1.5 century on earth...(29/8)

Just read the history of today on Encyclopaedia Britannica...there is an interesting piece:
"1859: Edwin Laurentine Drake struck oil on this day while drilling in Titusville, Pennsylvania. Drake, a railway conductor in New Haven, Connecticut, had studied the techniques of drilling salt wells. He was encouraged to drill for oil by George Bissell, a local landowner who was aware of Benjamin Silliman's report of the potential value of petroleum. Drake began drilling in 1858 and finally struck oil at a depth of 21 metres (69 feet) on this day. With the spread of Drake's drilling techniques, Titusville and other northwestern Pennsylvania communities became boomtowns. "

Another illustration of the evolution and development of the human kind. Around 150 years ago, no one knew what was oil extraction. People were still in the process of railway development fantasty. See the background of Drake, he was only a clerk and a railway conductor, but because of his "exposure" to the underground and the support (or even request) of George Bissell, he helped the Pennsylvania Rock Oil Company to extract the oil reserve below our land. He made use of his savvy technique to transform the role of work from railwork building to oil extraction. Drake thought about the way to extract oil, and his way was to dig it out. A logical thinking with his railway work experienece. He digged a maximum of 10 barrels (1.6 m³) per day at the beginning. However, the inefficient method during to water leakage took away the allocated resources of the company and Drake was facing a difficulty in continuing his project. He turned out to drill instead of dig after series of failure, and finally it worked! This was a big fortune to him. Something Drake had missed was a recognition of a patent right!! He did not tap on the wealth reserve but lost most of his money on speculation while his fortune was shared by many others who copied the way to extract the oil...
Looking back to the newspaper today, the oil price surges to USD70 per barrel. This is dramatic, and you cannot deny the ever-changing world in our everyday life. There are ironic changes and discoveries...we have a mysterious and exploratory world.