Media Influence in Germany

    In 1450, Johannes Gutenberg involved the printing press. The printing press originally needed to be near a river so that the river could power the water wheel to circulate the gears. The makeup of the paper that Gutenberg used was 81% lead, 12% antimonium, and 7% tin.
      Martin Luther helped spread the use of the printing press when in 1517 he used it to print his 96 theses and post them onto a church door. A majority of his theses fought the exploitation of the poor by Rome based on indulgences (during this time, you were told that you could buy your way to heaven). This in turn kicked off more universities and rose literacy rates over the next century.
    Before the printing press, literacy rates in Germany were 30% in cities and 5% in the country. A large of amount of Bibles were produced after the press was invented. The printing press led to more things written down, which led to the mail coach, the train routes, telegraph routes, submarine routes, phone lines, air mail, and now the ‘data’ that we have today!