93: Barbed Wire (AKA Bobbed Wire)
All the inventions so far have been uniquely globe, that is, they are all inventions that were developed in certain regions and
Fencing to keep cattle and other livestock separate in the west was nothing new. In the 19th century, not only in the west, but in other sections of America,. farmers were using hedgerows, stones, and wooden fences. The problem with these methods did not keep cattle and other livestock within the fencing or kept thieves out.
The unique problem of having cattle in the west was to keep cattle separate from cattle drives. Most cattle farmers in the west had the Open Range policy of raising cattle. That is, the farmers did not have fencing and allowed their livestock to graze openly on the land. However, with cattle drives, this caused a problem of mixing one farmers cattle with another farmers cattle. Some cattle farmers did not brand, and it was hard to prove the ownership of some of the cattle and it was stolen either on purpose or accidentally. New fencing was needed to help with two primary problems: 1. keeping cattle in, and keeping cattle drivers out. Barbed wire was the answer to these two problems.
Fencing consisted of flat wire, which was easy to break or pass through if animals charged through it. A farmer in Ohio, Lucien B. Smith, developed a new wire which consisted of two flat wires that had barbs (or bobs) twisted into the wire at intervals. With this wire, the animals would be conditioned not to run into it. Likewise, if cattle thieves were out during the night, their horses or themselves were more than likely to be caught in the wire leaving both rider and horse in pain or worse condition. Smith was given a patented in 1863.
Years later in 1874, an Illinois Farmer, Joseph F. Glidden, made modifications on Smiths design and was given a patent on his barbed wire. The west and most of the United States were revolutionized by barbed wire. Not only did the wire keep animals in and thieves out, it also defined division of land by giving more of a physical boundary, which had been rightfully claimed.
It was not very long when barbed wire was being used to keep humans in or trap humans within its barbs. During World War I, barbed wire was used to build the boundary of the tops of the trenches to keep the enemy out. During World War II, it was used at concentration camps as well as battle. Modern prisons also use a relative of barbed wire, razor wire, which is made the same way but with razors attached. There are many different types of barbed wire for different uses other than human captivity.
Barbed Wire makes my list because of the simple genius about it. Before electrical fences were used to keep livestock in pens, it was just simple wire and barbs that did the job.
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