Mechanical Hand Washer Building on the work of the Greek engineer and inventor Archimedes (see “Individuals in Society: Archimedes, Scientist and Inventor” in Chapter 5), the Arab scientist Ibn al-Razzaz al-Raziri (fl. ca. 1200) designed practical devices to serve general social needs and illustrated them in a mechanical engineering handbook. In this diagram, a device in the form of a servant pours water with its right hand and offers a towel with its left. The device resembles a modern faucet that releases water when hands are held under it. (Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution, USA/The Bridgeman Art Library)