When Were Cars Invented?

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Ever wondered who invented the very first car and how automobiles came to be? Join us as we travel back in time to meet the early inventors, discover what the first cars were like, and see how they changed the world forever.

From Carl Benz’s three-wheeled motor wagon to Henry Ford’s game-changing Model T, we’ll explore the bumpy, noisy beginnings of automobiles, why we still measure power in horsepower, and even how fast the first speeding ticket was for. 

Buckle up—it’s going to be a fun ride through history!

What's Your Wonder? Is there something you’ve been wondering about that you think would make a great episode of I Wonder? We’d love to hear from you! Submit your question through our website, and you might just hear it featured on an upcoming episode! https://www.iwonderpodcast.com/my-wonder

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Episode Transcript

Podcast (00:03):
Hey there, curious minds.
Welcome to another episode of IWonder, the show where we
explore the questions you'vebeen wondering about.
Today's question comes from Max, who lives in Cosa Mesa,
California.
Max asked how and when wereautomobiles invented?

(00:23):
What a great question, Max.
Cars are a huge part of ourlives today, but there was a
time when getting aroundinvolved well, a lot of walking
or a bumpy ride on a horse-drawncarriage.
Let's hop into our time machineand take a road trip through
history to uncover how and whenautomobiles came to be.

(00:55):
Before before we had automobiles, most people relied on walking,
riding horses or being pulledin carriages.
So when inventors startedcreating self-propelled vehicles
in the 1800s, their designswere inspired by what they

(01:16):
already -- knew horse-drawncarriages.
That's why early cars lookedlike carriages without the horse
, complete with large wheels anda boxy frame.
These designs were practicalfor the time, but they also
showed how hard it was toimagine a world without horses.

(01:38):
The first true automobile iscredited to Carl Benz, who built
his Benz patent motor wagon in1886.
Powered by a small gas engine,this three-wheeled vehicle had a

(01:58):
top speed of about about 10miles per hour.
It wasn't built for speed orcomfort, but it was
groundbreaking because it couldmove without a horse or a track,
paving the way for moderntransportation.
As useful as horses were, theycame with challenges.

(02:25):
Horses needed food, rest and alot of care, not to mention the
cleanup involved.
Inventors wanted a faster, moreefficient way to travel,
especially for longer distances.
While early automobiles weren'tperfect they were noisy,
expensive, smelt like gas theydid represent items for the

(02:54):
wealthy, but that all changedthanks to Henry Ford in the
early 1900s 1900s.
Ford's revolutionary Model T,introduced in 1908, became the
first car many people couldafford.
How did he do it?
By inventing the assembly line,a method of production where

(03:16):
workers specialized in specifictasks, speeding up the brakes,
well and and lowering costs.
Ford's innovation made carsmore accessible, and suddenly
owning a car wasn't just for thesuper a, it was for everyone.
Woo-hoo.

(03:40):
If you think modern cars havequirks, wait until you hear
about the very first ones.
Wait until you hear about thevery first ones.
Early cars were loud, bumpy andabout as comfortable as a
wooden bench, because that'soften - horses their seats were.
Forget heated seats or cupholders.
Driving one of these vehiclesfelt more like riding a shaky

(04:15):
roller coaster.
Safety wasn't exactly a toppriority either.
Seatbelts didn't exist yet,windshields were optional, and
brakes Well let's just say,stopping was more of a
suggestion than a guarantee.
To top it off, they broke downA lot.
Imagine driving along andhaving to hop out every few

(04:39):
miles to restart the engine ortighten a loose part.
Still, people were fascinatedby the freedom cars offered.
So, even with all their flaws,they represented a new way to
think about travel.
Why is it called horsepower?
Here's a fun fact.
The term horsepower came froman engineer named James Watt in

(05:04):
the late 1700s, watt was workingon steam engines and wanted a
way to compare their power tosomething people already
understood horses.
He calculated that onehorsepower was the amount of
energy needed to lift 550 poundson one foot in one second.

(05:27):
In simpler terms, onehorsepower equals to the
strength of one hard-workinghorse.
Even though cars replacedhorses, the term stuck.
So when someone brags abouttheir car having 400 horsepower,
you could imagine a herd of 400horses working together.

(05:49):
It's a funny mental picture,but it also shows how much power
modern cars really have.
How did cars change the world?
Once cars.
The affordable and reliable,they transformed life as people

(06:11):
knew it.
Suddenly, you didn't have tolive near your job or rely on a
train schedule.
You could go wherever there wasa road.
Towns and cities expanded, gasstations popped up everywhere
and road trips became a thing.
But cars also broughtchallenges like traffic jams,

(06:34):
pollution and the need forbetter safety measures.
Over time these problemsinspired new innovations, from
better engines to electric cars,which are helping to reduce
pollution today.
Fun facts about automobiles.
Here's a fun one the firstspeeding ticket was issued in

(06:55):
1902.
And guess how fast the driverwas going?
A wild 45 miles per hour.
Back then that was considereddangerously fast, practically
light speed.
Another fun .
So the earliest gas stationswere called filling stations and

(07:16):
were just general stores with apump outside.
There were no conveniencestores, car washes or snack
aisles yet.
And did you know that early carswere often started with
remember, a crank?
You had to manually turn ahandle at the front of the to
start the engine, and if thehandle snapped back it could

(07:42):
Wonder you in the face.
Ouch so Max.
How.
and when were automobilesinvented?
The first car was built in 1886by Carl Benz, but the idea of a
horseless carriage had beenaround for a while.
Early cars were slow and noisyand looked like something a

(08:03):
horse should be pulling.
Thanks to innovators like HenryFord, cars became affordable
and changed the way people livedforever.
And while we might not rely onhorses anymore, we still measure
power in horsepower, keeping alittle bit of history alive
every time you hit the gas pedal.

(08:23):
Thanks again to Max for such ahorsepower-packed question.
And remember if you have aquestion you're curious about,

(08:43):
submit it on our website,iwonderpodcast.
com, and we might just featureit in our next episode of I
wonder.
Until next time, stay curiousand keep wondering.