Podcast Transcript If you were to ask most people what the very first invention that humans came up with is, many of them might say the wheel. It isn’t a bad guess, but believe it not, the wheel was nowhere close to being the first invention. In fact, as far as we know, there were …
Podcast Transcript In 1940, much of the world was at war, but the United States wasn’t. A strong isolationist sentiment kept the US on the sidelines while Germany and Japan ran roughshod over their neighbors. While the US wasn’t in the war, many people in the US military knew that it was only a matter …
Podcast Transcript Countries, like people, have names. Sometimes those names are long and sometimes they have a shorter version of it for common use. There are some countries, however, that often have multiple names, and the names can be radically different from each other. They might want everyone to call it by one name, or …
Podcast Transcript You are probably well aware that Mount Everest is the tallest mountain on Earth. Because of its status as the highest point on Earth, it has attracted thousands of people who have climbed to the summit. In the process, it has also killed hundreds of people who died in the attempt. Learn more …
Podcast Transcript On November 30, 1939, as part of their secret agreement with Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union invaded the nation of Finland. Despite the overwhelming numerical and military advantage, the Soviets were unable to advance very far and suffered heavy losses. One man, in particular, was responsible for many of those losses and single-handedly …
Podcast Transcript Every year, before the start of Lent, in hundreds of cities around the world, there is a massive celebration. While the celebrations differ, sometimes dramatically, there are certain elements they all share. Modern celebrations can often get quite racy, and if you didn’t know it, you’d probably never guess that the origins of …
Podcast Transcript In 1648, Europe saw the end of two of the most horrific wars that had ever been seen on the continent up until that point. The treaties which ended these conflicts established an international order which overturned the system which had existed for centuries and established a new order which in many respects, …
Podcast Transcript When Napoleon Bonaparte conquered much of Europe in the early 19th century, he didn’t create a monolithic empire that was centrally run out of Paris. Well, he sort of did, but at least on paper, he didn’t. Rather, what he did was set up his family members as monarchs to rule in his …
Podcast Transcript Every culture has a different way of assigning names to people. Sometimes they use different words as names, sometimes names are in a different order, and sometimes they have completely different systems altogether. One of the most complicated naming systems in history had to be that used by the ancient Romans. They had …