Ladders are useful for many different reasons, namely to help us reach places we otherwise wouldn’t be able to. We surely take them for granted, we use them when changing light bulbs, to help with cleaning, maintenance and decorating. But when were they first invented?
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Is it thought that the first ever ladder was invented over ten thousand years ago? It was mentioned in the bible and paintings have been found in caves in various countries around the world.
This shows us that ladders have been a useful and necessary tool for as long as humans have been alive and we have been utilising them for thousands and thousands of years.
Those ladders were likely very different to the ones we used today and were most likely made from sticks and ropes attached together to create something that could be used to scale walls or other high-up objects that couldn’t be climbed.
The foldable ladders we are used to in the modern world didn’t come around until the 1800s when a man called John H Balsley patented the design for a folding wood step ladder.
Most homes now will have a small step ladder for everyday use and we have Balsley to thank for developing the convenient and easily stored foldable step ladder for the accessibility of these tools.
It is strange to think of the many activities and tasks we would be unable to do without ladders, from changing light bulbs with simple step ladders at home to accessing cranes with towering structures that reach into the sky.
Ladders have developed over time, but this equipment’s general idea and structure have stayed much the same, showing us that there is no need to fix a design that isn’t broken and ladders work perfectly well just the way they are.