Leonardo da Vinci - the incredible Renaissance artist most famous for his work Mona Lisa
was so much more than a painter. He was a mathematician, writer, historian, engineer,
Food truck chef and inventor, just to name a few. No not really a Food Truck chef, but
everything else, yeah. He was a man truly and almost eerily ahead of his time, and here’s
the proof…
First of all, Da Vinci created what looks like an actual satellite image, and he did
it…way back in 1502, centuries before the first real satellite photos of Earth were
taken in 1959! But da Vinci’s map is no snapshot from a satellite or even an airplane
looking down at a city as it might appear – it was hand-drawn! How did he do this
in an age long before Google maps or aerial flight was ever a thing? Well, the only way
the genius engineer could’ve pulled off such a feat was by using his creative mind
along with tools to calculate degrees and distance.
He most likely used an odometer or “Surveyor’s wheel” as it was also called. That means,
to have created this map, which shows a direct view from above the town of Imola, Italy,
da Vinci would’ve had to physically walk around the entire city, through every single
street and alley, to painstakingly measure all the angles and distances correctly. It’s
safe to assume that it probably took him a long long time to do. With all his measurements
and calculations, the artist set to work drawing out the amazingly detailed, accurate, and,
more importantly, informative map. You might wonder why he’d take on such an immense
project. Well, as a military architect and engineer, da Vinci was commissioned to do
it by army commander and politician Cesare Borgia.
But Leonardo’s military expertise wasn’t just useful for map-making – he also created
the machine gun! Now, this isn’t the modern-day one you might see in Call of Duty. It looked
and worked a bit differently – it was an organ that had 33 barrels. Da Vinci created
it because he thought the canons of the time took way too long to be loaded and fired.
This new invention would allow quicker shots to be taken pretty much automatically. This
was also a brainchild of his time working as a military engineer for Borgia.
Moving away from 16th-century military breakthroughs, there’s also da Vinci’s robot. Yes, a
Renaissance robot. Or, more specifically, a robot knight that he invented probably around
1495. The mechanical knight could sit, stand, and even wave. It was so incredibly designed
that NASA even used da Vinci’s plans when they created their robots. When I say he was
eerily ahead of his time, I wasn’t kidding…
Now, if you google who invented the parachute, it won’t be Leonardo’s name that pops
up. But make no mistake – da Vinci did create a parachute! His version was simply quite
different from the ones we have today. Someone else got the credit for inventing the parachute,
but without Leonardo’s ideas, it might never have come into existence. And not too long
ago, a man named Adrian Nichols created a parachute based off of da Vinci’s design,
and despite all the doubt among the scientific community, it actually worked! In fact, the
parachute Leonardo designed worked better for him than the modern ones! Maybe that taught
scientists a lesson that you should never doubt da Vinci’s genius!
I’m sure that parachute would be helpful if anyone ever tries to build Leonardo’s
15th-century helicopter. One glance at the designs, and you probably wouldn’t know
what you’re looking at – a small pyramid-shaped body under what looks like a water park slide
or ramp. But it is basically a medieval helicopter! Leonardo never actually built this machine,
but if it’s anything like the parachute, chances are it would work!
From the skies to the seas, you can thank da Vinci for inventing the diving suit as
well. Again, his design was a lot different from the modern scuba gear we use today. Da
Vinci’s creation was made out of leather, and it didn’t have an oxygen tank attached
to the back but rather tubes coming from a mask up to a sort of bell that provided air
for the diver. Leonardo’s diving suit wasn’t for recreational purposes either. It was another
military invention of his, and it was supposed to help men sabotage enemy ships by cutting
holes in the bottom and infiltrating vessels without being seen. Now that’s some terrifying
ingenuity…
Leonardo also invented the prototype of something most of us use every day: the car. Although,
once again, it’s not the same as the vehicles we drive today. Da Vinci’s car only moved
forward, backward, and a little to the sides. But it couldn’t really be steered in any
direction you’d like. Perhaps it sounds useless, but you have to remember that this
was the age of the Renaissance! The fact that he imagined a mechanical device that could
take you from A to B is outstanding! Albeit, this early car wasn’t really designed for
transport – he invented it as a kind of theater prop to create cool illusions. This
makes sense as Leonardo, at his core, was an artist.
All of these inventions show us that Leonardo da Vinci was a dreamer. He imagined people
flying like birds, swimming like fish, and, well, conquering enemies in the most ingenious
and sneakiest ways, of course! Da Vinci was an amazing inventor, painter, and an overall
great mind centuries ahead of his time. And without a lot of his designs, our world might
look like a completely different place today!
So, which of these inventions surprised you the most? Let me know your thoughts down in
the comments below! If you learned something new today, then give this video a like and
share it with a friend. But don’t go anywhere just yet! We have
over 2,000 cool videos for you to check out. All you have to do is pick the left or right
video, click on it, and enjoy! Stay on the Bright Side of life!