Blog #4

 The Printing Press

    The Printing press is arguable one of the most important and impactful inventions ever invented. Because of the printing press communication and the away information is passed has changes for the better. Not only did this invention make it easier to print things, as a result people had a lot more access to books because they were so much more affordable. As a result of this, people learned how to read and became a lot more educated. Before this point, books were very expensive and could only be afforded by the rich. As a result, no one other than the rich could read or write. This created a very big gap between the rich and the poor as they literally could no communicate with one anther. Also only people that were in power and had a say in the government were the people that had money because by default these were the only people that could read. 

    According to History.com the Printing Press is "a device that allows for mass production of uniform printed matter mainly in the form of books, pamphlets, and newspapers". This press was actually created in China and then eventually remolded by Johannas Guternburg in Europe in 1450. The circumstances of this invention were pretty good. It was during the time of the Renaissance where there was a lot of growth and changed how life was lived from that point on. Some words that are pretty similar to the Renaissance are the awaking, renewal and, reconstruction.  As stated by Merriam-Webster the Renaissance was one of the most important times for growth in history and is defined as"the period of European History between the 14th and 17th centuries when there was a new interest in science and in ancient art and literature especially in Italy". This time period can be seen as a rebirth of mankind and of life as the way that we once knew it. Really after this period of time people began think more critically.

    The very first printing press was actually made in China by Wang Chen. This printing press did not save that much time because everything that was being printed was carved out of wood. I think it is a really good idea but in the event you make a mistake carving, the entire print would be reined. Also I can imaging that the wood would not last very long and would disintegrate as it is being used making the print blurry and hard to read. About 150 years later, Gutenburg created the printing press that we know today out of metal with interchangeable metal blocks. This is a great idea because he would carve out specific letters and words and those could be interchanged in any order to say anything that they wanted t to say. This was defiantly a huge time saver because you did not have to carve out something new every time you wanted to write a new word. Also I imaging that the carvings lasted a lot longer as they were made out of medal as opposed to wood. 

    One of the most significant things made on the printing press was 200 copies of what is knows as the Gutenburg Bible. Historyguide.org says that the after this the invention spread rapidly to 2500 different European cities. Overall this invention was a very positive thing. However one negative effect the printing press had is that at one point they used very toxic ink that was harmful to breath in. With this aside, the printing press changed life as we know it for the better in many ways.