UK digital news outlet Unilad was mocked this week for spotlighting a new and “innovative” clean energy technology that turned out to be a slightly more advanced version of the ancient water wheel.
The platform shared a video on Sunday praising the Nering Industries water wheel. The outlet called the “crazy-looking” technology a “clean, innovative way to generate electricity from a river.”
Thousands of social media users, however, were quick to point out that the water wheel – which was invented by the ancient Greeks – has existed for thousands of years.
Water wheels have been used since the 3rd century BC by the Greeks.Innovative lmao. https://t.co/iL5QKBJdho
— Mack Omee-chan????????️? (@CountDankulaTV) August 8, 2021
oh ffs this technology is literally thousands of years old, congrats tech bros
— Cherie Priest (@cmpriest) August 9, 2021
“I think you’ve… reinvented the wheel,” commented one man, while another user mocked, “That’s fantastic! Now I won’t have to grind all this grain by hand!”
Others jokingly questioned whether windmills or water pipes would be reinvented next, with comedian Abi Roberts tweeting, “Next week: how to rub sticks together to make fire.”
Technology is amazing. What will they think of next. A hollow cylindrical tube that water is able to flow through easily into a persons home?
— Danny (@Danny_Medicine) August 8, 2021
The device demonstrated in the video is a Poncelet wheel and has existed since the 1800s, when it was invented by French engineer Jean-Victor Poncelet as an improvement on the original.
It isn’t the first time a company has been mocked for seemingly reinventing an old technology. In March 2017, ride-hailing service Lyft announced it would be launching a shuttle service for commuters that would run at fixed hours and at a fixed price. Social media users soon mocked the company for having “invented a bus.”
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