just a thought

We use tools for any number of things. A screwdriver screws, a drill drills, a saw saws. Necessity being the mother of invention, all tools were thus born of a direct need to serve a specific purpose. So what was the first tool?

In all likelihood, it was probably the hammer. Or something like a hammer – an object for striking, pounding and crushing. The hammer is, to this day, the most rudimentary tool. Its action is basic, its use simple, its result predictable. Still, I’m thinking that it might not have been the first tool.

Consider the backscratcher. Or something like a backscratcher – an object that reaches where a hand cannot to satisfy that most primal of urges.

We’ve all experienced the torture of an itch that just can’t be scratched. We’ve seen pets flip out, twisting their bodies to feverishly gnaw at a patch of skin. We’ve seen videos of bears rubbing against trees, the satisfaction on their faces almost perceptible. It’s such an animal instinct that I have a hard time believing that a primitive human wouldn’t do anything in his power to get relief from a nagging itch.It makes sense that a scratching tool (doubtless just an unaltered stick) was the first tool, the first object utilized for a particular function. It was also perhaps the spark that ignited the fire of discovery, opening the developing mind to hunting-and-gathering tools. Some might stake this claim against a spear, a blade, a digger and a hammer. How might an enterprising human know that a spear could pierce, or a blade could cut and scrape, or a digger move earth, if not for a scratcher’s effect on his skin? Just a thought.