While this question might appear blindingly obvious, the answer is much more subtle.
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We might expect that Nature, being the great problem solver, would've "invented" a wheel by now, but there are no wheels in nature that we know of.
That is, unless we stretch the definition to allow the wheel spider (Carparachne aureoflava), a native huntsman from the Namib Desert that has a cunning escape strategy.
When threatened by a parasitic wasp it flips onto its side and cartwheels down sand dunes at speeds of up to 44 turns per second.
We might also allow the dung beetle that rolls its dinner into a ball.
That suggests that constructing a wheel is actually not that simple.
![Wheels are ubiquitous in modern life but they're not that easy to build. Picture Shutterstock Wheels are ubiquitous in modern life but they're not that easy to build. Picture Shutterstock](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/Z4Q6sUEHdcmw72MBPYgZkU/242f0196-a67c-445b-91da-f906e2a6ae22.jpg/r0_36_1000_598_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
The sticking point - literally - is the axle, and a wheel is of no use without one.
While they are ubiquitous in modern life, they're not that easy to build.
Placing the axle in the centre of the disk is not particularly challenging, but it must be sturdy and resistant to wear while offering minimal friction. It helps if they're also pointing in the right direction.
We'll probably never know who invented the first wheel, but a clue is the wheel - with axle - that was discovered in the Ljubljana Marshes from the Copper Age (3130 BC).
Then there are potter's wheels that were found in Mesopotamia, which were later adapted to fit the chariot. The wheelbarrow is believed to have been used in ancient Greece between 600-400 BCE.
MORE ASK FUZZY:
Although ceramic wheel toys have been discovered in Mexico, it appears the South Americans never used it for transport.
Exactly why is not known and there aren't any documents from history saying "this is an interesting invention but we don't believe it is useful".
Some curious dynamics come into play (sometimes during play) of a wheel in motion which you'll know first hand if you've ever fallen off a bicycle.
The wheels on a bike are gyroscopes, which gives them a couple of handy properties. The first is to stabilise the bike and, the faster you travel, the stronger the effect.
The other contributes to the counter-intuitive, counter-steering effect. If you push the handlebars left, the gyroscope pushes the bike to the right.
So to initiate a right-hand turn, you actually push the bars in the opposite direction.
If you're not convinced by this, ride through a puddle and observe your wheel tracks.
The Fuzzy Logic Science Show is on 11am Sundays on 2xx 98.3FM. Send your questions to AskFuzzy@Zoho.com; Podcast: FuzzyLogicOn2xx.Podbean.com