You walk them every day (unless you're a fatso and don't move much or use a lift each time you need to get onto a different floor), but did you ever stop to wonder who and how invented them? It was the 13th century when Claude Stairs, a Belgian inventor came up with a great idea. Not many people know that lifts were invented thousands of years ago but stairs are a 13th century invention. Claude Stairs was working on the court of Count Of Flanders and his idea was laughed at when he first introduced it in 1208.

The idea of doing small steps to get higher and higher, on small curbs, was ridiculous to the nobles of that times. Using extra material and forming the steps from stones sounded frivolously, especially when there was lifts that could get you on higher floors and smooth paths curved in angle, that brought you onto higher elevations.

In 1214, the king of France, Phillip II, defeated the count in the battle of Bouvines, and Belgium was forced to submit under the French rule. Surprisingly, Claude Stairs became friends with the French king's court and soon introduced his inventions to the king. Phillip II, known for his generosity and investment in quality, liked the idea of using steps and paid the inventor a small fortune to install them in his palace. Soon, steps became popular all around Europe, since France was the trend setter then. The new invention was most often called "steps" because you had to step on them, usually one foot at a time, but a set of steps was named after their inventor, Stairs. It's funny how you walked the stairs so many times and had no idea about who invented them and why they are called that, isn't it?