The Wheel

Hello there. You can call me the Wheel. Before I came along, the world was a very different place. Imagine a world standing still, where everything was heavy and hard to move. If you wanted to take your harvest to the market or bring stones to build a house, you had to carry them on your back or drag them along the ground. People’s arms were tired and their backs ached from all the lifting and pulling. Life moved very slowly, at the pace of a person’s two feet. Everyone wished for an easier way, a way to make heavy things feel light. But when I was first born, I didn’t help anyone travel. My first job was a happy surprise, and it was all about standing in one place and creating something beautiful.

My life began with a spin! It was a very long time ago, around 3500 BCE, in a warm land called Mesopotamia. I wasn't made for a cart or a chariot. Instead, a clever potter placed me flat on a stand. I was a solid, flat disk of stone or baked clay. The potter would place a lump of wet clay right in my center, give me a push, and I would start to whirl! Round and round I went, a dizzy, happy dance. As I spun, the potter’s hands would shape the clay into beautiful bowls, vases, and pots. It was a wonderful job, feeling the clay transform into something useful and lovely. For many years, that was my life. Then one day, someone watched me spinning and had an incredible idea. They thought, “What if we turn that spinning disk on its side? Could it help us roll things along the ground instead of carrying them?” That single thought changed everything, and my next great adventure was about to begin.

At first, being a wheel for moving was a bit clumsy. My early forms were just solid slices of wood from a tree trunk. I was heavy and clunky, and it took a lot of effort for an ox or a person to pull the cart I was attached to. We would wobble and rumble over the bumpy ground. But humans are always thinking of ways to make things better. Around 2000 BCE, another brilliant idea sparked. A craftsperson realized that I didn’t need to be a solid disc. They carefully carved out large sections of my wooden body, leaving behind a strong rim, a central hub, and several sturdy spokes connecting them. Suddenly, I felt so light! I could spin faster and travel farther without getting tired. This new design made me the star of the ancient world. I was put on carts to help farmers carry more food than ever before, which meant they could feed more people and trade with faraway villages. I was also put on swift chariots that carried messengers and soldiers across vast lands, connecting empires and changing history. The world started moving faster, all thanks to me.

My journey didn’t stop there. From those first clunky wooden discs to the speedy spoked wheels of chariots, I have kept changing and spinning through time. If you look around today, you’ll see me everywhere, though I might look a little different. I am the rubber tires on your family’s car, zipping down the highway. I am the thin, sleek wheels on your bicycle as you race your friends in the park. I am even the tiny, shiny gears inside a watch, ticking away the seconds. I’m on airplanes that soar through the sky and on rovers that explore the surface of other planets like Mars. It all started with a simple spin on a potter’s table thousands of years ago. Looking back, I see that I did more than just carry things; I carried human dreams forward. And I’m still rolling along, ready to help you explore, create, and see where the future will take us next.