Another example of how the brilliance of gold moved people is the Gold Rush in California, USA.
The trigger was the discovery of gold in the Sacramento River one morning in 1848.
Word spread like wildfire, and people flocked from across the United States, China, and Europe to mine for gold.
The number of miners is said to have been approximately 300,000.
San Francisco, a rural town with a population of only a few hundred (where the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers join and flow into San Francisco Bay).
― Editor) has transformed into one of the largest cities in the United States in just a few years.
Denim was developed by Levi Strauss as workwear for miners, and American Express, famous for its credit cards, originally started as a transportation service for miners.
The energy of those seeking to acquire gold fueled the creation of global corporations.
---From "Gold, the Brilliant Light That Moved Human History"

In his book Knowledge: A Reboot Guide for Humanity's Last Survivors, British astrobiologist Lewis Dartnell simulates how humanity might rebuild a scientific civilization after the world has been destroyed in some form.
In this simulation, Dartnell identified calcium carbonate as the first material to be mined when rebuilding civilization.
One reason is that calcium carbonate is a necessary substance for food production.
How well crops grow is greatly influenced by the acidity of the soil.
When acidity is high, plants cannot grow properly because it is difficult for them to absorb phosphorus, an important nutrient.
This is a big problem, especially in countries with acidic soils, where lime is applied to neutralize the acidity.
In addition, lime has the effect of protecting crops from diseases and pests, so lime cannot be left out in agriculture and horticulture.
---From "A Natural Actor with a Colorful Face - Calcium Carbonate"

Goodyear, the tire manufacturing company of today, was founded in 1898, more than half a century after the invention of vulcanization, and although its name is derived from Charles Goodyear, it has no direct capital relationship with him.
Goodyear was forced to fight several lawsuits because of infringements on its vulcanization patents.
In England, patents were sometimes taken away entirely by others.
Goodyear sent samples without revealing the manufacturing method in order to sell the patent, but the rubber company that received the samples analyzed them and discovered that there were tiny amounts of sulfur stuck to the surface.
The company immediately applied for a patent for the vulcanization method, and the patent it received was eventually approved.
In the end, Goodyear died in 1860, saddled with a huge debt, without ever seeing his invention change the world.
Perhaps the fact that tires bearing his name travel to every corner of the world offers him some comfort.
---From "The Material That Shrunk the World - Rubber (Polyisoprene)"

One day, a craftsman came to Tiberius, offering a glass.
As the emperor lifted the cup and admired it, the craftsman said, “Please return the cup,” and as soon as he received it, he threw it on the floor.
Everyone expected the glass to shatter, but surprisingly, not even a crack appeared on it.
It was just dented like a bronze bowl.
The craftsman leisurely took out a small hammer and tapped the inside of the glass, restoring the dent to its original state.
Several writers have recorded this anecdote, although the details vary, so the story is likely true in the broad scheme of things.
The famous naturalist Pliny the Elder described this cup as "flexible glass," but the cups made by artisans are thought to be made of what we know as plastic.
How did the craftsman make this cup at a time when even the prototype of the discipline of chemistry had not been established?
Unfortunately, the recipe for the glass remains a perpetual mystery.
Tiberius asked, “Who else but you knows how to make this cup?”
The craftsman answered with his chest puffed out.
“No one knows except me.” Then the emperor gave the order to behead the father-in-law on the spot.
Thus, the craftsman's head fell to the floor, and the recipe for making 'Roman plastic' was forever lost in mystery.
---From "Plastic, a versatile material that changes freely"

Materials have improved human life and expanded human capabilities.
Those who obtained superior materials won the battle and became wealthy, and sometimes even reigned as kings.
The best technology and talented people of the time were always put in to create better materials.
As we have discussed so far, this situation is still the same today.
What direction will materials take in the future? For example, batteries are not made of a single material, but rather consist of multiple materials, including electrodes, electrolytes, and cases. Changing these combinations can enhance battery functionality.
Likewise, it is predicted that in the future, many materials will be developed that demonstrate their true value by combining with other materials rather than working alone.
Therefore, when developing materials, the combination and balance of materials will increasingly be considered more important than simply selecting superior materials individually. Therefore, artificial intelligence will undoubtedly play a significant role in selecting these materials.
Materials that can be used for multiple purposes, such as wood or pottery, may no longer be available.
The practice of creating multiple materials with different properties, such as plastic, and using them separately for different purposes will gradually increase.

---From "The Future of 'Material Science' Competition Driven by AI"