire
- [Querns and grinding](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/quern/index.html.md): A stationary stone and a handstone turn grain into meal
- [Radio](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/radio/index.html.md): Messages without wires
- [Railway track and points](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/railway-track/index.html.md): Rails that guide the wheels, and switches that choose the way
- [Sail](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/sail/index.html.md): Catching the wind to move a boat
- [Steam Locomotive](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/steam-locomotive/index.html.md): Steam power on rails
- [Surgical instruments](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/surgical-instruments/index.html.md): Tools to cut, grasp, explore and stop bleeding
- [Surveying and maps](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/surveying/index.html.md): Land measured and drawn to scale
- [Timber framing and joinery](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/timber-framing/index.html.md): Beams locked by joints and pegs
- [Vacuum tube](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/vacuum-tube/index.html.md): Steering electrons through empty space
- [Vernier scale](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/vernier/index.html.md): Reading between divisions
- [Woodblock printing](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/woodblock-printing/index.html.md): A carved block that repeats a page
- [Frame saw](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/frame-saw/index.html.md): A thin blade held in tension
- [Glues and bonding](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/adhesives/index.html.md): Joining materials through adhesion
- [Celestial Navigation](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/celestial-navigation/index.html.md): A ship's position read from the sky
- [Distillation](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/distillation/index.html.md): Separating liquids by boiling and condensing
- [Lime and lime mortar](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/lime-mortar/index.html.md): Burnt stone that turns back to stone
- [Medical protective equipment](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/medical-protective-equipment/index.html.md): Gowns, masks and gloves that keep infection away from those who give care
- [Milling machine](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/milling-machine/index.html.md): A turning cutter and a moving table
- [Oil well](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/oil-well/index.html.md): Drilling down to petroleum and pumping it up
- [Piston Pump](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/piston-pump/index.html.md): Water raised by valve and piston
- [Roofing](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/roofing/index.html.md): Shedding rain with overlapping tiles
- [Seed Drill](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/seed-drill/index.html.md): Sowing seed in rows at an even depth
- [Solar cell](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/solar-cell/index.html.md): Sunlight turned into current
- [Surgical sutures](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/surgical-sutures/index.html.md): Closing a wound with needle and thread
- [Ultrasound imaging](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/ultrasound-imaging/index.html.md): Seeing inside the body with echoes
- [Grafting and cuttings](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/grafting-and-cuttings/index.html.md): Keeping varieties through living stems
- [Insulated electric cable](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/insulated-electric-cable/index.html.md): Carrying current inside a sheath that does not conduct
- [Plain bearing](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/plain-bearing/index.html.md): A shaft turning on a film of lubricant
- [Sternpost rudder and hull](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/sternpost-rudder/index.html.md): Holding a course, keeping the sea out
- [Bricks](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/bricks/index.html.md): Standard blocks of earth
- [Bronze](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/bronze/index.html.md): Copper and tin, harder together
- [Charcoal](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/charcoal/index.html.md): Wood cooked slowly under earth
- [Hydraulic press](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/hydraulic-press/index.html.md): Multiplying force with water
- [Neonatal incubator](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/neonatal-incubator/index.html.md): A warm, closed box for babies born too early
- [Oil and fat lamp](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/oil-lamp/index.html.md): A wick feeds a small flame from a liquid fuel reserve
- [Oil press](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/oil-press/index.html.md): Crush, press and separate
- [Telephone](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/telephone/index.html.md): A voice carried down a wire
- [Writing ink](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/writing-ink/index.html.md): Colour carried onto a surface
- [Dugout canoe](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/dugout-canoe/index.html.md): A boat hollowed from a single trunk
- [Fishing nets and traps](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/fishing-nets-and-traps/index.html.md): Knotted mesh and inward funnels
- [Paint](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/paint/index.html.md): Coloured grains held in a binder
- [Terrace farming](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/terrace-farming/index.html.md): Level fields built up a slope
- [Wheelbarrow](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/wheelbarrow/index.html.md): Sharing the weight with a wheel
- [Capacitor](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/capacitor/index.html.md): Holding electric charge between two plates
- [Flywheel](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/flywheel/index.html.md): Storing motion in a heavy turning wheel
