Why global crises are the mother of invention
3 mins | Invalid Date
In 1815 a volcanic eruption wreaked havoc around the world — but it also led to the birth of the bicycle. Could the coronavirus pandemic lead to another groundbreaking invention like the car or the aeroplane? Using the example of how Indonesia's Mount Tambora explosion surprisingly prompted Karl von Drais to devise the bicycle, Tom Standage explores in The Economist's 1843 magazine.
From 1843