Can you imagine a life without automobiles? It can be difficult to fathom that just 140 years ago‚ there were none of them on the road.  But who invented the car? The name should be quite familiar: Karl Benz.  It is important to note that while Benz is credited for its invention‚ many inventors and innovators before him helped create the foundation of an automobile.   Karl Benz (1844–1929) with his family. 1900 Karl Benz Karl (or Carl) Friedrich Benz was a German mechanical engineer who designed the first practical automobile with an internal combustion engine. He was granted a patent in 1886 and called it the Benz Patent-Motorwagen.  The vehicle didn’t look like the cars we have today—it was a two-seater vehicle with three wheels. However‚ it became the basis for the creation of all modern cars.  Early Life Karl Benz was born in Germany on November 25‚ 1844. His mother‚ Josephine Valiant‚ raised him on her own. His father‚ Johann George Benz‚ was a locomotive driver who died of pneumonia when Karl was two years old.  Benz grew up poor but demonstrated a high level of intellect at an early age. He attended a science-oriented elementary school and entered the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. There‚ he was mentored by Ferdinand Redtenbacher‚ who became the founder of scientific mechanical engineering.  The future inventor of the car initially had his eyes set on locksmithing. However‚ he decided to pursue studies that reminded him of his dad.  After graduating‚ Benz pursued various jobs that took him to different parts of Germany and eventually Vienna. He went back to Manheim to open his own business in 1871.  Karl Benz in 1869 at 25 years old Founding of Benz &; Cie Benz’s first business pursuit failed. But in 1883‚ he opened a company called Benz &; Company Rheinische Gasmotoren-Fabrik‚ or Benz &; Cie‚ which produced industrial machinery. He found success in this endeavor‚ which gave him more resources to pursue his dream of designing a horseless carriage.  With his strong background in mechanical engineering‚ Benz created the first automobile using the principles of the bicycle‚ which he was always fond of. This brand-new machine had wired wheels instead of the wooden ones found in carriages.  The Benz Patent-Motorwagen was created in 1885 and received a patent on January 29‚ 1886‚ as an “automobile fueled by gas.”  The first model ran at a top speed of 16 kilometers per hour. To put this in perspective‚ the global average speed of modern cars is 30 kilometers per hour. A replica of Karl Benz’s Patent Motorwagen Bertha Benz Nee Ringer As many would say‚ behind every successful man is a woman. This is very true in the case of Benz.  Remember when we mentioned that Benz’s first business failed? It was Bertha Ringer who bailed him out. She was born into a wealthy family and had a large dowry‚ which she used to purchase Benz’s company share.  The couple got married on July 20‚ 1872‚ and had five children. Benz and Ringer tried to fund their first venture together until they couldn’t anymore. Ringer continued to rally behind Benz when Benz &; Cie launched.  The Benz Patent-Motorwagen may have received a patent but did not do well commercially. Ringer helped change this. Without her husband’s knowledge‚ Ringer took their two sons and drove the vehicle 100 kilometers on mostly unpaved roads. It was the world’s first long-distance journey in an automobile‚ done in 1888. This demonstrated to the public that the vehicle was safe and convenient for families to travel in.  The Emergence of the Mercedes-Benz Group In 1888‚ the Benz automobile was made available commercially. The car only had two gears. Ringer was Benz’s field tester and suggested that a third gear be added to make it easier to drive uphill.  By 1899‚ Benz &; Cie was the largest automobile company in the world‚ producing around 572 units every year. In 1926‚ Benz &; Cie merged with Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft‚ originally a German engineering company. They became Mercedes-Benz. It has been more than 136 years since Benz sold his first car‚ and there are now 758 global car and automobile manufacturing businesses worldwide. The Mercedes-Benz Group is one of the biggest car companies‚ with a revenue of $156.23 billion.  Here are the current rankings in terms of revenue: Volkswagen Toyota Stellantis Mercedes-Benz Ford The Journey Toward the Invention of the Car Benz may have been credited as the inventor of the car‚ but he did not pluck the concept out of thin air. Many significant innovations in the previous decades and centuries helped Benz develop such a sophisticated machine.  In the 1500s‚ Leonardo da Vinci put the idea of a self-propelled car onto paper. The design is spring-driven‚ which means it has to be wound up to run.   Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot‚ a French military engineer‚ designed the first true automobile in 1769: a self-propelled vehicle with a steam engine. The primary purpose of the vehicle was to move heavy artillery pieces. Its top speed was 3.2 kilometers per hour‚ and it had to rebuild steam every 20 minutes.  In 1826‚ English engineer Samuel Brown developed one of the earliest concepts of an internal combustion engine. He was granted patents for machinery improvements and is sometimes referred to as the father of the gas engine. However‚ his invention didn’t gain traction at the time.  Belgian inventor Etienne Lenoir successfully launched the first commercially sold internal combustion engine. It was used in many applications‚ such as pumping and printing. This innovation is critical to the invention of the car.  There were many more inventions and innovations along the way‚ but Benz has always been credited for creating the first proper automobile.  “We generally think of the 1886 Benz Patent-Motorwagen as the first proper car‚” author Tom Standage wrote in A Brief History of Motion: From the Wheel‚ to the Car‚ to What Comes Next. “Carl Benz built an entirely new vehicle around an internal combustion engine and used bicycle parts to do it. It was really a motorized bicycle‚ so this is what makes the car interesting.” What If Karl Benz Didn’t Invent the Car? Have you imagined a life without cars? If Karl Benz didn’t do it during his lifetime‚ somebody else would have invented the automobile‚ whether using the same mechanism or not. After all‚ inventions happen because creative and talented people are always looking for ways to solve current problems.  Today‚ tens of millions of cars are produced worldwide each year. China‚ Japan‚ and Germany are the leading manufacturers. The post Who is Credited as the Inventor of the Car? first appeared on History Defined.

