Why are Stradivarius instruments good? Stradivarius instruments might be good because of their age, because of their craftmanship, because of the materials they are made of, because of the person playing them, or simply just because of their name. On the other hand, they might not be as good as we think they are. Most […]
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Why did the Royal Society begin? The Royal Society was formed in 1660 and it was started to bring like-minded scientists together and encourage research and discussion. The Royal Society in Britain is the oldest continuously existing scientific academy in the world, but it is not the earliest. That is the Accademia dei Lincei in
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What is a Ponzi scheme? It is a type of fraud where you use money invested by new people to pay profits to the people who are already invested. It was named after Charles Ponzi who certainly didn’t invent the scheme but who made it famous. (Incidentally, Ponzi scheme, scam, and con are all relatively
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Why do we work Monday to Friday? We work Monday to Friday with Saturday and Sunday off because of trade unions and because of Henry Ford, but he was improving on systems that had started earlier in the previous century. The idea of having Saturday and Sunday as a holiday is a relatively recent invention.
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Why did the samurai class end? The samurai class were eliminated during the Meiji Restoration when Japan modernized in a very short period of time. Although, most of them just changed roles, rather than disappearing. The samurai came out of a military class that had been formed in the Heian Period, 710 to 1185. Heian
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When was the first world map made? The first world map was made in the 6th century BC, but it was very limited. The first map that is close to a modern map, i.e. having all of the continents on it, was probably made in the late 19th century. The problem with maps is that
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Did pirates really bury treasure? Not really. There is only one known instance and even that is debatable. The idea of buried treasure and a map with an X on it was popularized by Robert Louis Stevenson in his book “Treasure Island”. When we think of pirates, we think of swashbuckling rouges with an eye
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Why is the presidential inauguration on January 20th? Inauguration day is on January 20th because the 20th Amendment to the Constitution changed it in 1933. The new president of the United States of America is sworn in on January 20th. There is a big spectacle, which is attended by thousands of people. The president swears
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What are war bonds? War bonds are a way of raising money to fight a war from the citizens of that country, and a way of keeping inflation under control. The first public war bonds were issued during World War 1. Without them, both of the wars might have been lost. Despite the technological advances
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Is there any basis to the legend of Atlantis? No, there is no basis to the legend of Atlantis. It was invented by Plato to serve a purpose in his writings and was not based on anything. There was an event that could have been an inspiration for Atlantis, but there is no direct connection.
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