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[Coop and Dino singing]

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Welcome to the Patent Office of Ancient Inventions, where a record is kept of every important [Records of patents]

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discovery in the history of mankind!

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Today, we’re taking a tour of eight ancient inventions that changed how we live.

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And no, we won't be covering Siri in this tour. [Mom and daughter using smartphone]

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Sorry to burst your bubble.

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We begin with the invention that helps make almost all other inventions possible: writing.

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After years and years of frustrating trips to the grocery store … [Woman holding grocery bag]

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… the Mesopotamians invented writing.

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Thanks to writing, people were now able to record their history and keep records of work,

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trade and family.

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And, of course, make shopping lists easy to decipher.

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It’s because of writing that people can communicate ideas across time and space.

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Pretty nifty, eh? [Man and woman out shopping for groceries]

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Of course, once you start writing, you need something to write on, which leads us to:

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Paper.

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Before paper, people wrote on stone and clay tablets, which were hard to store and move.

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Seriously, you should've seen the paperboys back then…they were ripped. [Man throws stone onto stoop]

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But all that changed in 100 BC, with the Chinese invention of paper.

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And once paper was invented, ideas were able to quickly travel, allowing them to spread [Paper airplanes moving around a map]

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to far off places with ease.

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Further back in the Ps, we come to: the plow.

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Apparently people in ancient Mesopotamia had a bunch of good ideas…must've been something

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in the water…because it was a Mesopotamian farmer who invented the plow. [Farmer plowing in the field]

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The plow allowed more planting to be done by fewer people.

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That meant more opportunities for people to devote themselves to jobs like construction

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and teaching.

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It also meant more food. [Construction worker and teacher appear in the farmers field]

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We're assuming sweatpants with elastic waistbands were invented soon after.

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Those are a go-to at our Thanksgiving dinners.

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Lastly in the Ps, we have Plumbing and Sewers.

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Ha… speaking of “pee”, right?

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Anyway, we’re back in ancient Mesopotamia, again –

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--but this time, things were a little stinky.

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So, they invented plumbing and sewers, which brought fresh water in and washed dirty water away. [Person drawing up sewer and plumbing designs]

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This helped improve the health of populations living in cities.

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Of course, now that the dirty atmosphere smell was gone, there was the small issue of being

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able to smell each other…

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Next up: The Lever.

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The Greeks invented the ancient lever, which paved the way for many basic tools we use [Greek man stood beside pillars]

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today, such as scissors, pliers, and tongs.

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They’re all based on the idea a lever pivoting on a fulcrum to move a load.

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If you've ever had a blast on a see-saw, you have a lever to thank! [Arrow points to see-saw]

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…Seriously, go write it a thank you card.

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They really appreciate the gesture. [Girl writing a thank you card]

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Okay, card done?

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Cool.

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Let’s talk numbers.

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Specifically: Zero.

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Counting wasn’t getting very far in ancient Babylonia.

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Literally.

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Then someone invented zero, and everything changed.

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Zero acts as a place holder when we get beyond nine.

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And it allows us to count in the thousands, millions, and beyond. [Coop discussing invention of zero]

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Which might have led to some people suddenly realizing they were rich.

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Numbers are all well and good, but what about construction?

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Well, that got a boost with the invention of concrete and cement!

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The invention of hydraulic cement changed construction for good.

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Oh, and in case you're not super up to date on your cement types, hydraulic cement gets [Man carrying bag of cement]

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hard with the addition of water.

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Thanks to cement, people could build taller and stronger structures than ever before.

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And it was easier to transport than stone [Man stood beside the Colosseum]

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Okeydoke, we’re almost through our inventions.

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We saved the most organized for last…yup, it's our old buddy, Alphabetical Order.

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We have ancient Egyptians to thank for this invention.

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Alphabetical order makes it easier to organize information and find it again.

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Not to mention, it provides a nice decoration for every classroom ever. [Alphabet decoration]

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Phew!

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That concludes our tour of ancient inventions.

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Makes you wonder, what modern invention will future generations thank us for…? [Man stood with modern inventions]

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…On second though, maybe we shouldn't think about that too hard…

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