Things You Wouldn't Recognize in the Past

Bright Side

Ever wonder how things looked way back in the day? Take the Pyramids of Giza – they used to be covered in shiny white limestone, making them sparkle in the sun. The Statue of Liberty wasn't always green; she started out as a shiny copper color but turned green over time due to oxidation. And get this, early elevators were operated by hand-cranked mechanisms, nothing like the smooth rides we have today. Even remote controls were once clunky, wired devices before they became the sleek, wireless gadgets we can't live without. It's wild to think how much these things have changed over the years!  Animation is created by Bright Side. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Music from TheSoul Sound: https://thesoul-sound.com/   Check our Bright Side podcast on Spotify and leave a positive review! https://open.spotify.com/show/0hUkPxD34jRLrMrJux4VxV   Subscribe to Bright Side: https://goo.gl/rQTJZz ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Our Social Media: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brightside Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brightside.official TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@brightside.official?lang=en   Stock materials (photos, footages and other): https://www.depositphotos.com https://www.shutterstock.com https://www.eastnews.ru ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  For more videos and articles visit: http://www.brightside.me  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This video is made for entertainment purposes. We do not make any warranties about the completeness, safety and reliability. Any action you take upon the information in this video is strictly at your own risk, and we will not be liable for any damages or losses. It is the viewer's responsibility to use judgement, care and precaution if you plan to replicate.

Transcript

00:00 If someone finally invents time travel and hop on a trip to the past, you won't recognize

00:06 many of the things you know and love today.

00:09 The Statue of Liberty and the Egyptian pyramids, some basic gadgets like the remote control

00:15 and your laptop, and even the corn you have for lunch have all changed beyond recognition.

00:21 When the pyramids were originally built in ancient Egypt and Giza and other places, they

00:26 didn't look sandy brown at all.

00:29 All of them were covered with white limestone.

00:32 If you had seen them under the hot African sun, you'd have to look away.

00:35 That's how smooth and shiny they were.

00:38 Builders used around 6 million tons of this material for the Great Pyramid of Giza alone.

00:44 It's the largest one you can still see on your trip to Egypt.

00:48 The local rules were quite a thrifty crowd, and they reused some of the casing stones

00:52 for other construction projects.

00:55 A massive earthquake in the 14th century has also loosened some of the stones, so you won't

01:00 see a lot of limestone, but some of it is still there on top of the Pyramid of Hufre

01:05 in Giza.

01:07 It looks like it has a second peak on top of the first.

01:10 In ancient times, all pyramids used to have capstones called pyramidions covered in a

01:16 mix of gold and silver.

01:18 Most of them have been lost over the centuries, but you can still see a few of them at museums.

01:23 They show images of Egyptian deities.

01:26 The pyramids were probably modeled after a sacred pointed stone, the benben.

01:32 It represented the rays of the sun.

01:34 Now, lifting heavy rocks wasn't so simple without the tech we have today.

01:39 I guess you'll agree with me if you helped your friends move at least once, and they

01:43 made you carry the couch.

01:45 But those smart Egyptians of the past thought of that and chose the pyramid shape.

01:50 It lets the weight distribute evenly throughout the whole thing.

01:54 The Statue of Liberty has also had a major makeover since it was first unveiled in 1886.

02:02 Believe it or not, it used to be a shiny brown color, just like a penny.

02:06 Twenty years later, it changed its color to green.

02:09 It wasn't a fashion statement, but a chemical reaction.

02:13 The statue is covered with hundreds of thin copper sheets.

02:17 When copper reacts with air, it naturally forms a protective layer called "vutigrees."

02:24 This layer protects what's under it from corrosion, and that's why statues and other things made

02:29 of copper, brass, and bronze can last so long.

02:33 When Lady Liberty first turned green, people in authority decided it would be a good idea

02:39 to paint it all over.

02:41 It was way before social media, so you couldn't just drop an angry comment under the post

02:47 describing the idea.

02:49 But they wrote about it in the local newspapers, and the public didn't love the idea.

02:54 Then the Times interviewed a copper and bronze manufacturer, and he confirmed they shouldn't

02:59 repaint it, because removing the protective layer would mean destroying the statue.

03:05 Over the years, people have suggested painting Lady Liberty several times, but no one has

03:10 ever done it.

03:11 I don't know about you, but I can't imagine that lady in any other color, so I guess it's

03:17 for the better.

03:19 You love bananas as much as I do?

