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The technological gifts from our medieval ancestors

It's not a compliment for a person or set of values to be called "medieval."

We tend to think of that time in history as a time of narrow minds, and cruel tortures for people who did not go along with the narrow minds. And then there's Black Death.

But there's also some ingenuity from that time that makes life better, and is still in use today. Science journalist John Farrell provides a list in his book The Clock and the Camshaft: And Other Medieval Inventions We Still Can't Live Without.

We would seldom be on time without clocks; the author joins us to talk about other gains for civilization from our medieval ancestors.

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The Jefferson Exchange is Jefferson Public Radio's daily news program focused on issues, people and events across Southern Oregon and Northern California. Angela Decker is the program's senior producer, Charlie Zimmermann is the assistant producer, and Geoffrey Riley hosts the show.