how is aluminum historically signifigant?

Answer 1

If we didn't have Al, our airplanes would still be made of balsa wood and be propeller-driven. Aluminum, because it's light and strong, made possible jet airplanes.

Answer 2

It was one of the rarest of metals, once called "the metal of kings and queens". One ounce of it used to cost as much as "two days wages for a common laborer"

It was one of the first metals to be liberated from it's ore form by electrolysis. It takes an increadible amount of power to remove oxygen from aluminum, but once aluminum is in it's metal form, it only takes 15% of that energy to recycle it do we can use it over and over again.