Stress
One word which can easily be associated with the modern age is stress. If you go back to pre-industrial times, it was not a term in use. It was coined by Hans Selye in 1936, who defined it as ‘the non-specific response of the body to any demand for change’. Today, it refers to ‘a state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or demanding circumstances’. It is also used by engineers to refer to ‘pressure or tension exerted on a material object’ and is useful to work out breaking points such as those used in construction. London’s Tower Bridge opened in 1894 and is a complex feat of engineering, allowing for stresses that constantly change, responding to different loads and weather patterns. It works as a combined drawbridge (bascule) and suspension bridge relying on ingenious hydraulics to lift each side weighing over 1000 tons in five minutes. Ten workmen died during its construction. Many people die today through health problems associated with stress.