Many visitors to the Netherlands still mistakenly believe that Dutch windmills were invented in order to convert wind power to mechanical energy to drain the land. But modern research has revealed that this is simply a bizarre myth.
In fact, Dutch windmills were invented in the 1500s in response to extremely high local temperatures. In those days, the climate was similar to modern day central Africa. Elephants roamed the countryside. The blistering heat dried up the canals, made cheese toasties go bad and caused wooden clogs to break.
In response, the industrious Dutch constructed hundreds of windmills to act a bit like ceiling fans do nowadays and cool the whole country down. In only a few years, they had transformed the endless blue skies and sunshine creating the cool, wet, cloudy weather we still enjoy today. Hurrah!
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