- [Gyroscope](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/gyroscope/index.html.md): A spinning rotor that holds its direction
- [Horse Collar](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/horse-collar/index.html.md): The horse pulls with its shoulders
- [Lead-Acid Battery](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/lead-acid-battery/index.html.md): Electricity kept in lead and acid
- [Phonograph](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/phonograph/index.html.md): Writing sound into a groove and reading it back
- [Rolling Mill](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/rolling-mill/index.html.md): Two rolls turning in opposite directions that squeeze metal thinner and longer
- [Shoemaking](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/shoemaking/index.html.md): From bark sandals to shoes built on a last
- [Spear and leister](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/spear/index.html.md): A point at the end of a shaft
- [Thermometer and barometer](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/thermometer/index.html.md): Temperature and air pressure read on glass
- [Threshing machine](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/threshing-machine/index.html.md): Beating the grain out with a spinning drum
- [Drawing iron wire by hand](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/wire-drawing/index.html.md): A steel drawplate and tongs turn soft iron rods into wire
- [Basketry](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/basketry/index.html.md): An esparto basket in two-strand twining
- [Canal lock](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/canal-lock/index.html.md): A water staircase for boats
- [Centrifugal governor](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/centrifugal-governor/index.html.md): Holding a machine's speed with spinning weights
- [Firearms](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/firearms/index.html.md): From the match to the automatic gun
- [Fishing rod and hook](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/fishing-rod-and-hook/index.html.md): A baited point at the end of a line
- [Glass](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/glass/index.html.md): Melted sand you can see through
- [Harrow](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/harrow/index.html.md): Teeth dragged over ploughed ground to break the clods
- [Jacquard loom](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/jacquard-loom/index.html.md): Punched cards choose the warp threads
- [Leather Tanning](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/leather-tanning/index.html.md): Raw hide, oak bark and months in pits
- [Mechanical Clock](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/mechanical-clock/index.html.md): Time cut into equal beats
- [Microscope](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/microscope/index.html.md): A world too small to see
- [Obstetric forceps](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/obstetric-forceps/index.html.md): Two curved blades that cradle a baby's head in a difficult birth
- [Pencil](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/pencil/index.html.md): A solid mark in a wooden grip
- [Resistor and rheostat](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/resistor/index.html.md): Opposing a current by a known amount
- [Roman Concrete](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/roman-concrete/index.html.md): Lime, volcanic ash and rubble
- [Rotor cipher machine](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/rotor-cipher-machine/index.html.md): Wired discs that change the alphabet at every letter
- [Salting & Curing](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/salt-preservation/index.html.md): Drawing water out to stop decay
- [Sand Casting](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/sand-casting/index.html.md): A mould packed round a pattern, used once and broken up
- [Soap](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/soap/index.html.md): Fat and ash against germs
- [Submarine](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/submarine/index.html.md): A boat that sinks and rises at will
- [Sulfuric acid production](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/sulfuric-acid-production/index.html.md): The industrial acid made by burning sulfur
- [Electric Telegraph](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/telegraph/index.html.md): Written messages sent along a wire
- [Telescope](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/telescope/index.html.md): Bringing the distant close
- [Water electrolysis](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/water-electrolysis/index.html.md): Splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen with a current
- [Candle](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/candle/index.html.md): A wick that feeds on its own solid fuel
- [Drum](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/drum/index.html.md): A stretched skin struck over a hollow body
- [Logarithms and the slide rule](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/slide-rule/index.html.md): Multiplying by adding two lengths
- [Toothbrush](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/toothbrush/index.html.md): Scrubbing the teeth with fibres, from chewed twigs to bristles
- [Composting](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/biowaste-composting/index.html.md): Letting waste rot in air into food for the soil
- [Frame beehive](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/frame-beehive/index.html.md): Movable frames spaced to the bees' own measure
- [Hydrogen fuel cell](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/hydrogen-fuel-cell/index.html.md): Electricity from hydrogen and oxygen
- [Line shaft](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/line-shaft/index.html.md): One engine, many machines, through shafts and belts
- [Staff notation](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/staff-notation/index.html.md): Pitch and duration written on lines
- [Tuning fork](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/tuning-fork/index.html.md): A pitch held in vibrating steel
- [Aqueduct](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/aqueduct/index.html.md): Water carried by gravity alone
