Renaissance Invention

Submarine
The first underwater warship was developed by Leonardo da Vinci. da Vinci kept his plans secret because he didn't want to make war any more terrifying than it already was. In 1578 William Borne began drawing plans for a submarine. His submarine was never built. Borne's submarine worked by using extra tanks which could be filled so the submarine would submerge.

The tanks would be emptied for the submarine to surface. In 1620 Cornelis Drebbel, a Dutch inventor, built a leather covered rowboat with oars. The oars came out through watertight seals. Twelve people could ride in the submarine. Drebbel was an engineer who worked for the British navy. Drebbel was the first to discuss the problem of air replenishment while the submarine submerged. Drebbel's submarine could only go down about fifteen feet. It could stay underwater for a couple of hours.

Wallpaper
In 1496 the first paper mill came into operation in England. English artist soon make wallpaper decorated with hand painted designs, stencils, and wood-block prints. For the next 200 years England was a large producer of wallpaper for Europe.

Before wallpaper was invented only the wealthy people could afforded to decorate the wall of their castles. They used woven tapestries. The tapestries kept the cold castle walls warmer. The designs woven into the tapestries told stories. The lower class hung cheaper painted cloth imitations for the walls of their homes.