11. Robinson Crusoe developed a rash of lifehacks
To some, Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe (the full title is too long to be presented here) is the first true novel written in the English language. Defoe wrote the novel as if it were an autobiography of the protagonist, whose name was Robinson Kreutznaer, and based it according to some on the adventures of Alexander Selkirk, a Scottish traveler who survived 4 years marooned on a Pacific Island. The book first appeared in 1719, and has been in print in one form or another ever since. In the story, Crusoe arrives on an island following a shipwreck and aided by some tools he managed to salvage from the vessel is forced to learn to survive.
Crusoe had corn with which to make bread, but lacked all of the tools necessary to complete the processing of grains from plants to steaming fresh bread. He created them all using whatever was at hand. Tree limbs served as threshers, a cutlass saved from the ship served as a scythe. From the wood of a tree, he fashioned a crude mortar and pestle to grind the dried kernels into flour, and the cloth of shirts and neckcloths served to sift it. Throughout his stay on the island, Crusoe used the materials at hand to make his life more bearable, during his many other adventures which kept him on his toes throughout.