- [Condom](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/condom/index.html.md): A thin barrier against pregnancy and infection
- [Conway’s Game of Life](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/conways-game-of-life/index.html.md): Patterns from a local rule
- [Flutes](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/flute/index.html.md): Finger holes and separate pipes
- [Gunpowder](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/gunpowder/index.html.md): The explosive behind guns and mining
- [Horseshoe](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/horseshoe/index.html.md): An iron rim nailed to the hoof
- [Lighthouse](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/lighthouse/index.html.md): A tower and a turning light that mariners can name
- [Lithography](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/lithography/index.html.md): Printing from flat stone with grease and water
- [Papyrus making](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/papyrus/index.html.md): Pith strips pressed into a writing sheet
- [Sugar making](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/sugar-refining/index.html.md): From sweet juice to crystals
- [Tin Smelting](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/tin-smelting/index.html.md): Heavy black ore washed, then reduced with charcoal
- [X-Ray Imaging](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/x-ray/index.html.md): Seeing through the body
- [Hourglass](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/hourglass/index.html.md): Measuring time with falling grains
- [Hydroponics](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/hydroponics/index.html.md): Growing plants with their roots in a nutrient solution
- [Abrasive drilling and sawing](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/abrasive-machining/index.html.md): Cutting stone with sand
- [Anaerobic digestion and biogas](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/anaerobic-digestion/index.html.md): Fuel gas from waste that rots without air
- [Bimetallic thermostat](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/bimetallic-thermostat/index.html.md): Holding a temperature with a strip that bends
- [Bordeaux mixture](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/bordeaux-mixture/index.html.md): Copper and lime against vine mildew
- [Dental fillings](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/dental-restorative-materials/index.html.md): Closing a hollowed tooth with a material that sets in place
- [Electric heating element](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/electric-heating-element/index.html.md): Turning an electric current into useful heat
- [Obstetric vacuum extractor](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/obstetric-vacuum-extractor/index.html.md): A suction cup that helps draw out a baby's head
- [Paper recycling](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/paper-recycling/index.html.md): Pulping used paper into new sheets
- [Pipe organ](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/pipe-organ/index.html.md): Steady wind, keys and tuned pipes
- [Typewriter](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/typewriter/index.html.md): Printing letters one keystroke at a time
- [Winemaking](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/winemaking/index.html.md): Turning grapes into wine by fermentation
- [Bow & Arrow](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/bow-and-arrow/index.html.md): Stored energy released at a distance
- [Cable-stayed bridge](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/cable-stayed-bridge/index.html.md): A deck hung from towers by straight stays
- [Cipher disc](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/cipher-disc/index.html.md): Two turning alphabets that change the key
- [Cotton gin](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/cotton-gin/index.html.md): Pulling the fibre off the seed
- [Crane & Pulley](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/crane/index.html.md): Lifting more than you weigh
- [Dental drill](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/dental-drill/index.html.md): Spinning a small cutter fast enough to carve into a tooth
- [Flax processing](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/flax-processing/index.html.md): From retted stems to fibre for linen
- [Fountain pen](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/fountain-pen/index.html.md): A pen that carries its own ink
- [Koji fermentation](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/koji-fermentation/index.html.md): Growing a mould on cooked grain so that its enzymes ferment food
- [Lead Smelting](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/lead-smelting/index.html.md): Lead from galena, and the silver hidden in it
- [Mirror](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/mirror/index.html.md): Sending light back to form an image
- [Photography](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/photography/index.html.md): Light that leaves a trace
- [Playing cards](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/playing-cards/index.html.md): A pack of suits and ranks with identical backs
- [Refrigeration](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/refrigeration/index.html.md): Pumping heat out of a box
- [Sword](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/sword/index.html.md): A long blade fixed to a hilt
- [Torch](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/torch/index.html.md): A bundle of burning wood carried by hand
- [Water clock](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/water-clock/index.html.md): Measuring time with flowing water
- [Cofferdam](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/cofferdam/index.html.md): Building on a riverbed pumped dry
- [Dental prostheses and implants](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/dental-prosthetics/index.html.md): Replacing lost teeth with crowns, bridges and anchors in the bone
- [Gaming dice](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/dice/index.html.md): Marked faces for a draw left to chance
- [Igloo](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/igloo/index.html.md): A vault of snow blocks laid in a spiral
