What was the Spanish Inquisition? The Spanish Inquisition was a judicial institution, run as a royal court, that investigated and prosecuted heresy and religious nonconformity in Spain (and later the Spanish Empire), and was used by the monarchy to enforce Catholic religious conformity. “Inquisition” just means “inquiry.” The Catholic Church had investigated suspected heresy long
#1770 What was the Spanish Inquisition? Read More »
Who came up with the idea for the periodic table? The periodic table was first made by a Russian chemist called Dmitri Mendeleev in 1869. You have definitely seen the periodic table of elements. Currently, it has 118 elements on it. The first 94 of those are naturally occurring elements and the other 24 have
#1767 Who came up with the idea for the periodic table? Read More »
Why did the first electrical plugs go into light sockets? The first electrical plugs screwed into light sockets because early homes were wired mainly for lighting, and the light socket was often the only convenient place to tap the electricity. These days, every house will have multiple electrical outlets in most rooms. We will be
#1762 Why did the first electrical plugs go into light sockets? Read More »
What was the Aberfan disaster? The Aberfan disaster was a terrible coal-waste landslide in 1966 that hit a school and killed 116 children and 28 adults. Aberfan is a small village in the area of Merthyr Vale in Wales, UK. The village was mostly a tiny hamlet until the Merthyr Vale Coal Mine was opened
#1757 What was the Aberfan disaster? Read More »
How were the Terracotta Warriors found? The Terracotta Warriors were found accidentally by farmers digging a well. The Terracotta Army was buried in 221 BC and it wasn’t uncovered again until it was found by farmers in 1974. There was a bad drought in the area, and Yang Zhifa and his five brothers were desperate
#1754 How were the Terracotta Warriors found? Read More »
Why is the alphabet in that order? There is no logical reason why the alphabet is in the order it is in. It is mostly an accident of history and of the languages that used it. Before we begin, let’s be clear that I am talking about the Latin alphabet that has 26 letters and
#1750 Why is the alphabet in that order? Read More »
How did it take so long to invent zero? Zero took thousands of years to invent because there was no need for it. There is evidence that people have been counting for 50,000 years. Ancient people counted using tally marks. Cave walls, bones, wood, and stones have been found with tally marks scratched into them.
#1749 Why did it take so long to invent zero? Read More »
Is Troy a real place? Almost certainly, Troy was a real place. It was located in present day Turkey. However, a Trojan war is only a possibility, and the two poems in which the city is mentioned are probably a mixture of history and legend. The location of the city of Troy was identified by
#1748 Is Troy a real place? Read More »
Could anyone become a knight? In theory, it was possible for anyone to become a knight, but the vast majority of knights came from the nobility. The word “knight” comes from the Old English “cniht”, which meant boy or servant. That came from the Old German “Knecht”, which meant servant, bondsman, or vassal. And that
#1746 Could anyone become a knight? Read More »
What was Operation Mincemeat? Operation Mincemeat was a deception by British military intelligence during World War Two to convince the Germans that Britain was going to invade Greece and Sardinia, rather than Sicily, the intended target. They planted false documents on a body that the Germans believed was a Royal Marine Major. The ruse was
#1744 What was Operation Mincemeat? Read More »
