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The Gutenberg Press（Renaissance woodcut）

AccelerationFour-dimensional view587 years agoThe Printing Press

1440

The Gutenberg Press

Around 1440, Gutenberg invented the printing press, and books began to be reproduced at scale.

Art style · Renaissance woodcut

Origin of Life on EarthDinosaurs and MammalsAI Agents
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Civilization metrics

Each sparkline shows the documented history of a metric on a logarithmic time axis. The dot marks the selected moment.

Kardashev index

0.510

Based on primary energy power · Type I = 1

World population

466Mpeople

1/18 of today

Total human primary energy power

1.3×10¹¹W

1/162 of today

Compute per dollar

—

No reliable data yet · data begins 1945

Fastest delivery time for a message from London to New York

—

No reliable data yet · data begins 1620

Fastest speed reached by humans

63km/h

1/637 of today

Near this moment

The eight closest milestones. Select a title to jump there.

  1. 1040Culture

    Around 1040, Bi Sheng of the Northern Song invented movable type made of baked clay. Source

  2. 1088Humanity

    Shen Kuo gave the first written description of the magnetic needle compass in his Dream Pool Essays. Source

  3. 1440Culture

    Around 1440, Gutenberg invented the printing press, and books began to be reproduced at scale. Source

  4. 1492-10-12Humanity

    A transatlantic route opened, beginning sustained contact between the Old World and the New. Source

  5. 1522-09-06Humanity

    The remnants of Magellan's fleet, led by Elcano, returned to Spain, completing the first voyage around the world. Source

  6. 1543Humanity

    Copernicus published On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres, placing the Sun rather than Earth at the center. Source

  7. 1610-03-13Humanity

    Sidereus Nuncius was published, recording mountains on the Moon and the moons of Jupiter. Source

  8. 1687-07-05Humanity

    Newton set out the laws of motion and universal gravitation, describing heaven and Earth with the same mathematics. Source

Capabilities

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Scenes across eras

Each era illustrated in its own style.

Every timeline entry cites its source. Metrics interpolate logarithmically between sourced data points. Forecasts include institutional and community views, and attributed site scenarios; years are not guaranteed realization dates. Illustrations are AI-generated in each era's style.