We’ve always loved them, there’s something absolutely bucolic about their squat structures, and the gentle creak of their fins as the spin in the natural wind currents.
Windmills have been around for a very long time when people first realized it was possible to harness the power of the wind to perform work. Ever since new innovations have been made in the ability to utilize the never-ending source of power that windmills capture.
Windmill Day commemorates the origins of the Windmill, and how it’s helped to shape technology and industry in the past and into the future.
History of Windmill Day
The idea of capturing the power of the wind to perform work isn’t new, and in fact, it goes back far further into history than you might suspect and has sprung up in multiple cultures throughout the world.
Heron of Alexandria was the earliest person known to have harnessed the energy of moving air to perform work, using a very primitive device to power an organ. Persia developed more traditional windmills, though they had a different orientation than the ones we typically think of when hearing the word ‘windmill’.
Some historians think that the Persian models were the inspiration for the vertical models that were developed in the middle ages. The first evidence of a windmill can be found in Weedley, Yorkshire, England and is said to have been built in 1185. As is commonly depicted in media, they were used primarily to grind grain, and have been for many centuries thereafter.
Recently though, there’s been a growing movement to use Windmills in another fashion entirely! The power of the wind can be harnessed to turn giant wind turbines which in turn generate clean, unlimited, renewable energy!
Windmills have been around for a long long time, and while they may seem like primitive tech, they’ve moved into the world as hope for a clean future. Along with solar, bio-fuel, and fuel cells, windmills are working to save the environment!
How to Celebrate Windmill Day
Well, you’ve already started by reading up on it! The best thing you can do to celebrate the day is to educate yourself on the history of Windmills and then begin learning how they’re helping us today.
If you live in an area that has them, you can even go out and watch them turn, turn, turn… (Are we the only one hearing that song now?) as you contemplate just how important these are to a bright, pollution-free future for our children.
