It was discovered in pre-history, and almost certainly independently by many, many individuals. You aren't going to get a name on it.
this post was submitted on 01 Jul 2025
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Counterpoint: I heard it was Dave
That prick!
It was the Roman ruler, Biggus Dickus.
I have a vewy good fwiend in Wome named Biggus Dickus.
How do you think the first manmade ignition happened?
Someone was careless with their cigarette.
My guess would be someone trying to make stone tools by banging rocks together, a spark fell into dry grass, etc. But, you know, just a guess.
2 rocks by accident
Whe a rock likes another rock very very much
Like flints to the spark
Yeah probably while making a tool/smashing something. Knocking two rocks together, create a spark on accident, boom fire.
Prometheus
Dont say Prometheus
Ok... it was Προμηθεύς.
Thanks for your compliance
We don't know. Hell, we can't even narrow it down to a specific place with certainty. There is strong evidence in human settlements for use of fire anywhere from a few hundred thousand to 1 million years ago. When, exactly, is hard to ascertain; for instance, some sites which are claimed to hold the oldest evidence have been criticized as resembling the aftermath of wildfires.
It is also depends on what you mean by "discovered": Early proto-hominids were almost certainly aware of fire and the concept of burning, so are we counting from when they realized "hey, I can take a burning thing and put it where I want it, and it will spread burning there?" Or are we only counting from when fire began to be used as a tool (e.g., for clearing brush or cooking)? Or when humans discovered how to start fires in the absence of a natural source?
That last question is the most interesting to me. I guess it doesn't take much intuition to realize that rubbing things together makes them hot. Rub your arm really fast.
Still, watching experienced woodsmen starting a fire from scratch is an education. Even the best struggle.
Even the best struggle.
I have watched Primitive Technology start fires with a hand drill so many times, he's got it down pat.
Primitive Technology can also select their tools for maximum gain. Apparently it's relatively easy when you've got the right woods and kindling.
When you're somewhere in the wilds your wood might be too hard, too soft or too wet or whatever.
Oh, of course. He's very familiar with his area and the best materials to use, and has lots of practice. But he's also pretty famous for showing his work without cuts, and I am always amazed with his hand drill skills. He's got an ember in like twenty seconds.
It really is an interesting question, yes! Fires started by frictional heating are pretty uncommon in nature, but early humans could pretty readily see that objects placed near a fire would begin to smolder and burn just from radiant heat.
It really depends on when we were able to take intellectual leap of realizing that all heat is equivalent, and fire is not a prerequisite of making new fire.
Prometheus
That information is lost to pre-history, but probably either Ug or Urg. Those guys were like the Wright Brothers of cave shit.
Not Billy Joel.
My ancestors.
Your ancestors too.
We have the same ancestors.
We're all really just family you know...
wait... isn't everyone just technically a cousin fucker? 🤔
Prometheus's dog
Well, where do you thing Bob got it from?
Probably a titan. Who created the universe in Greek myth? 🤔
Fire is a fundamental force of nature. Like gravity. So it either wasn't "invented" or was invented by the universe's creator if one exists. Newton didn't invent gravity. He didn't even discover it. He just found a new way to describe it via numbers instead of words (but also so many words).
Wouldn't it be Hestia because Prometheus stole it from her?
Various individuals no doubt figured it out independently and then others in their tribe learned it from them. At first people probably took burning material from forest fires and brush fires that had been caused by lightning.
It was Zog
I did.
The famous villain John Fireman. He was eventually killed by firefighters.
Either Arthur Brown or H.P. Baxxter
E: or perhaps Keith Flint
Some monkey
Someone flammable, I bet.
Or inflammable.
“‘Inflammable’ means ‘flammable’? What a country!”
It was always originally "inflammable", as in "able to be inflamed". It wasn't until cargo warning placards came around (for trains, I'm sure), that the meaning got muddled up with "unable to be brought to flame".
There was an official agreement to create the word "flammable", and use that on warning placards instead.
It’s an old Simpsons quote, from Dr. Nick, a great side character.
I knew it was a quote from somewhere, I just didn't care. ;)
Ryan
My mix tape
Thas fyre not fire
Mowgli invented it.
King Louie discovered it.
Les Oulhamr fuyaient dans la nuit épouvantable. Fous de souffrance et de fatigue, tout leur semblait vain devant la calamité suprême: le Feu était mort.
Wang Fire. Just don't ask where he got it from, Hotman.
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