Transcript For the last 300 years, a debate has raged between mathematicians about who should be credited with the invention of calculus: Sir Isaac Newton or Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz. The sides of the debate have mostly been based on geography with English mathematicians advocating for Newton, and Continental Europeans siding with Leibniz. Learn more about …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
Transcript The longbow was one of the most devastating weapons in medieval Europe. It was a weapon that could launch projectiles hundreds of yards and pierce the heaviest of armor. It was the battlefield trump card to heavy armored cavalry. No country adopted and mastered the longbow quite like the English. One reason why they …
Transcript Which person can be credited with having saved the most human lives in history? There might not be a direct answer to that question, but one person whose name always comes up is that of Normal Borlaug. Borlaug has been called “Humanity’s Forgotten Benefactor” and was the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. His …
Podcast Transcript One of the brightest things in the universe is caused by one of the most powerful explosions in the universe: a supernova. While they don’t happen very often, they were known to ancient peoples and their appearance would often be recorded because they were such a rare and special event. Today, astrophysicists have …
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 …