I learned this today. In the 1930s, the introduction of the refrigerator into homes put the ice harvesting industry out of business. Any kind of food, be it meat, fish or vegetable, is going to start going bad. Food decays because micro-organisms like bacteria feed on the food. Bacteria use enzymes to break down the […]
#95 What happened to the ice industry? Read More »
I learned this today. The Rosetta stone helped translate hieroglyphics because it had the same message written in hieroglyphics, the cursive Egyptian script for regular people called demotic, and ancient Greek. The Rosetta stone is a large slab of granodiorite that probably stood in a temple. It has a decree written on it that concerns
#91 How did the Rosetta stone help people decipher hieroglyphics? Read More »
I learned this today. Sugar came to England in 1069 but it wasn’t eaten by most people until 700 years later. The average British person eats about 90kg of sugar a year. This is not only unhealthy, it is also a relatively recent trend. In 1750, it was about 1kg a year. By 1820, that
#90 When did people in Europe start eating sugar? Read More »
I learned this today. Venice was built on 118 small islands in a marshy lagoon because the people from local Roman cities were fleeing waves of Germanic and Hun invasions. The city of Venice was founded at noon on Friday 25th March, 421 AD with the dedication of the first church. Construction started possibly five
#88 Why is Venice where it is? Read More »
I learned this today. On November 14th, 1910, Eugene Ely flew a plane off a ship, technically making that ship the first ever aircraft carrier. He made the first takeoff and landing in 1911. It was a flying event in Belmont Park, New York and Eugene Ely was trying to prove that it was possible
#86 When did people start using aircraft carriers? Read More »
The first ever money was the Mesopotamian shekel, used about 5,000 years ago. Before we had money, people used the bartering system. Bartering probably started when hunter-gatherers began to form larger groups. When hunter-gatherers were in small groups, they could service all of their own needs. They only needed food, clothing, and shelter. Once the
#85 When did people start using money? Read More »
I learned this today. London was built where it is because it is the closest point to the sea that could be bridged. There may have been a small settlement where London is from prehistoric times, but there is no real evidence for that. There is, however, evidence of a bridge crossing the river Thames
#84 Why is London where it is? Read More »
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 »
