Transcript You are probably familiar with the term decimation. The word is usually used in English to mean “to cause great destruction or harm”. However, to ancient Rome, the word had a very different and very specific meaning. It was one of the most devastating and brutal forms of punishment that the military could inflict. …
Transcript You are probably familiar with the four basic types of musical instruments: strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion. However, is it possible to have an instrument that doesn’t fit into one of these families? In the early 20th century, Russian inventor Leon Theremin came up with an instrument that doesn’t fit into any family and …
Transcript Every February 14, people around the world celebrate Valentine’s Day. It is a day for everything heart-shaped, flowers, jewelry, candy, and romance. Why is this day the day dedicated to romance? What’s with the hearts? And who or what is a valentine? Is this all a giant conspiracy of greeting card manufacturers? Learn more …
Transcript Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, known to history as just Nero, was not the best of Roman Emperors. In fact, on most lists of Roman Emperors, he would rank somewhere near the bottom. In no small part, this is due to how he reacted after the greatest fire ever to engulf Rome and what …
Transcript In the middle of World War II, a small island in Scotland’s Hebrides Islands was suffering through war shortages like most of the country. However, on February 5, 1941, a very fortunate disaster struck the island, and the island’s residents couldn’t have been happier. The reverberations from this lucky calamity are still being felt …
Transcript In 1901, Swiss archeologists Gustave Jequier discovered a large stone stele in what is today western Iran. That large stone was 2.25m or 7.5 feet tall and was covered with cuneiform writing. After it was translated, it was found to have been a list of 282 laws written down by the Babylonian King Hammurabi. …
Transcript For over 30 years, Monty Hall was the host of the game show Let’s Make A Deal. In the show, they played a very simple game where you would choose one of three doors. This game has led to one of the most controversial and public kerfuffles amongst mathematicians, which caused many distinguished mathematicians …
Transcript On May 19, 1946, André René Roussimoff was born into the world in Coulommiers, France. At birth, he weighed 13 pounds or 6 kilograms…and from there, he only got bigger. He eventually topped out at 7 feet, four inches tall, weighed 520 pounds, and became a worldwide phenomenon as a professional wrestler and actor. …
Transcript In 1888, the city of London was terrorized by its most infamous serial killer. Anywhere between 5 and 11 murders were committed over an 18 month period in the Whitechapel district of London, and the crimes have never been officially solved. In the decades since then, a cottage industry has developed of amateur sleuths …