- [Kite](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/kite/index.html.md): A wing held on a line
- [Solar power tower](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/solar-power-tower/index.html.md): A field of mirrors that heats a boiler at the top of a tower
- [Electric soldering iron](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/soldering-iron/index.html.md): Joining wires and parts with molten tin
- [Washing machine](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/washing-machine/index.html.md): Washing, rinsing and spinning laundry in a drum
- [Water tap](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/water-tap/index.html.md): Opening and shutting a flow of water by hand
- [Bicycle](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/bicycle/index.html.md): Two wheels driven by the legs
- [Cheese](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/cheese/index.html.md): Milk that keeps for months
- [Chess](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/chess/index.html.md): A battle of pieces with different moves
- [Coffee processing and roasting](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/coffee-processing/index.html.md): From red cherry to roasted bean
- [Crossbow](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/crossbow/index.html.md): A bow held drawn by a trigger lock
- [Dyeing](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/dyeing/index.html.md): Colour fixed in the fibre
- [Eyeglasses](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/eyeglasses/index.html.md): Lenses that extend a working life
- [Food smoking](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/food-smoking/index.html.md): Drying and flavouring food in wood smoke
- [Fresnel lens](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/fresnel-lens/index.html.md): A thin lens made of concentric steps of glass
- [Gelatin production](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/gelatin-production/index.html.md): Dissolving the collagen of skin and bone in hot water, then setting and drying it
- [Instant noodles](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/instant-noodles/index.html.md): Noodles cooked in steam, dried in hot oil or air, softened again by hot water
- [Jeans](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/jeans/index.html.md): Riveted work trousers of indigo twill
- [Nautical knots](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/nautical-knots/index.html.md): Loops, hitches and bends that hold a ship's ropes
- [Paintbrush](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/paintbrush/index.html.md): A tuft of hair that carries paint
- [Pigeon post](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/pigeon-post/index.html.md): Messages carried home by homing pigeons
- [Railway air brake](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/railway-air-brake/index.html.md): Brakes on every car, worked by air from the locomotive
- [Safety lamp](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/safety-lamp/index.html.md): A flame caged in wire gauze for gassy mines
- [Saxophone](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/saxophone/index.html.md): A single reed on a conical brass tube
- [Sericulture](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/sericulture/index.html.md): Raising silkworms and reeling silk
- [Sheet-metal shear](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/sheet-metal-shear/index.html.md): A straight blade sliding past a fixed one
- [Spinning Wheel](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/spinning-wheel/index.html.md): Fibre into thread, faster
- [Tank](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/tank/index.html.md): An armoured fighting vehicle on tracks
- [Tea processing](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/tea-processing/index.html.md): Turning fresh leaves into green, black or white tea
- [Tipi](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/tipi/index.html.md): A cone of poles under a cover of sewn hides
- [Toothpaste](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/toothpaste/index.html.md): A paste or powder that cleans the teeth and protects the enamel
- [Tungsten Extraction](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/tungsten-extraction/index.html.md): A metal too refractory to melt, won from its ore as a powder and pressed into shape
- [Turning grille cipher](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/turning-grille-cipher/index.html.md): Letters rearranged through a rotating mask
- [Underfloor heating](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/underfloor-heating/index.html.md): Warming a room from the floor up
- [Waste sorting](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/waste-sorting/index.html.md): Screens, magnets and air jets on the belt
- [Waste to energy](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/waste-to-energy/index.html.md): Steam and current from the refuse that is left
- [Wired circuit board](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/wired-circuit-board/index.html.md): Parts screwed to a board and joined by wires
- [Zinc Smelting](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/zinc-extraction/index.html.md): A metal that leaves the fire as a vapour and has to be caught as it cools
- [Zipper](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/zipper/index.html.md): Two rows of teeth locked and unlocked by a slider
- [Cavity wall](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/cavity-wall/index.html.md): Two leaves of masonry with air between
- [Tofu](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/tofu/index.html.md): Soy milk set into a block
- [Battery recycling](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/battery-recycling/index.html.md): Lead and lithium won back from spent cells
- [Biodiesel](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/biodiesel/index.html.md): Vegetable oil turned into a fuel for diesel engines
- [Chocolate making](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/chocolate-making/index.html.md): From fermented seed to chocolate
- [Mancala](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/mancala/index.html.md): Sowing seeds round a board of pits
