Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello listeners, It's time once again for another episode of
the What They Did Before podcast. So easy to take
so many things in this world for granted until they're
not there. What would we do and what did we
do before? Last week we got into a topic too
big for a single episode. We started talking about what

(00:23):
we did before trains, planes, and automobiles. Spoiler alert, there
was a lot of walking. We're going to start off
today's episode with human carried transport. Starting off with litters

(00:44):
and palanquins. These were popular among a royalty and nobles
in Asia, Africa, and South America. They required multiple potters,
sometimes enslaved peoples lifting a seat or a couch with poles.

(01:08):
These were used for ceremonies, leisure or medical transport. I
always enjoy a nice rickshaw ride. Invented in Japan in
the eighteen sixties, they spread across Asia. They were common

(01:28):
in China, India and Southeast Asia, usually pulled by one man,
typically barefoot, often in grueling conditions. How about a wheeled
cart and chariot? Starting off with carts and wagons. Carts

(01:50):
and wagons were developed shortly after the invention of the
wheel in thirty five hundred BC. They were used primarily
in agriculture, migration, and war. Conestoga wagons in North America
were high walled and waterproof for long migrations Westward. Chariots

(02:15):
were speed focused, two wheeled platforms pulled by horses. They
became war machines in Egypt, Mesopotamia, and China, as well
as Europe. Olympic and gladiatorial chariot races were major Roman events. Next,

(02:38):
let's talk about pathways and roads. Roman roads included over
two hundred and fifty thousand miles of paved roads, many
still in use today. They were built with layers of
stone and gravel and were sloped for drainage. Roman roads

(03:02):
enabled a swift military movement and trade. The Silk Road
included four thousand miles of trade networks linking China to
the Mediterranean. Traveled were camels, horses, and of foot caravans,
all moving silk spices, ideas as well as diseases incl

(03:30):
Roads stretched twenty five thousand miles over mountains, valleys and forests.
They included rope bridges, stone staircases, and tamboos, rest stations.
Netflis take looks on the specialized regional methods starting off
with snow shoes and skis. These were required for indigenous

(03:55):
to the circumpolar North. Snowshoes distribute weight prevented sinking. The
oldest skis date back eight thousand years and were found
in Russia and Scandinavia. Next, yamas and alpacas were used

(04:15):
in the Andes to carry small loads, usually fifty to
seventy five pounds. Though they're not suitable for riding, they
were vital to pre Columbian Andean trade. Next, reindeer sleds.
Sami of Scandinavia domesticated reindeer for pulling sleds across tundra.

(04:37):
They're used seasonally for migrating with herds or transporting supplies.
A good old fashioned bamboo raft or coracle will always do.
Their light weight and maneuverable coracles round woven boats are
used in whales, India and Viennam. Bamboo rafts still used

(05:02):
in rural China and Thailand for fishing in a local transport.
How about some mythical and symbolic means of travel, starting
off but in no particular order, with flying chariots and
magic carpets vay manas in ancient Indian texts the Maha

(05:27):
Barata were flying palaces or chariots powered by engines and
described with astonishing mechanical detail. Magic carpets in Parisian and
Arabian folklore symbolized a swift, borderless travel, possibly inspired by
silk trade and illy luxuries. Norse gods like thor rode

(05:53):
a chariot pulled by flying goats. Similar symbols appear across mythologies.
In the sizing divine mobility next, dream walking in spirit travel,
Shawnans across Siberia, the Amazon, and North America practice astral projection,

(06:15):
traveling the spirit world during rituals, sometimes interpreted as the
journeys to other places, people or times. Now we're going
to dive into messenger systems. Starting off with mounted couriers,
The Parisian Royal Road had stations with fresh horses for

(06:39):
elite couriers. This was the precursor to the Pony Express.
Mongol Yam system had relay stations that supported mounted messengers
who could cross an empire in days. Foot messengers in Africa,
such as the Joroba, Zulu and at All used long

(07:02):
distance runners with encoded drumming or memorized oral messages, sometimes
running through thick jungle or savannah when all else failed.
Here are some climbing and repelling techniques, starting off with
mountain and cliff travel, which involved harnesses, rope bridges, and

(07:26):
rudimentary ladders. In pre inc in to Peru, farmers climbed
terraced slopes and vertical stone faces using natural handholds and
yama assisted hauling. The Ifuega of the Philippines built rice
terraces with steep stone steps, traversing massive elevations daily. Here

(07:50):
are some non human message carriers, starting off with homing pigeons,
which were used everywhere from Ancient Rome, medieval bad to
i Ganghis, Khans, military and World War I trench communications.
Trained pigeons were faster and more reliable than messengers in
many situations. By the nineteenth century, some European stockbrokers and

(08:16):
journalists relied on them for financial news delivery. Now for
some gravity driven transport, such as a toboggan invented by
the Cree and Inu peoples of Canada for winter travel.
Toboggans are made of curved wood and are ideal for

(08:36):
pulling goods or people over snow. What about log slides
and shoots. These were used in ancient forestry to send
timber down mountains, later adapted for a transport of goods
in mining towns or alpine passes. In Hawaii, Lava formed

(08:58):
trails created natural highways between villages and fishing sites. Many
are still visible today and were walked barefoot by islanders
for centuries. Next for some tidal and mud flat routes.
In parts of Europe, people used tidal mud flat paths

(09:19):
walking between islands during low tide. Ancient pilgrims and traders
would time crossings carefully to avoid drowning as the tide surged.
In Rushes Zemniks, winter only roads over frozen lakes and
tundra are still in use today in Siberia. During wars

(09:42):
or sieges, frozen rivers like the Neva in Hudson or
crossed by troops, wagons, and sometimes entire armies. Icelanders in
Norwegians historically escaped or slid goods across frozen fiords in winter. Unfortunately,
that's all the time we've got for today's episode of

(10:04):
What They Did Before podcast, and I can't thank you
enough for stopping them. Buy for another episode until next
time