War’s Impact on Technology that has Influenced Modern Society

After the end of the civil war with the end of slavery, the production of cotton decreased and because of this shortage, cotton bags could no longer be used at stores to bring home purchases. To fill the void, paper came into fashion and was used to construct bags and one day in a small apartment factory former union soldier Robert Gair accidentally created the cardboard carton when instead of creasing a piece of paperboard he cut it. This cut and folded piece of cardboard could be easily made into the shape of a box after being folded flat for shipping. The process was also easily automated and therefore Gair expanded his business to an assembly line product that was sold to Colgate, Bloomingdales, and Nabisco to package their products. Later breakfast cereal boxes were produced and with the Second World War and rations came the packaging of most food products including milk and juice in cardboard containers. In modern society, almost everything can be bought in cardboard boxes from food and drinks to electronics, toys, and furniture. The ability to transport goods safely and easily is owed to cardboard and the many shapes and sizes boxes can come in.
Another material that is used to package products is plastic and along with cardboard it has changed and been used for many uses including to help the war effort. During the American Civil War, there was a shortage of ivory, which at the time was used to manufacture billiard balls. When a reward was offered for a substitute, brothers, John Wesley Hyatt and Isaiah Smith Hyatt, created celluloid after several years of experimentation. This plastic material could be molded into the round shape needed for billiards. Polyethylene and cellophane are other plastics that were developed fo...

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...eveloped for civilian use. They are used for search and rescue efforts as they allow authorities to survey the area from above and send a video-feed back to those on the ground. There are also many other ways police can use drones. Another use that has been researched for drones is delivery. Companies including Amazon and Domino’s Pizza are looking at speeding up delivery services by using drones to fly what is ordered to the door in a much shorter period. In addition, farmers have started to use drones to water their crops and spread fertilizers, only when needed, because they can see how everything is growing. Camera-equipped drones are also being used to follow the movements of hurricanes, construct 3D maps, and monitor the movements and populations of wildlife. There are numerous other ways that drones will soon be used as the relatively new technology develops.