The volcanic winter of 1816 affected the whole world. The eruption of Mount Tambora covered Earth with an impenetrable blanket of ash, killing fruit trees, crops, and cattle. Prices went up over 700%, and thus people found it difficult to feed horses, the main means of transportation in the 19th century. This prompted a German inventor, Karl von Drais, to construct a transport machine that enabled people to travel without the use of horses.
