Category: history

Does it seem like work when you’re on a treadmill? There may be a good reason why – as in how tread wheels evolved into treadmills. Ancient Greeks invented the crane to lift heavy loads in the late sixth century. Roman engineers took the Greeks’ design and built the Polyspastos Crane. The new crane allowed four workers to lift 3000kg using a winch on each side. The engineers then replaced the winch with the treadwheel (vertically attached to the crane). A worker would crawl inside the wheel (think hamster) allowing half the number of workers to lift double the weight

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The word “holocaust”, originally comes from the Greek adjective “holokaustos”, “holo” meaning whole and “kaustos” meaning completely burnt. In other words, it referred to an animal sacrifice, which was completely burnt, as a sacrifice to a god. In Hebrew, it refers to as the “Shoah”, meaning catastrophe, and was a genocide where over 6 million European Jews were killed, on the orders of Adolf Hitler and his Nazi collaborators. The period of the Holocaust can be narrowed down, to the years 1941 to 1945. Here are some interesting and startling facts about the Holocaust: Stanislawa Leszczynska was a Polish Catholic

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It is often said that the history books are written by the victors, but sometimes history books are also written by people who fail to conduct proper research. It’s a little scary to think about how many historical accounts taught to schoolchildren are essentially myths that have been passed down through the years but have no basis in fact. 1. Magellan’s Mess It’s widely believed that Magellan was sent by the Spanish to circumnavigate the globe in the year 1519. Actually, his mission was to find a safe passage to the Spice Islands. Embarking on his mission with a total

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On December the seventh 1941, the Imperial Japanese Navy unleashed a surprise attack on the United States Naval base stationed at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Described by President Roosevelt as an act “that will live in infamy,” the Japanese killed 2,403, injured 1,178, sank and damaged four battleships, devastated three destroyers, and downed or wrecked close to 350 aircraft. The attack sent emotional shockwaves through the American public and awoke a technological and industrial giant. The United States ended its policy of neutrality and set its sights on defeating Japan (and its axis allies Germany and Italy) to avenge Pearl Harbor. The

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