A Brief History of Timekeeping

A Brief History of Timekeeping

Transcript Our ability to measure time is one of the fundamental things which makes us human. We’ve gone from very crude and inexact measures of time to time measurements which are so accurate that it would take billions of years to lose a single second.  This increased accuracy has allowed us to navigate the seas, …

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The First Pandemic: The Plague of Justinian

The First Pandemic: The Plague of Justinian

Transcript Pandemics can be world-changing events. The aftermath of a pandemic can shape societies and topple empires.   Whether it’s the flu, smallpox, cholera, or the bubonic plague, these pandemics have killed more people than all the wars in human history.  However, pandemics weren’t always a part of humanity. There was a first pandemic that caught …

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Eponymous Laws

Eponymous Laws

Transcript Everyone is probably familiar with Murphy’s Law which says that “Anything which can go wrong will go wrong.” However, there are many such laws, known as eponymous laws, which are sayings, adages, or truisms, which have been attributed to people over the years.  These are not hard and fast mathematical or physical laws, but …

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Football, Soccer, and Rugby

Football, Soccer, and Rugby

Transcript While different countries may debate as to what sport should really be called ‘football’, the reality is that the word football describes a broad family of sports all of whom have a very similar background and origin.  Just like species with a common ancestor can evolve in ways where they look totally unlike each …

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The Latin Alphabet

The Latin Alphabet

Transcript The Latin Alphabet has become the most widespread system of writing in the world. Its origins can be traced back thousands of years to Ancient Romans and to civilizations before that. It is probably the single biggest thing that we use today which originated in Rome. Today’s English alphabet, you know that one from …

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Why are French Fries called French Fries?

Why are French Fries called French Fries?

Transcript Everyone loves french fries. It is one of the few things which most people can agree on in the world today.  The average American consumes over 16 pounds of them every year, and they have become a staple part of the cuisine in countries all over the world. Yet, why do American’s call them …

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The Last US Civil War Pension

The Last US Civil War Pension

Transcript On May 31, 2020, Irene Triplett passed away at the age of 90. Her life was rather unremarkable save for one important fact: she was the last person who received a pension from the United States government from the US Civil War. Find out how a woman who died two decades into the 21st …

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Happy Birthday To You: The Most Famous Song in the World

Happy Birthday To You: The Most Famous Song in the World

Transcript If there is one song almost everyone knows it is Happy Birthday to You (yes, that is the actual title of the song, even though everyone just calls it Happy Birthday). Not only has the song been sung at countless children’s birthday parties, but it has also been mentioned in Supreme Court decisions and …

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The US/Canadian Border

The US/Canadian Border

Transcript The border between the United States and Canada is the longest border between any two countries in the world. The total length of the land border is 8,891 kilometers or 5,525 miles long. In addition to being the longest border in the world, it is also the longest non-militarized and non-fenced border in the …

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