Dogs Were one of the First Sources of Renewable Energy

­Alternative energy had a very different meaning in the 19th century. Often of the canine variety.

Electricity in the 1800s was nothing new, with humans observing the phenomenon in electric fish thousands of years ago. Even electric vehicles go back further than most realize, predating the American Civil War by at least 3 decades.

But as Gizmodo points out, an altogether different renewable energy sources dominated the 19th century – dogs. It wouldn’t even be accurate to call them “man’s best friend” back then, as the idea of canine companions is relatively new.

Before that, dogs earned their keep via an assortment of analog functions – like the Cynophere, a dog-powered velocipede (essentially, a giant tricycle) invented by the French mechanic Narcisse Huret and patented on December 14, 1875.

Many of these canine applications were variations of a treadmill. There was the The Richards Dog Engine, a sewing apparatus that could power four heavy sewing machines.

The Feldt Dog Engine was another iteration of a canine-powered sewing machine.

In one instance, a specific breed was created – the turnspit dog – to help turn meat over an open flame, though these dogs eventually fell out of favor (and went extinct) with the invention of roasting jacks that utilized clockwork, steam, or gas turbines.  

Course, as Gizmodo mentions, evolving standards of animal cruelty eventually caused the canine power source to disappear (especially since the treadmill was originally created as an early 19th-century device).

Nowadays, you might occasionally see dogs driving a sled, but for the most part, their professional obligations have ended.