Tool

A tool is an object that helps people change or shape their surroundings and complete different tasks. Usually, a tool is a solid item you can hold in your hand, made for one main purpose, unlike machines or computers which can do many things.

Humans have used tools for a very long time. The earliest tools were made from stone, bone, and wood. People used these tools to prepare food, go hunting, make weapons, and create clothing and other useful items like pottery. They also built housing, businesses, infrastructure, and transportation with tools.

As humans learned to work with metal, they could make even more kinds of tools. Using energy from animal power, wind, or steam helped create more advanced tools. The Industrial Revolution was a big change that made tools much more important. Later, automation let tools work with little help from people, making everything even more productive. Today, we also call ideas and methods that help us think clearly “tools” or “toolkits.”

Many animals have demonstrated tool use too, showing that using tools is not just a human thing. Tools have been a key part of how humans and animals live and solve problems for hundreds of thousands of years.

Definition

A tool is something people use to change or help with tasks. One way to think about it is using something outside of yourself to make things easier, like moving or shaping something else. Scientists have different ways to describe what a tool is, but they all agree it helps us do things better.

History

Main article: History of technology

Anthropologists think using tools was very important for humans. Both humans and some animals like chimpanzees use tools. The first tools were probably made from things like sticks or stones.

Stone tools were first used about 2.5 million years ago. Some scientists think even older tools were used 3.4 million years ago. Early tools helped with eating, hunting, and making things like clothing and houses.

Tools helped humans do things their bodies couldn’t, like killing animals for food using spears or bows. Over time, humans made many kinds of tools for different jobs.

The list shows when many important tools were first used:

• Olduvai stone technology 2.5 million years ago
• Huts 2 million years ago
• Acheulean stone technology 1.6 million years ago
• Fire creation and use possibly 1.5 million years ago
• Boats 900,000 years ago
• Cooking 500,000 years ago
• Javelins 400,000 years ago
• Glue 200,000 years ago
• Clothing possibly 170,000 years ago
• Stone tools possibly 100,000 years ago
• Harpoons 90,000 years ago
• Bow and arrows 70,000–60,000 years ago
• Sewing needles 60,000 – 50,000 BC
• Flutes 43,000 years ago
• Fishing nets 43,000 years ago
• Ropes 40,000 years ago
• Ceramics c. 25,000 BC
• Fishing hooks c. 23,000 years ago
• Domestication of animals c. 15,000 BC
• Sling (weapon) c. 9th millennium BC
• Microliths c. 9th millennium BC
• Brick used for construction in the Middle East c. 6000 BC
• Agriculture and Plough c. 4000 BC
• Wheel c. 4000 BC
• Gnomon c. 4000 BC
• Writing systems c. 3500 BC
• Copper c. 3200 BC
• Bronze c. 2500 BC
• Salt c. 2500 BC
• Chariot c. 2000 BC
• Iron c. 1500 BC
• Sundial c. 800 BC
• Glass c. 500 BC
• Catapult c. 400 BC
• Cast iron c. 400 BC
• Horseshoe c. 300 BC
• Stirrup first few centuries AD

Simple machines like the wheel, lever, and pulley were invented in places like Mesopotamia. These helped make work easier.

During the Industrial Revolution, new machines were made to produce tools faster. These machines could make precise metal parts, which helped create better and more machines.

Types

See also: List of tools and equipment

Tools can be grouped by what they do. Some tools, like knives, sickles, and axes, are used for cutting. These tools have sharp edges that press against materials to cut them. Other tools, like hammers and screwdrivers, help move things. Hammers push nails into wood, while screwdrivers turn screws.

Some tools change how things look or feel, like lighters that start fires. Tools such as rulers and glasses help us measure and see better. There are also tools for building, like molds and trowels, and tools for joining things together, like glue guns. Even computers and phones are tools that help us share and find information.

Some tools combine more than one job, like an alarm-clock, which tells time and can make a loud sound to remind you of something. There is also debate about whether safety gear, like gloves and safety glasses, should be called tools because they protect the person using them while they work.

Function

Tool substitution

Sometimes, a tool can do the job of another tool. This can happen by design or by accident. For example, a carpenter might not carry every tool to a customer's house, so they use one tool for many jobs. Some tools are made to do several tasks, like a tool that can both cut and measure. Other times, people find new ways to use tools, like using a screwdriver to fix a car part instead of a special tool.

Tools can also replace parts in old machines. For instance, pliers might be used instead of a broken car part, or a screwdriver might stand in for a missing switch. Some tools, like a rotary tool, are made to do many jobs with different attachments.

Multi-use tools

Main article: Multi-tool

A multi-tool is one tool that includes several different functions. The Swiss Army knife is an early example. Other tools, like lineman's pliers, can grip, cut, and even act like a hammer. Some hand saws have a built-in square. These tools are very useful for workers who move between job sites because they save space and weight. Instead of carrying many tools, they can carry just one that does many jobs.

Use by other animals

Animals also use tools to help them get food, stay safe, and build homes. At first, people thought only humans used tools, but we now know many animals do too. Some animals, like monkeys, apes, elephants, birds, and sea otters, can use tools. For example, chimpanzees use tools to hunt, and some birds make their own tools from sticks and twigs to catch insects.

Elephants use tools to swat flies or reach food, and dolphins use sea sponges to protect their beaks while looking for food. Sea otters use rocks to break open shellfish, and some fish and octopuses also use tools in clever ways.

Non-material usage

Ideas and methods that help us think or make decisions are also called "tools." For example, some teachers use special ways to help them learn better, like "tools of reflection." There are also tools to help people make important choices, such as deciding where to have a baby.

Phones are tools that help people talk to each other from far away. As we use tools, they can also change how we think and act. Some people say that we shape our tools, and then our tools shape us. This means that the things we create can also affect us in return.