One day, a mysterious green light engulfed the Earth, transforming all humans into stone statues. When teen genius Senku finally breaks out of his petrification after 3720 years, he finds himself in a world devoid of modern society – buildings have crumbled to make way for lush, untamed forests, and the only humans are a small group of villagers who subsist on stone-age technology. With the help of his new friends and his near-limitless knowledge of science, Senku sets out of rebuild modern civilization one invention at a time.

Senku may be highly intelligent and creative, but he's quick to point out that the real inventors are the people who developed these technologies in the first place – for the most part, he's just recreating their work with stone-age materials. So, what are their stories? In the real world, how did we get gas masks, sulfa drugs, cola, and so many other useful things? Let's dive into the history of these inventions and see where Senku got his inspiration from!

This article was written for Anime News Network, so please read it on their site.