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Weapons and warfare.

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Even though iron didn’t drastically change the way most weaponry worked in the Middle [Old weapons are replaced by new iron ones]

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Ages, there’s no arguing that it was an upgrade. [Iron man appears]

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Unlike all recent iPhone upgrades, which are doing what exactly?

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Uh-huh…that's what we thought. [Woman chucks her iPhone away]

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Swords did definitely get a little better once iron came into the mix. [Iron ore with arms and legs kicks a door down]

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But it wasn't a fix-all, by any means. [The iron ore tries to stick up the door with tape]

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Sure, iron was sturdier than bronze, it had some drawbacks…

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For one, iron swords were heavy.

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No one needs an arm workout while they're hacking and slashing. [Man picking up a heavy iron sword and he falls over]

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And unlike its cool cousin bronze, iron rusts.

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Poor iron…we're sure it has a tough time at Thanksgiving…y'know, "why can't you be

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more like bronze, look how well bronze is doing, bronze went to Stanford for medical [Other metals laughing at the iron ore]

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school, all you do is sit around and rust…"

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Truth is some people just weren't that impressed by early iron. [Boy opens present to find iron sword and looks dissapointed]

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We're surprised there wasn’t a recall.

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But over time, smiths began to add carbon to their iron which made…

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…you guessed it: steel.

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The amazing alloy that we still use in tons of things today. [Blacksmith pouring molten steel]

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Skyscrapers, stadiums, railways, appliances—all of those things are a little sturdier and

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more functional thanks to steel.

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We'll wait while you go but it a Hallmark card to express your gratitude. [Man in a card shop]

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But as far as Medieval swords go, steel would totally win an arm wrestling contest against

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pure iron, and it could hold a sharper edge. [Steel wins the arm wrestle]

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Like…why did iron even show up?

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This is just embarrassing now… [Iron looks unhappy]

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Of course, steel swords weren’t that easy to make.

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A blacksmith had to really know all the ins and outs of their craft, and the process took

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many years to perfect.

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Big shout out to all those blacksmiths who put in the time. [Blacksmith looking happy]

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We'll wait while you go buy a second Hallmark card to thank all the blacksmiths in your

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life.

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Hm…who makes the Hallmark cards to thank the Hallmark card makers for making Hallmark [Man writing a card]

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cards…?

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The world will never know.

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Moving on...

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Another new invention that rocked the Middle Ages was the crossbow. [Crossbow is highlighted on a table]

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With the crossbow, the bow and arrow got a major upgrade.

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Unlike our new phones, which…seriously, what is new? [Man looks confused with his phone]

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It's like a

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.00001 millimeter thinner?

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…Fine, we'll stop complaining. [Man chucks his iPhone into a pile of rubbish]

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Crossbows were invented in several different places and times, but they became popular

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around the 10th century CE.

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They could shoot arrows further, faster, and more accurately than traditional bows. [Arrows hits the bullseye on a target]

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And it was good ol' reliable steel that made the mechanisms of crossbows more powerful

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and reliable.

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Maybe it deserves a second Hallmark card…?

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Soldiers didn't have to be trained archers who spent hours shooting at hay targets to [Boy shooting a bow and completely missing the target]

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use a crossbow.

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They could just crank 'em up and let 'em rip.

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Which probably made the trained archers feel like real guitarists feel watching people [Lionel ritchie hits a toy guitar out of someones hand]

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play Guitar Hero.

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Horseshoes were also a major step forward…

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Or should we say, a major trot forward? [Horse tapping its foot on a rock]

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…Get it?

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'Cause it's a…horse joke?

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Man, no horsin' around with you guys.

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Alright we'll stop you're a bunch of killjoys.

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Here’s what made horseshoes so great…

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Horse hooves actually aren't all that tough. [Man preparing a horse to have shoes put on]

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They’re basically fingernails—they crack, break, and bruise easily when they have to

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carry…oh, we don't know…super fat heavy dudes in armor over uneven terrain with rocks. [Horse going up a hill with a fully armored knight on it's back]

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Horseshoes protected their hooves and made horses a more versatile mode of transportation. [People in a horse and cart]

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And though they were invented all over the world, high-quality iron horseshoes didn't

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become common until the Middle Ages. [Horse galloping around the world]

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When they did, they made cavalry more serious and more dangerous.

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And horses all over the world were in for a deadly sort of pedicure… [Soldiers fighting with pikes on horseback]

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…one where they didn't even get to pick their nail polish color. [Man using a nail file on a horse]

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