- [Oyster farming](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/oyster-farming/index.html.md): Catching young oysters and raising them
- [Airship](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/airship/index.html.md): A balloon with an engine and a rudder
- [Alarm clock](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/alarm-clock/index.html.md): A signal set to sound at a chosen hour
- [Automatic railway coupler](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/automatic-railway-coupler/index.html.md): Cars that couple by bumping together
- [Beer](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/beer/index.html.md): Grain sugars fermented into alcohol
- [Beverage carbonation](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/beverage-carbonation/index.html.md): Forcing carbon dioxide into water so that it sparkles when the bottle is opened
- [Body Armour](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/body-armor/index.html.md): Scales, mail, plate and fibre to stop a blow
- [Go](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/go-game/index.html.md): Surrounding territory with stones
- [Hydraulic manipulator arm](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/hydraulic-manipulator/index.html.md): Joints moved by oil under pressure
- [Jet pump](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/jet-pump/index.html.md): A fast jet that drags another fluid along, with no moving parts
- [Mercury extraction](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/mercury-extraction/index.html.md): Freeing quicksilver from cinnabar
- [Molten salt thermal storage](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/molten-salt-thermal-storage/index.html.md): Solar heat kept in tanks of hot salt for the night
- [Music box](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/music-box/index.html.md): A pinned cylinder plucking a steel comb
- [Parachute](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/parachute/index.html.md): A canopy that slows a fall
- [Pitfall traps](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/pitfall-traps/index.html.md): A pit the animal cannot climb out of
- [Potter's Wheel](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/potters-wheel/index.html.md): Shaping clay by rotation
- [Steam bath](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/steam-bath/index.html.md): Sweating in a room of hot stones and steam
- [Textile recycling](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/textile-recycling/index.html.md): Tearing worn cloth back into fibre
- [Trebuchet](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/trebuchet/index.html.md): A falling weight that hurls stones
- [Vulcanised Rubber](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/vulcanized-rubber/index.html.md): Sap made tough with sulphur
- [Absorption refrigerator](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/absorption-refrigerator/index.html.md): Cold from a flame, with ammonia dissolved in water
- [Cooling tower](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/cooling-tower/index.html.md): Condenser water cooled by letting a little of it evaporate
- [Hydrometer](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/hydrometer/index.html.md): Reading density from a float
- [Sitar](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/sitar/index.html.md): Gourd, movable frets and sympathetic strings
- [Book cipher](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/book-cipher/index.html.md): Secret letters keyed to a printed book
- [Clothes iron](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/clothes-iron/index.html.md): Smoothing cloth with heat, weight and steam
- [Combination lock](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/combination-lock/index.html.md): Opening by setting discs, not by turning a key
- [Continuous track](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/continuous-track/index.html.md): A road that the vehicle lays down and picks up again
- [Deadfall trap](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/deadfall-trap/index.html.md): A raised weight released by a trigger
- [Cloth adhesive tape](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/duct-tape/index.html.md): From rubber plaster to duct tape
- [Fishing reel](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/fishing-reel/index.html.md): Storing and winding line on a spool
- [Gear pump](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/gear-pump/index.html.md): Liquid carried between meshing teeth
- [Headphones](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/headphones/index.html.md): Two electric receivers held to the ears for listening alone
- [Hot-Air Balloon](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/hot-air-balloon/index.html.md): Rising on warm air
- [Jaw harp](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/jaw-harp/index.html.md): A plucked tongue sounded through the mouth
- [Perfume extraction](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/perfume-extraction/index.html.md): Capturing the scent of flowers
- [Poker](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/poker/index.html.md): Betting on a hidden hand of five cards
- [Biological pregnancy test](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/pregnancy-test/index.html.md): Detecting a hormone through its effect on an animal
- [Rotary converter](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/rotary-converter/index.html.md): Turning alternating current into direct current with one machine
- [Scarecrow](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/scarecrow/index.html.md): A human figure that keeps birds off the crop
- [Self-climbing tower crane](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/self-climbing-tower-crane/index.html.md): A crane that adds sections to its own mast
- [Sewing Machine](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/sewing-machine/index.html.md): A thousand stitches a minute
- [Spring traps](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/spring-traps/index.html.md): Energy stored in bent wood or steel
- [Stroboscopic animation](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/stroboscopic-animation/index.html.md): Making drawings move with slits and flashes
