amphibulous
Banned
But yeah, steam engines aren't the magical sudden invention that changed the world that people make them out to be. Hiro wasn't a one off genius, the principles were understood by many people over the centuries, there was just no practical application.
Untrue. The first steam engines were pumps for mines and pumps would have had a host of uses. But getting a steam engine that is reasonably efficient is hard until you have decent machine tools:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steam_engine#Pumping_engines
Remember: Hiro's toy didn't use a cylinder. But even once you have the idea of doing so, how are you going to manufacture something that large with the tolerances you need? Bootstrapping precision engineering is a difficult process - you tend not to make things you can't engineer, and you don't create machine tools with precision that no one needs!