Many things defined 16th and 17th century Europe. Many remember it as the Renaissance era; of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I; of a time when industry was taking its first steps and people no longer thought the world was flat. It was an era that led to the way we live today. But perhaps one of the most essential contributions to modern society to come from this time period is technology. People have been creating things since the dawn of time itself. Ever since we humans took our first steps into a cold, difficult and unforgiving world, we have been thinking of new ways to make life livable. We had no fur, wings, claws, or anything else that would allow the rest of the world's creatures to survive. But we had a brain. And since surviving is a good thing, we've learned to use our brains to our advantage. From the first spears clumsily thrown at unsuspecting birds, to the iPhones we use as expensive flashlights to find the light switch, humanity has come up with things that make our lives easier and easier. These inventions have shaped our very existence. They took us from being Neanderthals who lived in caves and ate raw meat to the top of the food chain. So, having conquered the elements, we began to conquer everything else. We made sure that tasks that would normally take several days to complete took just a few hours. We have modeled the territory according to our needs. And all the while, inventions were the source of our newfound power. With the Renaissance in full swing in the late 1500s, people were enjoying their new lifestyle. But they were just fully recovering from the Black Death, which subsequently killed over half of Europe. One of the main reasons why… half of the paper… could greatly improve the masses' understanding of the language. The first English dictionary, Table Alphabeticall, however, was not very useful. It included only 120 pages and 2,543 very briefly defined words. However, the way is being paved for newer and more comprehensive dictionaries to take its place. Its creator, Robert Cawdrey, published it in London in 1604. Dictionaries became much more useful as more and more words were added to them, and they are still used today in modern society. From dictionaries to toilets, the inventions of the Elizabethan era did much to improve the world. We as humans have become much cleaner and more educated than we have ever been (even if it doesn't seem that way sometimes). Inventors and their inventions continue to help shape today's society. And, with any luck, we will be prepared the next time we have an epidemic.