# The Industrial Revolution



## belthagor (Jul 14, 2013)

The industrial revolution was a period of growth and inventions as we all know. However it was also a period of lack of growth in many currently not studied ways. There are many inventions which we lost from ever being made due to things like child labor and long hours. The labor laws were non-existant for a long time, and so middle class people and below had a shared problem. Think of it this way, the average factory worker wakes up, goes to work, ends work at late hours, has meals in between obviously, and goes back home after which he directly goes to sleep, repeat. *How many inventions could this have stunted?* There was lack of comfort during the industrial revolution as well as long working hours. You are probably thinking; "you could say that about anything" however this period of time is unique in history with the strength of its problems as well as its achievements.

Discuss.


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## escorial (Jul 14, 2013)

The Industrial Revolution is a global phenomennon that will never be eradicated.


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## popsprocket (Jul 14, 2013)

belthagor said:


> *How many inventions could this have stunted?*



How long is a piece of string?

It's a "coulda, shoulda, woulda" kind of situation. Speculating on the amount of lost potential doesn't gain us anything. Particularly since the Industrial Revolution already produced enough innovation as it was.

I find it kind of funny to say that the IR was a great period of invention and innovation, but then say that it also wasn't a great period of growth because of something that MIGHT have been.


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## Fred (Jul 17, 2013)

There was wonderful BBC TV documentary a few years ago which examined some of the less often considered elements that contributed to Britain's lead in the industrial revolution. As well as the usual suspects (abundant iron and coal, naval dominance, political liberalism etc.) was tea drinking: the habit of boiling water to brew, as well as the flavonoids in tea, helped reduce the risks of disease to a working class concentrated in urban poverty, which allowed huge new cities to flourish earlier and more frequently than in France, for example. It really was the stuff the empire was built on, it seems.


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