- [Sundial](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/sundial/index.html.md): Telling time with a shadow
- [Torsion Catapult](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/torsion-catapult/index.html.md): Artillery powered by twisted sinew rope
- [Vertical greenhouse](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/vertical-greenhouse/index.html.md): A glass tower that carries its plants up and down on moving trays
- [Wood distillation](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/wood-distillation/index.html.md): Charcoal, tar, wood vinegar and methanol from wood heated without air
- [Wood waste recovery](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/wood-waste-recovery/index.html.md): Chipping sawmill leftovers into mulch, fuel and boards
- [Berimbau](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/berimbau/index.html.md): A struck bow with a gourd against the belly
- [Nine men's morris](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/nine-mens-morris/index.html.md): Making mills on a board of three squares
- [Pressure coffee maker](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/pressure-coffee-maker/index.html.md): Coffee pushed up by steam
- [Autogyro](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/autogyro/index.html.md): A rotor turned by the wind of flight, and a propeller to pull it along
- [Camouflage](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/camouflage/index.html.md): Paint and patterns that make an object hard to see
- [Coffee pulper](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/coffee-depulper/index.html.md): A rasping roller that strips the skin and pulp from fresh coffee cherries
- [Horn working](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/horn-working/index.html.md): Softening horn with heat and pressing it into shape
- [Lock & Key](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/lock-and-key/index.html.md): A bolt that only its key frees
- [Hand mincer and grater](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/manual-food-grinder/index.html.md): A crank-driven screw that cuts food at a perforated plate
- [Multitool](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/multitool/index.html.md): Several tools folding into one handle
- [Mycelium materials](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/mycelium-materials/index.html.md): Plant waste bound into solid shapes by a growing fungus
- [Pearl culture](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/pearl-culture/index.html.md): Making molluscs grow pearls
- [Protective goggles](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/protective-goggles/index.html.md): Shielding the eyes from glare, impacts and water
- [Rotary mercury vacuum pump](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/rotary-mercury-vacuum-pump/index.html.md): Emptying lamps with a drum turning in mercury
- [War hammer and mace](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/war-hammer-and-mace/index.html.md): A heavy head at the end of a short shaft
- [Atmospheric diving suit](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/atmospheric-diving-suit/index.html.md): A rigid shell that keeps the diver at surface pressure
- [Bagh chal](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/bagh-chal/index.html.md): Four tigers hunting twenty goats
- [Battering Ram](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/battering-ram/index.html.md): A swinging beam against gates and walls
- [Cotton candy machine](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/cotton-candy-machine/index.html.md): A spinning head that flings melted sugar out into threads of sugar glass
- [Enclosure traps](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/enclosure-traps/index.html.md): A way in with no way back
- [Siege Tower](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/siege-tower/index.html.md): A moving timber tower to reach the walls
- [Ultrasonic humidifier](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/ultrasonic-humidifier/index.html.md): Cool mist torn from water by sound
- [Windsock](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/windsock/index.html.md): Showing where the wind comes from
- [Bicycle bell](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/bicycle-bell/index.html.md): A struck dome that warns the way ahead
- [Eccentric-mass vibrator](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/eccentric-motor-vibrator/index.html.md): Shaking with an off-centre weight
- [Fly trap](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/fly-trap/index.html.md): A narrow entrance into a glass chamber
- [Paper guillotine](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/paper-guillotine/index.html.md): Cutting a whole stack of sheets in one stroke
- [Pedal boat](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/pedal-boat/index.html.md): A boat driven by the legs of its crew
- [Pulsejet](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/pulsejet/index.html.md): A jet engine that burns in a rapid string of puffs
- [Water scarer](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/water-scarecrow/index.html.md): A bamboo tube that fills, tips and knocks on a stone
- [Caxixi](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/caxixi/index.html.md): A woven rattle with a gourd base
- [Bee venom collector](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/bee-venom-collector/index.html.md): An electric frame at the hive entrance that gathers the venom of honeybees
- [Coilgun](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/coilgun/index.html.md): Pulling iron along a barrel of coils
- [Military flail](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/military-flail/index.html.md): A striking head on a flexible joint
- [Current-powered cable boat](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/current-powered-cable-boat/index.html.md): A boat that winds itself upstream with the river's own force
- [Shuriken](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/shuriken/index.html.md): Small Japanese blades made to be thrown
- [Monowheel](https://lastcodex.org/en/inventions/monowheel/index.html.md): A vehicle that rides inside its single wheel