03:23 Next time you enjoy a juicy soft one, remember you gotta thank selective breeding for that

03:28 texture!

03:30 The original wild bananas had many large, hard seeds and not so much delicious pulp.

03:36 And hey, who doesn't like a sugary watermelon?

03:40 It has a history of over 5,000 years, and it used to have bitter, yellowish-white flesh

03:47 and was really tricky to open.

03:50 Selective breeding saved the day again, and watermelons got way sweeter.

03:54 Japanese scientists went further and invented the seedless version.

04:00 Corn's grandmother is a Mexican grass called teosinte.

04:05 The kernels in this grass were small and hard to get.

04:09 Corns from many thousands of years ago saved the seeds only of those plants that were larger

04:14 or tastier or with kernels that were easier to grind.

04:19 Thanks my friends for giving us the corn that's edible and even delicious!

04:24 And just imagine, wild avocados were so small that they could easily fit in the palm of

04:29 your hand.

04:30 The pit in them was so large you wouldn't find much edible material inside.

04:35 They also had a much harder shell than the ones we're used to.

04:40 You probably wouldn't get a lot of work done without your beloved computer today, but I

04:45 can't tell you exactly whom to thank for this invention!

04:49 The ABC from 1942 is one of the contendants for the title of the first computer.

04:55 It's short for the Antanasoff-Berry Computer, named after its inventors at Iowa State University.

05:02 The ABC weighed over 700 pounds.

05:05 Yep, yours must be way lighter than that!

05:09 That big boy consisted of around 300 vacuum tubes and had a rotating drum, a little bigger

05:15 than a paint can, and had small capacitors on it.

05:19 A capacitor is a gadget that can store an electric charge, like a battery.

05:24 The ABC could solve problems with up to 29 different variables to help scientists save

05:30 some time.

05:32 Like modern computers, it used binary digits, ones and zeros, to represent all numbers and

05:37 data.

05:39 Because of that, it was possible to do the calculations electronically.

05:43 And now, my favorite part, the ABC finished one operation about every 15 seconds!

05:51 Just for you to compare, it's millions of operations per second now!

05:56 Unlike the tech we use today, the ABC did not have a changeable stored program.

06:02 So the program could only do a single task at a time.

06:06 An operator had to write down the intermediate answer and then dial that back into the computer.

06:13 Sounds like another reason to be happy we live in the 21st century!

06:18 That remote control you use for all sorts of appliances has gone a long way too.

06:24 Nikola Tesla, who gave us alternating current, designed one of the first wireless remote

06:29 controls back in 1898.

06:32 He named his invention "teleautomation" and demonstrated it on a miniature boat controlled

06:38 by radio waves.

06:40 The boat had a little metal antenna attached to it.

06:43 Tesla sent signals to the boat using a box with a lever and a telegraph key, which was

06:48 his version of a remote control.

06:51 Those signals set electrical contacts on the boat into motion and moved the rudder and

06:56 the propeller.

06:57 And Tesla was controlling the boat.

07:00 The concept of the remote control soon spread to other gadgets.

07:05 The first television remote control followed in 1950.

07:09 It was designed by the Zenith Radio Corporation, called "Lazy Bone".

07:14 Don't take it personally, please.

07:16 This Lazy Bone had a massive cable that was attached to the TV set, and those who tried

07:21 it didn't fall in love with the invention because they tripped over that cord.

07:25 I feel your pain, my friends.

07:29 If you live or work on one of the top floors, you gotta love this one.

07:34 Meet the first passenger elevator.

07:37 It traveled at the speed of 40 feet per minute.

07:40 Not the fastest, I know, compared to today's record, which is 40 feet per second.

07:45 But hey, it was built back in 1857 in New York and was more of a tourist attraction

07:51 than a necessity.

07:53 The elevator had a steam engine hidden in the basement of a five-story building.

07:58 Three years later, they shut it down because the public didn't appreciate it.

08:03 Otis Tufts filed the first patent for a vertical railway around the same time.

08:08 His invention included an actual car with a bench inside for people to sit on.

08:13 Sounds like a great spot to hang out with friends to me.

08:16 What do you say?

08:18 Then they started adding elevators to luxurious hotels around the world.

08:23 They were entire rooms with a rich design, upholstered seats and mirrors on the walls,

08:28 and sometimes even a small chandelier.

08:31 There was an obligatory operator who'd close the door and the car would start its super

08:36 slow ascent.

08:38 It was still more about style than about speed, so I guess I'd choose the stairs.

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