I learned this today. When was the first passenger train? The first passenger train was Locomotion No. 1. It departed on the Stockton and Darlington Railway on September 27th, 1825. Railways go back thousands of years, but they haven’t always been used to carry people. The earliest railway ever discovered was in Greece, built in […]
#282 When was the first passenger train? Read More »
I learned this today. Instant coffee was technically invented in 1771, but this wasn’t really instant. Instant coffee that we would recognize today was invented in 1890. These days, instant coffee is coffee that has either been freeze-dried or spray dried. The two methods differ slightly, and freeze-drying is more expensive. When coffee is freeze-dried,
#277 When was instant coffee invented? Read More »
I learned this today. The Nazca lines were made using wooden stakes and ropes to make them straight. Then the top layer of soil was removed. How the Nazca lines were made is an easier question to answer than why they were made. First of all, let’s look at what the Nazca lines actually are.
#273 How were the Nazca Lines made? Read More »
I learned this today. The Iron Age started because iron and steel reached the point where it was stronger than bronze, and the Bronze Age collapsed. The Iron Age is the third of the three-age history division of prehistory. It doesn’t have one starting point because it varies from region to region. The earliest start
#272 Why did the Iron Age start? Read More »
I learned this today. The Tunguska event was probably a meteor air burst that exploded over Eastern Siberia on June 30th, 1908. Today, as of writing, it is the 114th anniversary of the Tunguska event. Early in the morning of Tuesday, June 30th, 1908, there was a bluish light almost as bright as the sun,
#270 What was the Tunguska event? Read More »
I learned this today. The first lawyers appeared in the Roman Empire in the time of Emperor Claudius who ruled from AD 41 to 54. In ancient time there was no such thing as lawyers. The law was discharged by the king, chief, or head of the group of people. As leaders became more powerful,
#269 When were the first lawyers? Read More »
I learned this today. Rome became a republic because the last king of the Roman Kingdom was overthrown. The Kingdom of Rome was founded in 753 BC. There is no written evidence for this. It all comes from oral histories. All of the histories that we can look at were written when Rome had become
#267 Why did Rome become a republic? Read More »
I learned this today. Modern ice cream was invented in 1695. Nobody knows when ice cream itself was invented. Ice desserts aren’t possible without ice. Unless people live in a very cold country, before the invention of the refrigerator, the only way to have ice was with an icehouse. The first icehouses were introduced in
#266 Who invented ice cream? Read More »
I learned this today. Hardtack is a dense biscuit made from flour, water, and sometimes salt. It was sometimes called “ship’s biscuit” because it was a staple on long voyages. The word “hardtack” comes from the British sailor slang for food, “tack”. It was called “hardtack” because it was extremely hard. Hardtack is a very
#262 What is hardtack? Read More »
I learned this today. The first paper money was issued in China in the 7th century. Many countries around the world had started using different things as “money” by about 3000 BC. They were first used to represent a weight of something. For example, the Mesopotamian shekel represented 160 grains of barley. It was easier
#261 When did people first start using paper money? Read More »