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Susan Shaw‚ a women’s and gender studies professor at Oregon State‚ penned a recent op-ed in Forbes titled “Transgender Swimmer Lia Thomas’ Body is Not the Problem.” But that headline relies on a fallacy increasingly recognized by the public as such: Lia Thomas’ body is exactly the problem. Not satisfied with stealing the NCAA Division I‚ 500-meter freestyle championship from a woman in 2022‚ Thomas is now suing World Aquatics in the international Court of Arbitration for Sport for its refusal to let Thomas‚ who was born male but “identifies” as transgender‚ compete in the women’s category in elite swimming events‚ such as the USA Olympic team swimming trials. Their onerous regulation? World Aquatics permits transgender women to compete in women’s events only if they transitioned before age 12 or before one of the early stages of puberty. Shaw believes that the deep divisions over transgender athletic participation are based not on research evidence on trans athletic advantages‚ but rather on “our deeply-held and rather largely unexamined assumptions about biology and gender.” But those purported assumptions are backed by hard scientific research referenced in the joint statement of the International Federation of Sports Medicine and the European Federation of Sports Medicine Associations‚ which indicated that the International Olympic Committee—with its trans-inclusive sport regulations—had failed to take proper account of “scientific‚ biological or medical aspects.” In particular‚ it ignored that “high testosterone concentrations‚ either endogenous or exogenous‚ confer a baseline advantage for athletes in certain sports … and must be mitigated.” World Aquatics later convened its own group of scientists with the aim of developing sport-specific transgender athletic regulations. In findings to file under “told you so‚” the scientists reported that “biological sex is a key determinant of athletic performance‚” with males outperforming females in sports (including aquatic sports) that are primarily determined by neuromuscular‚ cardiovascular and respiratory function‚ and anthropometrics including body and limb size. The Independent Women’s Forum compiled some of the more compelling research on physiological distinctions between men and women in its report “Competition‚” available at the group’s website. So‚ yes‚ Lia Thomas—at 6-foot-1‚ with broader shoulders‚ higher muscle mass‚ greater bone density and longer legs—has a distinct athletic benefit over even the most highly trained female aquatic competitors in the world. Like other feminists‚ Ms. Shaw stresses the “illusion of difference” between the sexes‚ claiming that if “women cut their hair the same way as men‚ wore ‘men’s’ clothes‚ and didn’t shave their legs and underarms‚ wear makeup‚ or pluck their eyebrows‚ they wouldn’t look nearly as different from men as they do.” But there is a yawning chasm of difference between looking the same and being the same. And for decades‚ feminists fought the tired trope that women are to be distinguished (from men and each other) primarily by how they look. This a strangely reductionist argument for a purported feminist to rely so much on superficial expressions of womanhood. Womanhood is not makeup‚ hairstyles‚ dresses or high heels. And even critically thinking gender zealots ought to know better. A favorite tactic of the anti-biology crowd is to force a convolution of the sexes and paint immutable differences as artificial‚ ensuring that women’s equality can be decimated sport by sport‚ bathroom by bathroom‚ program by program. Shaw strains to argue that we “can’t even define biological sex all that well.” Of course we can. Sex is defined by sexual reproduction and sex cells called gametes. Biologists recognize it. Other professors recognize it. Teenagers recognize it. Federal judges recognize it (though perhaps not all Supreme Court justices do). Even young children‚ observant as they are‚ recognize that boys and girls are different. Why else would there be a need to proselytize these same children into a world where gender unicorns‚ drag queens and subjective self-identification take the place of what their eyes know to be true? The motivating force behind significant civil rights gains for women was the understanding that while men and women are different‚ opportunities for each must be equal. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote as much in 1996 in her majority opinion in U.S. v. Virginia: “Physical differences between men and women‚ however‚ are enduring: ‘[T]he two sexes are not fungible; a community made up exclusively of one [sex] is different from a community composed of both.’” In the battle for women’s athletic equality‚ male bodies will always be the problem. Originally published at WashingtonTimes.com Have an opinion about this article? To sound off‚ please email letters@DailySignal.com‚ and we’ll consider publishing your edited remarks in our regular “We Hear You” feature. Remember to include the URL or headline of the article plus your name and town and/or state. The post Denial of Lia Thomas’ Biological Advantages Doesn’t Make Them Any Less Real appeared first on The Daily Signal.