Blog 6: EOTO 1: What I Learned

 During the EOTO presentations, my classmates talked about many interesting technologies and their histories. I have always loved to learn about the evolution of technology because we don't really think about what went into making something until we are taught about it. One invention that really caught my eye during these presentations was the printing press. Without this single invention; books, magazines, and newspapers may not have been around. The idea of the printing press was from Johannes Gutenberg and it is a machine that allowed for mass production of printed materials and it allowed us to share information quickly.  I found it interesting that no one knows when the first printing press was invited or who actually invented it but the oldest printed text came from China.  Before Gutenberg's invention, books were hand-written on blocks and it was a laborious process, which is why the invention of the printing press changed history forever. 

Despite the printing development in China, it didn't it did not appear in Europe until 150 years after the Chinese invention. Johannes Gutenberg was credited for the printing press after he started experimenting in 1440. He had replaced the wood structuring with mental and added printing blocks with each letter to speed up the printing process. Something I found that was interesting is the first book he printed was the Gutenberg Bible and over 200 were thought to be printed but there are only 22 left today. Years later the printing press started to spread and Italy was the next to receive this invention. All different types of books were being printed and Italy was able to make a successful trade in printed material. 

There were so many great impacts of the printing press for the next centuries to come. It lead to a huge social and cultural revolution and now people were able to be educated faster than before and literacy levels were on the rise. They were also able to distribute their ideas much quicker and faster than before and the printing press gave people an opportunity to use their voices. Without any of this, we would live in a different world.