Back in the 1400s, making books was about as efficient as copying your friend's homework with your eyes closed. Each page had to be handwritten by monks, which meant a single book could cost more than a house and take years to finish. Everyone knew there had to be a better way to spread information around. When the printing press showed up, it completely transformed how humans shared ideas. But who came up with it?

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The answer is: Johannes Gutenberg

Johannes Gutenberg started out as a goldsmith in Mainz, Germany until he hatched what he thought was a brilliant money-making scheme. Religious pilgrims were going nuts buying polished metal mirrors they believed could capture "holy light" from sacred relics. Gutenberg figured he'd make a fortune selling these mirrors at a huge religious exhibition in Aachen in 1439.

Unfortunately for Gutenberg, Mother Nature had other plans and the exhibition got canceled due to flooding. Now Gutenberg was stuck with a bunch of useless mirrors and some very angry creditors. When they heard he had a secret project in the works, they took him to court but lost.

That secret project was, you guessed it, a machine that could print books faster than any monk with a quill. Investor Johann Fust was impressed enough to finance this big idea, and Gutenberg got busy refining his printing press. His goal was to start printing Bibles and hit the top of the Renaissance best sellers list.

Revolutionizing the spread of information isn't exactly cheap, easy or fast, however, and after years of loaning money, Fust was fed up and Gutenberg was dragged to court again, but this time, he's the one who lost. Fust walked away with all the main printing equipment, but Gutenberg wasn't about to give up. He set up shop at a place called the Gutenberghof, cranking out calendars, pamphlets, and these super popular documents called indulgences that medieval Catholics used to reduce their time in purgatory.

Things worked out pretty well in the end. Archbishop Adolph von Nassau was so impressed with Gutenberg's work that he named him a "Hofmann" (fancy court gentleman), hooking him up with a sweet deal that included clothes, grain, wine, and a regular paycheck until he died in 1468.

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