Egyptian Chariot The fi rst high-speed vehicle was the chariot a two-wheeled carriage pulled by a horse It was invented about 4,000 years ago and was used by soldiers in ancient Egypt (cid:44)(cid:81)(cid:87)(cid:85)(cid:82)(cid:71)(cid:88)(cid:70)(cid:87)(cid:76)(cid:82)(cid:81) The car was invented more than a century ago Now there are one billion of them on the world’s roads Long before cars people were building roads and traveling in other vehicles The wheel was invented about 6,000 years ago In place of an engine vehicles were hauled along roads by animals HERON OF ALEXANDRIA In the first century A D an Egyptian named Heron invented a machine called the aeolipile It used jets of steam to spin a ball Heron used his gadget as a toy but he realized it could also be used to power machines That makes the aeolipile the first engine POWER PEOPLE 4
Road Networks The ancient empires of Rome and Persia had many roads They were fl at and straight and they were the fastest way to get around The roads were paved with stones which prevented heavy carts and marching soldiers from sinking into the soft ground Stagecoach Before the car was invented the fastest way to travel was by stagecoach The fi rst stagecoach services began in Britain in the 1640s As its name suggests the coach made each journey in stages The coach stopped off at staging posts to get fresh horses and collect letters or the post 5
