How the Invention of Rope Gave Us Modern Civilization

2026-05-30 · 37 min · 11 entities

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Entities found in this episode

concepts 9

mentioned Business concept

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evidence rules-v4
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mentioned Investing concept

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evidence rules-v4
Feed category: Investing
mentioned News Commentary concept

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evidence rules-v4
Feed category: News Commentary
mentioned Business News concept

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evidence rules-v4
Feed category: Business News
discusses Business concept

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evidence rules-v4
Feed category: Business
discusses News concept

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evidence rules-v4
Feed category: News
discusses Investing concept

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evidence rules-v4
Feed category: Investing
discusses News Commentary concept

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evidence rules-v4
Feed category: News Commentary
discusses Business News concept

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evidence rules-v4
Feed category: Business News

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mentioned Bloomberg company

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hosted by Bloomberg company

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Episode description as stored

Rope is easy to take for granted. It seems obvious and straightforward. But of course, it had to be invented. Early humans discovered that by twisting fibers around each other, the resulting structure would be something durable and strong. Without rope, all kinds of things aren't possible, from lifting objects into the air to whaling or modern bridges. So how was it developed and what were the big breakthroughs in its history? On this episode, we speak with Tim Queeney, the author of the recent book Rope: How a Bundle of Twisted Fibers Became the Backbone of Civilization . He walks us through the history of the technology, and its ongoing evolution, including how it might one day allow to build an elevator into outer space. Read more: Japan Cablemaker Rout Exposes Cracks in AI Infrastructure Rally Why Huawei’s New Chipmaking Plan Has Investors Buzzing Only Bloomberg.com subscribers can get the Odd Lots newsletter in their inbox each week, plus unlimited access to the site and app. Subscribe at bloomberg.com/subscriptions/oddlots Subscribe to the Odd Lots Newsletter Join the conversation: discord.gg/oddlots See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.