Why didn’t French decimal time last? It was too hard to alter the way people already told the time to introduce a system of decimal time and too expensive to remake all the clocks. France began to use decimal time on 5th October 1793, just after the French Revolution. The point of the revolution wasn’t […]
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When was the wheel invented? The wheel was invented in roughly 4200 BC, over 6,700 years ago. I have toyed with whether “invented” might be the wrong word to use here. “Discovered” might be better because there are many round things that naturally exist in the world. However, I think we can safely go with
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Why are flamingos pink? Flamingos are pink because of all the carotenoids that they eat. Flamingos are famous for sleeping on one leg while standing up, for eating upside down, and for being a brilliant shade of pink. However, when they are born, they are a slightly off-white color. They take on their pink color
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Why is breakdancing called breakdancing? Breakdancing was dancing that filled a break in the music. Breakdancing is generally only called breakdancing by the general public. People who breakdance are called breakers, or break-boy (b-boy) and break-girl (b-girl). Breakdancing is a type of dance, but b-boys and b-girls live a lifestyle which has a culture of
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Manor, mansion, villa, stately home or hall? They are all words that describe a large, expensive house, but they have slightly different origins. A manor is a British term now, but the tradition of manors comes from all over western Europe, having started in Rome. The word comes from the Latin “manere”, which meant remain,
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What is a cavity? It is a hole in the enamel of the tooth that bacteria can get in through. We have 32 teeth, assuming you haven’t had your wisdom teeth out, and they are divided into three different types of teeth. We have incisors, canines, and molars. Incisors are the cutting teeth. The name
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What languages became English? A Germanic language brought by the Anglo-Saxons, then Norse brought by the Scandinavian Vikings, and then French brought by the Normans. No language really has a starting point, but you can often see the languages that combined to make them. For example, French, Italian, and Spanish all evolved from Latin, which
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Why do shoes smell? Shoes smell because bacteria break down the sweat and dead skin cells from our feet, producing waste products that smell bad. Bacteria live all over our skin, not just on our feet. These bacteria are called the skin microbiota. You may have heard of the gut microbiota, which is the name
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Why are the police called cops? Police officers are called cops because “to cop” meant to arrest someone. There are many expressions used to refer to the police in English speaking countries. Probably the most famous expression is cop. It is so common that many police officers even refer to themselves as cops or coppers,
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What were punks rebelling against? They were rebelling against the establishment, the commercialization of music, hippie culture, and the general economic hardship in the UK and Europe. The word punk probably started as an insult that the punk movement took control of and owned. Punk meant “something worthless”, “inferior”, “bad”, “a worthless person”, and “a
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