I learned this today. Butlers started out as the person who was in charge of the alcoholic drinks for a household. The word “butler” came into English from the Anglo-Norman word “buteler”, which came from the Old Norman “butelier”. This in turn came from the French “botellier”. The French word came from the medieval Latin […]
#49 Why are butlers called butlers? Read More »
I learned this today. Earl Grey tea is supposed to have been named after Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey, prime minister of Britain from 1830 to 1834, but it is more likely that this story was invented for advertising purposes and the tea is actually named after William Grey & Co. tea merchant. Earl Grey
#48 Why is Earl Grey tea called Earl Grey? Read More »
I learned this today. The teabag was a staggering invention in the world of tea drinking, but it was originally called the “tea leaf holder” and was invented to cut down on waste. Tea drinking began in China in about 2737 BC (according to legend). Teapots have been found in Chinese sites dating back to
#46 Why was the teabag invented? Read More »
I learned this today. The most famous building in Rome is probably the Colosseum, but it wasn’t called the Colosseum until about 600 years after it was built. The Colosseum was built between 69 and 80 AD. It was ordered by Emperor Vespasian. It was built on land that Emperor Nero had confiscated from the
#42 Why is the Colosseum called the “Colosseum”? Read More »
I learned this today. The construction of the Berlin Wall began on the night of Sunday 13th August. A day that is called Barbed Wire Sunday. At the end of World War 2, the defeated Germany was divided up among the allied powers: America, Britain, France, and Russia. Each power occupied a quarter of the
#38 Why was the Berlin Wall first built? Read More »
I learned this today. Standardized time and time zones weren’t needed until rail travel became popular in the 1850s. Having international time zones seems common sense to us these days. How can you conduct business in New York from London if you don’t know what time it is there? And knowing how many hours ahead
#37 Why did we start using time zones? Read More »
I learned this today. Neanderthals were named after the place where they were found. The Neander Valley in modern Germany. “Thal” means valley in German. The earliest Neanderthal bones found were in 1829 in Belgium. A Dutch naturalist called Philippe-Charles Schmerling found a skull, but he thought it was a fossil of a human skull
#31 Why are Neanderthals called “Neanderthals”? Read More »
I learned this today. The horse collar changed society in a huge way and many things we take for granted now came about because of the horse collar. There are different opinions, but humans probably started farming about 11,500 years ago. Many animals were domesticated at around this time as well. Fields were dug and
#26 How did the invention of the horse collar change society? Read More »
I learned this today. Why is Wall Street called “Wall Street” and why has it become a financial center? There are two theories as to why Wall Street is called Wall Street. Nobody knows which one is true. The first theory is that it was a street for a people called Walloon. At that time,
#25 Why is Wall Street called Wall Street? Read More »
I learned this today. The piano is only 300 years old and many famous composers that we know composed for the harpsichord, not the piano. The piano was invented by Bartolomeo Cristofori in about 1698. He worked for the house of Medici. He called his invention, “un cimbalo di cipresso di piano e forte,” which
#22 Why was the piano invented? Read More »
