[thaumasiotes]

> I'm not really sure if being the first is important or even beneficial. If that were true the United Kingdom would still be the world's superpower

Or, you know, Persia, or Akkad. There have been many firsts.

[techer]

Industrial Revolution I imagine.

[thaumasiotes]

England may have been the first to start powering machines with large-scale coal mining, but was it the first to start making iron tools? :D