It goes back at least as far as ancient Greece with Talos from the Jason and the Argonauts myth.
Wow, you have such insight. You should use your vast physics knowledge to build a time machine and go back in time to tell Ben and Jerry that making experimental ice cream for fun is a useless endeavor.
I'm sure the physics will be interesting, but it is much more fun to study ice cream making empirically. I've had the best luck by simplifying as much as possible. That and a teaspoon of vodka per quart of ice cream keeps it soft and scoopable no matter how long it stays in the freezer.
Here, the cross walks are 3 feet away from the roundabout and priority is given to pedestrians.
That's nothing. There is a Roundabout in Winooski, VT that has push button operated traffic lights at several points in the middle of it so that pedestrians can cross. It is highly dangerous and unpredictable, but actually an improvement in safety to the previous intersection design, which, while closer to what people are used to, was one of the most dangerous intersections in the state.
From spooky to downright disturbing, because if that is true, then the passengers of the very first viable colony expedition to another star will look back and see a super flare roast the Earth to a cinder just as soon as they are out of range.
"Gravitation cannot be held responsible for people falling in love." -- Albert Einstein