The home gym, antiseptic, bicycles and bunsen burners all emerged in the 19th century. European engineers, scientists, physicians and inventors were at the top of their game in the 1800's with new standards of hygiene, mental health and physical fitness.
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The Victorian era saw cycles of industrial progress and reactions such as environmentalism, return to nature and natural health. Here are a few breakthrough inventions and innovations we love today.
1. The World’s First Home Gym
A health and fitness craze swept Europe at the end of the 19th century. Designed by Swedish physician and orthopedist Dr. Gustav Zander, the home gym came to the public eye in an array of shapes and sizes, along with a handbook of exercises.
Dr. Zander was one of the originators of mechanotherapy, a therapeutic method of exercise, defined in 1890 as “the employment of mechanical means for the cure of disease”. He designed a series of mechanical contraptions designed to shape up the Victorian body, for men, women and kids.
It wasn't long before competitors jumped on the home exercise craze. Imitations and variations appeared throughout Europe. Zander remained in the public eye because the handbook of exercises he published was adopted by the public as a widespread guide for fitness.
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2. Antiseptic
We take it for granted these days, but the use of antiseptic in hospitals wasn't widespread until Joseph Lister, a British surgeon, published his ground-breaking paper Antiseptic Principle of the Practice of Surgery in 1867. Until then, hospitals were houses of horror, where people went only to die.
Post-surgical treatment included neither cleanliness nor draining and treatment of the wound. Surgeons wore unwashed aprons caked with blood and tissue.
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A few voices pre-empted the work of Joseph Lister, including that of Florence Nightingale and Hippocrates. There are several classes of antiseptics including iodine, alcohols, phenols (introduced by Lister) and peroxides. With the introduction of antiseptic in hospitals, the post-surgery recovery rate soared.
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3. The Bunsen Burner
No science laboratory is complete without a Bunsen burner. Named after German inventor and chemist Robert Bunsen, it's a gas burner with a single open gas flame. Uses include heating, sterilization, and combustion.
In 1852, the University of Heidelberg hired Bunsen with the promise of a new laboratory building. Heidelberg was starting to install coal-gas street lights. The University laid gas lines to the new laboratory.
Bunsen wanted to improve the lab burner lamps and adapt them to coal-gas fuel. In 1854, collaboration with the University mechanic produced the first burners and the next year, fifty were created for use by Bunsen's students. The flame burned brightly and users could adjust the temperature; and so the Bunsen burner was born.
Different flame types of Bunsen burner depending on air flow through the valve.
air valve closed
air valve nearly fully closed
air valve semi-opened
air valve maximally opened
4. The World's First Bicycle
Nowadays we just hop on the bike and go. The bicycle is one of the most beloved forms of self-transportation. The nineteenth century hosted a transportation and bicycle revolution. Bicycles went from wobbly novelties to a means of personal empowerment. Enjoy the highlights of bicycle history.
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The Draisienne (dandy horse) or Laufmaschine (running machine), was introduced by German inventor Baron Karl von Drais. Considered the first bicycle although it had no pedals, it made a name for von Drais as father of the bicycle.
It was unveiled in Mannheim, Germany in 1817 and Paris, France in 1818. The rider sat astride a wooden frame supported by two wheels, and pushed the vehicle with feet while steering the front wheel.
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Credit for the treadle bicycle, the first mechanically propelled, two-wheeled vehicle may go to Kirkpatrick MacMillan, a Scottish blacksmith, in 1839, but it's often challenged. He's more notorious for the first recorded instance of a cycling traffic offense, when he knocked over a little girl with his bike, and was fined five shillings.
After treadle bikes, in the latter half of the nineteenth century came eye-catching high-wheelers or big wheel bikes. In Britain the high wheeler was called the Penny Farthing due to size of the wheels in perspective. Able to attain speeds up to 22 miles (35 km) the bike was also comfortable and gave a smooth ride.
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Replacing the high wheeler in the 1880's came the "safety bicycle" first successfully launched in 1885. It had a steerable front wheel, equally sized wheels and a chain drive to the rear wheel. Widely imitated, the safety bicycle completely replaced the high-wheeler in North America and Western Europe by 1890, and became the prototype for today's modern bikes.
The bicycle gave people more freedom of movement than ever before. Lines of fashion came out for women, including bloomer-style or split skirts, and safety devices like back wheel webbing attachment to prevent the voluminous clothing of the day from getting caught. Women no longer had to depend on horse, driver or husband for transportation.
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Bicycles were fast, convenient and easy to ride. On a straight road in the Victorian era a bicycle could travel approximately 15 mph (24 km/h), compared to the average trotting speed of a horse at 8 mph (12.8 km/h) and a modern motor vehicle at 12 mph (19 km/h).
Bicycles were revolutionary in that they crossed barriers of class and gender. Poor or rich, male or female, young or older people all had access to bicycles, and dramatic changes happened as people from all walks of life found freedom, independence and adventure within their reach.