16th Century Inventions

During the 16th century, the age of discovery was in full swing and this not only resulted in a lot of enlightened thought but it also resulted in some 16th Century inventions that are rather notable. It is difficult even to know where to begin speaking about this particular century but it saw such notable figures as Shakespeare, Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo come and go. Not only were these men known for their arts but some of them were known for the concepts that they came up with. Many of these concepts were put into practice as inventions during the 16th century but others would not be able to come to fruition for hundreds of years.

There were a lot of theories that came about during the 16th century, one of the most notable was that Copernicus introduced a theory that the Earth actually revolved around the sun. Up until this time, it was commonly thought that the Earth was the center of the universe and although it would take quite some time for this theory to be widely accepted, this was one of the first times that it ever was taken seriously throughout history.

Although this does not really count for one of the 16th Century inventions, it is noteworthy enough of a discovery that it deserves some mention. Leonardo da Vinci did most of his inventing during the 16th century and he is one of the most noteworthy figures of this type in history. Not only is he known for some of the greatest works of art that have ever been given to mankind, he was also a visionary that could see things in his mind which were not yet conceived. For example, he came up with theories that would later be recognized as helicopters, tanks and even the possibility for concentrated solar power. He was also quite interested in machinery and although many machines were existing in his day, he used his ability to draw in order to meld many of these machines together and make them more efficient.

Another one of the interesting 16th Century inventions is that of the flush toilet. Although most of us take this simple invention for granted, the fact of the matter is that a really revolutionized a part of our lives that still affects us today. What many people don't realize, however, is that people were afraid to use the flush toilet when it was first invented. It wasn't until some centuries later that this simple contraption was put into use on a worldwide basis.

The Gregorian calendar was also put into use during this century. This simple concept was revolutionary in thought and although 365 day calendars had been in use for thousands of years, the Gregorian calendar really standardize the way that the world looked at the year. This is still the most widely used calendar throughout the entire world and has certainly earned its mark among the 16th Century inventions that are worthy of note.

There were many other 16th Century inventions and discoveries that really made this particular group of 100 years noteworthy. During this time, the first recorded visit to the Grand Canyon took place. Opera came onto the scene in 1597 and Juan Ponce de León had his first look at the state of Florida. It is certainly a century that has enhanced our lives in many different ways.