It happens that once invented unique technologies are subsequently lost irretrievably. Modern people can at best only roughly imagine a forgotten mode of production.
Greek antidepressant
Needless to say - in Greece there was a place to turn around for those who dreamed of spending their lives in idleness and highly scientific philosophical disputes. But freedom of morals did not save one from psychological problems.
Nepintas - that was the salvation for the subtle souls of the ancient Hellenes. Otherwise, the remedy was called "the herb of oblivion." But what was it? Unknown. Perhaps that was the name of the opium. Or maybe in Greece, after Egypt, the prototype of absinthe was popular - a strong tincture of wormwood. It is impossible to know for sure now.
Telharmonium
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An amazing musical instrument made it possible to create electronic music already at the end of the 19th century! It was quite difficult to operate and reproduced the sounds of a variety of musical instruments.
It was also possible to broadcast music over telephone wires, which was then new. However, it quickly became clear: telephony does not cope with high-quality music transmission, and the device consumes an incredible amount of electricity. Very soon the telharmonium was completely forgotten.
Stradivari violin
Unique musical instruments in the 17th century were made by members of one family - a father and his two sons. They achieved incredible clarity of violins sound.
How the Stradivarius created the instruments remains a mystery that disappeared with the death of the masters. And although several hundred violins have survived to this day, no one managed to repeat the success of Stradivari. It only remains to convince oneself: very few true connoisseurs are able to understand with the help of which violin magic sounds are extracted.
Mechanism from Antikythera Island
On a ship that sank before our era, archaeologists have found an amazing mechanism - the prototype of a modern computer.
A set of bronze gears in a wooden case made it possible to calculate the motion of the planets of the solar system, the moon and the sun, known at that time.
The device was made by ancient craftsmen clearly not in a single copy, and they were well versed in mechanics. For many centuries - up to the XIV century - devices like the Antikythera were not created.
Alexandria library
Although the book depository is a cultural hotbed, not a technology, it is still worth mentioning this irreplaceable loss.
There, according to some reports, up to a million storage units were collected! As in the modern world, the library perished due to a banal lack of funds for its work. The funds were cut regularly, the library gradually fell into decay. Well, after a fire in the 3rd century A. D. she could no longer recover.
Damascus steel
There were legends about her in ancient times. Craftsmen achieved unprecedented strength and sharpness of weapons. Allegedly, such blades are able to cut with one blow and ammunition of warriors, and even a stone!
But there was no documentary evidence for all these stories and there is no. Moreover, the capital of modern Syria has never been among the centers of world metallurgy. The defenders of Damascus steel put forward a version: once in those places there was a deposit of ore with unique properties, which made it possible to make a formidable weapon. The ore ran out - and there was nothing to forge blades from. But this argument is not supported by anything.
Roman cement
The ancient Romans, no doubt, knew a lot about construction. The best proof of this is the magnificent buildings that have survived from that distant era.
And all because the builders created the perfect concrete, consisting of crushed stone, burnt lime and water. To give additional strength to the structures, milk and blood were sometimes added. But the dark ages came - and everything related to the Roman era was banned. The builders took the secret of the train with them to the grave.
Greek fire
In ancient times, different peoples widely used formidable weapons, effective and merciless.
The combustible mixture, poured into the vessels, was thrown at the enemy - and it easily put the advancing troops to flight. Later, engineers came up with a means of delivering incendiary mixtures over long distances, which was convenient for sea battles. But over time, the secret of the composition was lost. Its modern counterpart is napalm.
Wireless transmission of electricity
The ingenious Nikola Tesla, at the end of the 19th century, lit a light bulb without wires.
However, research into this promising area was not continued at that time. Lack of funding and direct opposition from energy tycoons put an end to development. Only more than a century later, engineers returned to the idea of transferring energy without conductive elements.
Starlight
It was the perfect material. He could withstand gigantic temperatures, while having low thermal conductivity. The creator of the novelty was attacked by representatives of industrial giants, but he kept pulling the agreements until he died. And the secret of the starlight has remained unsolved. There are no material samples either.
It remains to be regretted that the amazing fruits of the work of scientists and engineers of past eras are gone from us forever.