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 150 years ago, an American inventor by the name of Christopher Latham Sholes developed a machine to allow people to easily put text onto paper by pressing mechanical keys. He called his invention the “type writer”. After years of tinkering and adjusting, he finally came up with an arrangement of the keys that worked. …
Transcript How many continents are there? That sounds like a really easy question. After all, there are only so many giant landmasses on the planet and we can easily count them with our fingers. Yet, for something seemingly so simple, the answer to the question can be surprisingly complicated. Learn more about the continents on …
Transcript Of all the world’s co-principalities, there is one which stands out due to its sheer size. This enormous co-principality dominates all other co-principalities in every measure: land area, population, and GDP. Every other co-principality could fit inside this co-principality with room to space. Learn more about the nation of Andorra, the world’s largest co-principality, …
Transcript There is an old adage about warfare that says “amateurs talk about strategy, whereas professionals talk about logistics”. There is a great deal of truth to this statement. While history books have given a great deal of attention to the D-Day landing at Normandy, what has been almost totally ignored is the incredible logistical …
Transcript In 1942, two and a half years into the Second World War, the British were facing a problem. While the British Navy mostly commanded the Atlantic, the Germans had one significant advantage. The battleship Tirpitz, the largest European military warship ever created at that time by total tonnage. Rather than attack the Tirpitz head-on, …
Transcript Historically, an army could have days, weeks, or even months to prepare for war. However, with the development of intercontinental missiles and nuclear weapons, the time for preparation was reduced to hours or even minutes. In light of these changes, it was necessary to develop a system that allowed for rapid mobilization and readiness. …
Transcript Right now vaccinations are all over the news. There are many companies that have developed vaccines for COVID-19 and there is a good chance that most people in the world will wind up getting a vaccine in the next year or two. Many of you may never have given much thought to what is …
Transcript In 1957 the United States embarked on its most controversial series of nuclear tests. These tests took place on US soil in the state of Nevada. They detonated 29 devices and tested a wide number of things, including how blasts would damage builds, pigs, and soldiers. They detonated bombs on towers, from balloons, and …