The DU Lounge
Related: Culture Forums, Support ForumsToday's doodle honors one of my heroes- Johannes Gutenberg, inventor of the moveable-type
printing press. All hail BOOKS!!!!!
captain queeg
(10,242 posts)It certainly had a huge impact. Nowadays Id say WWII was the biggest event in human history. It opened up the era of globalization though not really a specific event. Nowadays Id say birth control probably had the biggest impact on society. It really opened the world for 50% of the population.
Sneederbunk
(14,300 posts)captain queeg
(10,242 posts)We had a vegamatic. It made great French fries. I wonder whatever became of Ronco? All those great products.
Demovictory9
(32,475 posts)cyclonefence
(4,483 posts)is the important phrase. Until Gutenberg, books could be printed using plates that had to be made for each page, then discarded after use. With movable type, *anything* can be type-set, and re-set, indefinitely, making it possible to print multiple copies of *any* material without having someone laboriously create each page completely by hand.
I wish people understood that the printing press itself long predated Gutenberg. His truly revolutionary invention was how to make printing presses work millions of times more efficiently, making possible the creation of millions of times more printed material. Truly a landmark in the history of humans.
And I share your enthusiasm.
hunter
(38,326 posts)Never run out of stuff to read!
All free, all the older classics...
https://gutenberg.org/
Here's Jules Verne, for example:
https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/60
niyad
(113,552 posts)Two of my favourite bumper stickers about books:
So many books. So little time.
Friends help you move. REAL friends help you move books.
hunter
(38,326 posts)Electronic books have probably saved our house from collapsing under the weight of more books.