do you know the secret about windmills ? well, if you promise not to tell anyone, i'll explain ...

early settlers in the england realised to their horror the pure energy that is released when you crush wheat. crushing the germ generates incredible heat which needs to be dispersed otherwise there's a risk of injury, death or even someone hurting themselves.

so how do you get rid of such energy and split the wheat germ in a controlled manner ? well, if you live near a river you crush it near water and let the water's coolness take away the heat.

but what if you live up a hill ?

in this case they crushed the wheat between two heavy stones. the two stones would lift slightly with each explosion thus converting the chemical energy in to heat energy in to kinetic energy. small graduations in the stone would cause it to rotate and turn giant drive shafts connected to windmill wings.

the wings would turn and cause great winds to move across the earth, thus dispersing the wheat power effectively. and that is precisely why windmills are placed on hills - it's the safest place to blow wind from.