Last month featured a few of the massive steel structures (or structures made possible by using steel machinery) that bridged cities, connected bodies of water and traveled across oceans. This month’s theme, Steel and World Culture, will explore some of the ways that steel impacts the daily living of people from regions around the world.
Steel is everywhere; it’s used in constructing office buildings, bridges and rail systems. On a smaller scale, it’s in the cars we drive, in the sporting equipment we use and even in the jewelry and accessories we wear. Steel is so common, it can be easy to overlook how essential it has become.
Why Steel?
There are many benefits to using steel for both building structures and for smaller items. One of its greatest advantages is cost. It is much cheaper to ship during production because it is fairly light. Compared to its weight, steel is very strong and durable. Steel is often used to reinforce other materials for this reason. Steel that is being fabricated today, is made almost entirely of recycled metals. Steel is also very sustainable and has minimal effects on the environment at the time of use, as well as throughout its life cycle. Steel is fire and corrosion-resistant.
Steel in World Culture
There are many ways steel is applied across cultures. Worldwide, steel is commonly used in transportation, surgical equipment, office supplies and furniture, household appliances, hardware tools and cutlery. The way steel is used to make tools can have a large impact on cultural lifestyles.
This month, we’ll discover some of the unique regional applications of steel in different regions around the world.
Coming Up
We’ve taken a close look into the history of steel and the monumental steel structures that have shaped the world. We’ve seen how modern cities industrialized and flourished under the influence of steel. This month, we will explore just a few of the ways steel has influenced local cultures and how it is incorporated in different ways in daily life around the world.
From Wood to Steel: The Evolution of Chopsticks in Asia: The history and styles of chopsticks in regional cultures and the evolution of the materials used to make them
India’s Incredible Lunch Delivery System Powered by Ingenuity and Steel: In Mumbai, 250,000 stainless steel lunch boxes are used in what is known as the “dabbawalla system” to deliver hot, home-cooked meals to workers around the city every day
Steelpans, the Sound of the Caribbean: The history of the steelpan, or steel drum, popularized in the 1930s by percussion ensembles of rebellious teens from Trinidad’s lower-class neighborhoods, and the role it played in the development of music in the Caribbean
Steel Stats: 2015 by the Numbers: An inside look at World Steel Association’s 2015 Steel Statistics Yearbook and how POSCO fits into the world of steel by the numbers
A Year in Review: POSCO Highlights of 2015: Highlights of POSCO’s top achievements and most memorable moments of 2015