Forbes.com readers, editors and a panel of experts rank the candle as the 14th most important tool of all time, in terms of its impact on human civilization. For millennia, the candle has driven progress, allowing users to extend productive hours beyond sundown. The first candles most likely date back more than 3,000 years, when people soaked reeds into liquid fat and burned them for light. The Romans improved the process, inventing the fiber wick, and during the Middle Ages, beeswax candles w...