this post was submitted on 04 Oct 2025
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I'd give laser pointers to Neanderthals. Even if they did figure out some useful application for them (maybe hunting?) they'd run out of batteries eventually.

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[โ€“] bluesheep@sh.itjust.works 4 points 2 hours ago (2 children)

I think the problem would be recreation. Can't really make an effective chain out of wood I assume.

[โ€“] CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org 1 points 41 minutes ago* (last edited 36 minutes ago)

You actually can,, although I don't know how rugged the result is. You probably could make a heavy, one speed bike out of wood with like, wheels that are just big disks. I'm not sure if it would beat walking, especially before purpose built roads were common. That being said, they might think going down a hill at speed is fun, which is actually what the first bikes were made for.

For a modern-style bike, the wheels are more of an engineering challenge, as is centering the various parts and ensuring a tight fit. Modern machine parts are made with micrometric precision, which involves surprisingly simple tools, but a whole lot of science and technique.

If it was a few thousand years later after horses were introduced, they could copy the concept of tension wheels for their chariots.