Remember the story of the three little pigs? Each pig had a different plan for keeping out the wolf. One pig built his house out of straw, and another used sticks.
Soon enough, those two pigs learned that although wood and straw make building easy, they don’t last long. With a huff and a puff, those houses came tumbling down.
But the smartest little pig built his home with bricks. That’s a strong material that foiled the big bad wolf, no matter how hard he huffed and puffed. But what if those little pigs had lived in the Arctic? They’d have had a hard time finding clay for bricks – to say nothing of sticks.
For most of history, people had to build homes with local materials. If they lived near trees, they built houses of wood. In some places, they used stones, while snow and ice were the only building materials in other areas.
Today, the three little pigs would have way more options. They could build houses of steel, glass, plastic, fiberglass, and titanium. No normal wolf could even dent a steel home, no matter how hard he blew.
