How Dynamite Created Peace
30 Oct 2024 · 1 min
0:59
Alfred Nobel invented dynamite to make mining safer, but it became a weapon of war. A 1888 obituary called him
Alfred Nobel invented dynamite to make mining safer, but it became a weapon of war. A 1888 obituary called him
The guy who invented dynamite went on to invent the Nobel Peace Prize? Well, here's what happened. Meet Alfred Nobel, Swedish chemist and inventor. And in the mid-1800s, mining construction is very dangerous because people have to use a substance called nitroglycerin to blow up rocks. The stuff is so dangerous, it will just explode at random and it keeps killing people. Nobel wants to save lives, so he figures out that by mixing nitroglycerin with a certain type of clay, he can get a substance that won't blow up accidentally. And boom, dynamite is born. But there is a problem. Dynamite is too good. People just aren't using it to blast through mountains and do mining. They're now using it for war and to kill other people. Nobel hates what he has created, but he can't take back his invention from the world. Then in 1888, Nobel's brother dies, and a French newspaper accidentally publishes an obituary of Alfred instead. The headline: "The merchant of death is dead." And when Alfred reads this obituary, he's horrified. He doesn't want to be remembered as the man who brought more death to the world. So what does he do? He takes his fortune and he creates the Nobel Prizes to honor those people who promote peace and scientific progress.
