Nature creates round objects all the time (stones in a river, a hedgehog in a ball,…), but the principle of an axle is not found as far as I know.

  • TheReanuKeeves@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    But good sir, what use is an axle and wheel without whatever doohicky thingamajig that attaches to a frame that transport things or people?

    • tmyakal@infosec.pub
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      2 months ago

      Not sure if you’re serious or not, but wheels and axles are used for a lot more than just transportation. Pottery wheels predate vehicles by about 1,000 years. Windmills and water wheels use interlocking wheels and axles to grind grain. A windlass is essentially just a rope tied to a wheel on an axel for hoisting stuff up, like a bucket in a well.

      Not that this matters to the discussion of naturally occurring wheel-and-axle structures. Just an interesting little aside on the value and versatility of wheels.