I learned this today. The Middle Ages and the Dark Ages both refer to Europe between the Fall of Rome in 476 AD and the beginning of the Renaissance in the 14th century. Some people say the “Medieval Period” is a better expression, but this means pretty much the same thing. The idea that this […]
#80 Why do we say Middle Ages and Dark Ages? Read More »
I learned this today. Steam cars outnumbered internal combustion engine cars and electric cars from 1900 until about 1907. Steam engines are external combustion engines because the fuel is burned away from the engine. They release far fewer polluting gases than internal combustion engines. A steam engine works by burning a fuel source to heat
#78 Why were steam cars so popular in 1900? Read More »
I learned this today. The first dinosaur was named 20 years before the word “dinosaur” was invented. Dinosaur fossils have probably been dug out of the ground ever since people have been able to dig, but no one would have known what they were. Chinese writings from about 2000 years ago reference dragon bones, which
#76 When were the first dinosaur bones found? Read More »
I learned this today. The QWERTY keyboard was invented because it made it faster for Morse code typists to type. A common story is that the QWERTY keyboard was invented to stop typists from typing quickly. The story goes that when typists typed quickly, the bars that held the letters could jam if they pressed
#67 Why do we use a QWERTY keyboard? Read More »
I learned this today. The difference between AC and DC current is that in DC the charge only flows in one direction but in AC it changes direction periodically. Direct current (DC) was first produced in 1800 by the Italian physicist Alessandro Volta. That is why the volt is named after him. He produced electricity
#64 What is the difference between alternating current (AC) and direct current (DC)? Read More »
I learned this today. Zippers weren’t called zippers until about 30 years after they had been invented and they got their name from a boot. A number of different people claim to have invented the zipper, but Elias Howe Jr. technically holds the patent for what can be called the closest thing to an early
#62 Why are zippers called zippers? Read More »
I learned this today. We say “the press” to refer to the media because the first newspapers were made on a movable type printing press. Johannes Gutenberg invented the movable-type printing press somewhere between 1440 and 1450. By 1450, it was in operation. Before his invention, printing was done using wooden blocks. The page to
#59 Why do we say “the press” to refer to journalists and newspapers? Read More »
I learned this today. Black Friday started in the 1950s when police in Philadelphia had to deal with the crowds and mayhem that came after Thanksgiving. Thousands of people came into the city for the Army-Navy football game that was held on the first Saturday after Thanksgiving every year. These days, Black Friday refers to
#55 Where does Black Friday originate? Read More »
I learned this today. The first ever Nobel Peace Prize was given to Henry Dunant in 1901. He was the man who founded the Red Cross. The Nobel Prize was created through the will of Alfred Nobel. He was a chemist, engineer, and inventor. He invented 355 things during his lifetime. The most famous thing
#52 Who won the first Nobel Peace Prize? Read More »
I learned this today. The symbol of the Red Cross is the Swiss flag reversed. The Red Cross was started by a Swiss businessman called Henry Dunant. He was born in 1828 and died in 1910. Dunant had started a business that operated in French-occupied Algeria, but the local government was not very helpful. Dunant
#51 Where did the symbol for the Red Cross come from? Read More »
