1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:07,720 Hi Mr. Dressel, I'm Tony, thanks for meeting with me. 2 00:00:07,720 --> 00:00:08,720 My pleasure. 3 00:00:08,720 --> 00:00:09,720 How can I help you? 4 00:00:09,720 --> 00:00:14,560 We're working on a school assignment researching what transportation will be like in 100 years. 5 00:00:14,560 --> 00:00:16,680 We thought the best place to start would be in the past. 6 00:00:16,680 --> 00:00:18,240 That's a great place to begin. 7 00:00:18,240 --> 00:00:20,160 Can you tell me when and where transportation began? 8 00:00:20,160 --> 00:00:24,880 Well, the first form of transportation was by foot, or more commonly known as walking. 9 00:00:24,880 --> 00:00:27,920 Yeah, I know all about walking. 10 00:00:27,920 --> 00:00:32,760 At some point, boats were used and animals were domesticated, but the real transportation 11 00:00:32,760 --> 00:00:34,960 breakthrough hadn't happened quite yet. 12 00:00:34,960 --> 00:00:35,960 Breakthrough? 13 00:00:35,960 --> 00:00:37,960 Like the invention of the driver's license? 14 00:00:37,960 --> 00:00:39,040 Not quite yet. 15 00:00:39,040 --> 00:00:43,440 Archaeologists believe that the very first step towards man-made transportation began 16 00:00:43,440 --> 00:00:49,520 in either Mesopotamia or Asia, sometime around 4000 to 3500 BC, with the invention of the 17 00:00:49,520 --> 00:00:50,520 wheel. 18 00:00:50,520 --> 00:00:52,600 Was the invention of the car next in the timeline? 19 00:00:52,600 --> 00:00:57,280 Well, it was really the invention of the steam engine in the late 18th century that made 20 00:00:57,280 --> 00:00:59,720 mass transportation a standard. 21 00:00:59,720 --> 00:01:04,280 The early trains were slow and they were often very dangerous, but as locomotives improved, 22 00:01:04,280 --> 00:01:09,000 they really became important to our steadily growing and very young country, especially 23 00:01:09,000 --> 00:01:12,960 considering we didn't have a very good road system. 24 00:01:12,960 --> 00:01:17,000 I understand how trains help people travel long distances, but how did people in the 25 00:01:17,000 --> 00:01:18,280 city get around? 26 00:01:18,280 --> 00:01:24,600 Well, there was walking, and then there were horse cars and trolleys, and finally subways. 27 00:01:24,600 --> 00:01:28,360 But then in the 1880s and the 1890s, they discovered the bicycle, which was great because 28 00:01:28,360 --> 00:01:31,640 they could go where they wanted to and when they wanted to. 29 00:01:31,640 --> 00:01:34,200 So they had wheels, but they didn't have wheels. 30 00:01:34,200 --> 00:01:37,280 Right, they didn't have wheels as in cars. 31 00:01:37,280 --> 00:01:39,200 Wasn't the car invented around the turn of the century? 32 00:01:39,200 --> 00:01:45,440 Well, actually, in France, Nicolas-Joseph Cuneau invented a car as early as 1769, but 33 00:01:45,440 --> 00:01:49,600 since it was powered by steam, most people don't consider it really an automobile. 34 00:01:49,600 --> 00:01:55,800 But in the 1880s, Gottlieb Daimler and Karl Benz in Germany invented a light, practical 35 00:01:55,800 --> 00:02:00,200 automobile engine that really ushered in the era of the modern automobile. 36 00:02:00,200 --> 00:02:02,200 How has the car changed over time? 37 00:02:02,200 --> 00:02:04,960 Well, this is a 1902 Rambler. 38 00:02:04,960 --> 00:02:09,280 It's basically a powered buggy built using the same sort of technology they used to build 39 00:02:09,280 --> 00:02:10,600 bicycles. 40 00:02:10,600 --> 00:02:12,680 And this is a 1915 Dodge. 41 00:02:12,680 --> 00:02:15,960 It's basically an improved version of the Model T Ford. 42 00:02:15,960 --> 00:02:21,520 It was a front engine, rear drive, open touring car intended for a rural market. 43 00:02:21,520 --> 00:02:24,200 Why did the style of cars change? 44 00:02:24,200 --> 00:02:28,440 In the 1920s, people's lifestyles began to change. 45 00:02:28,440 --> 00:02:33,240 We were no longer a country defined as rural and people began demanding more comfortable 46 00:02:33,240 --> 00:02:35,480 cars. 47 00:02:35,480 --> 00:02:37,880 Take a look at this 1929 Nash. 48 00:02:37,880 --> 00:02:40,200 It shows the shift away from open cars. 49 00:02:40,200 --> 00:02:42,760 The car was no longer just a fair weather option. 50 00:02:42,760 --> 00:02:47,080 It was now a necessity and therefore it needed to be enclosed. 51 00:02:47,080 --> 00:02:52,440 Wow, this one looks different. 52 00:02:52,440 --> 00:02:55,040 It's a 1934 Chrysler Airflow. 53 00:02:55,040 --> 00:02:58,520 It's the first mass produced aerodynamic car design. 54 00:02:58,520 --> 00:03:03,400 By 1934, engineers had discovered just how much difference air resistance made on car 55 00:03:03,400 --> 00:03:04,400 performance. 56 00:03:04,400 --> 00:03:07,160 We learned about airflow in the case of the challenging flight and how important it is 57 00:03:07,160 --> 00:03:08,160 on drag. 58 00:03:08,160 --> 00:03:09,160 That's right. 59 00:03:09,160 --> 00:03:11,480 And air flows really changed the way cars look. 60 00:03:11,480 --> 00:03:13,400 Transportation has sure changed throughout history. 61 00:03:13,400 --> 00:03:18,960 Yes, as transportation improves, it's easier to live and work farther apart. 62 00:03:18,960 --> 00:03:23,240 If you walk to work, you're not likely to live more than about a mile away from where 63 00:03:23,240 --> 00:03:24,240 you work. 64 00:03:24,240 --> 00:03:27,500 But if you've got a car, you can drive 30 or more miles to work. 65 00:03:27,500 --> 00:03:30,920 And with the invention of the airplane in 1903 by the Wright Brothers, we can live even 66 00:03:30,920 --> 00:03:33,760 farther away and take vacations to faraway places. 67 00:03:33,760 --> 00:03:35,320 And thanks, Mr. Dressel. 68 00:03:35,320 --> 00:03:36,600 This has been a lot of help. 69 00:03:36,600 --> 00:03:37,600 You're welcome. 70 00:03:37,600 --> 00:03:38,600 Feel free to enjoy the exhibits. 71 00:03:38,600 --> 00:03:39,760 There's a lot more to see.