Napalm is the modern successor of this deadly, but incredible, feat of chemistry. Greek fire could be sprayed, under pressure, to launch flames at enemy ships and, later, it was used on lands to attack fortifications or as a defensive weapon. Terrifyingly, sailors were unable to put out the flames as water did not help. The exact composition of Greek fire is unknown, but it is likely to include naphtha and quicklime, as it would ignite when it made contact with water. It could be used both on land and at sea to devastating effect. Greek fire was not invented by the Ancient Greeks, but the Byzantine Greeks in the 7th century CE and it was an invention imported from the Middle East. Let’s take a look at 10 ancient technologies you won’t believe could have existed! Lest we also forget that without the giants which came before us there we wouldn’t have the leap in understanding which we have today. This couldn’t be further from the truth and there are many technologies which remain completely unexplained, even with the help of modern science. Not only is there so much more for us to discover, it’s easy to write off the past as a web of primitive cultures, feeling their way through life with only mythical tales to explain the world around them. We are able to produce an exact map of the stars, set to any date since 1900. From breakthroughs in aeronautics and aerospace to mobile technology and the internet, we have advanced an awful lot, awfully quickly. As Nikola Tesla said, “The day science begins to study non-physical phenomena, it will make more progress in one decade than in all the previous centuries of existence”. We know more and can do more than ever before. Technology has boomed over the last 100 years.
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