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One of the most wrenching changes of the 1800s was not the result of a reform movement. A terrible famine devastated Ireland in the 1840s. Millions left the country, an emigration that changed the social fabric of Ireland and the United States forever. In 1845 a previously unknown fungus struck the potato crop, the […]
Who or What is really to blame for the Irish Potato Famine of the Mid 1800s? Read More »
Storytellers since the time of the ancient Greeks have enjoyed imagining that people are capable of breaking the laws of nature and gaining fantastic strength or powers. They have also imagined amazing machines and mythical figures with magical abilities. In a sense, the spirit of discovery expressed in the scientific and industrial ages-and in new
The Marvelous Rise of Science Fiction Read More »
Petroleum-crude oil-and its products have been in use for thousands of years. Ancient Egyptians used pitch, a thick, sticky form of petroleum, to coat mummies as they prepared them for burial. Ancient Babylonians used pitch to build walls and pave streets. Yet it took two inventions of the 1800s-the kerosene lamp and, to a much
How Petroleum made our modern world Read More »
Michael Thonet, a German cabinetmaker living in Austria, invented a process that revolutionized furniture making. He used this process in the mid-1860s to craft the bentwood rocker. Thonet’s patent consisted of bending solid wood by steaming it and then clamping a thin strip of steel along one side. The process eliminated complex jointing and carving.
Incredible History behind the Thonet Rocker Read More »
Historians consider the Industrial Revolution to be one of the two most important changes that have taken place in the history of the world. Just as the start of agriculture did 10,000 years ago, the Industrial Revolution marks a turning point in history. The Industrial Revolution is, of course, a more recent change. Just 300
How the industrial revolution made our modern World Read More »
When people look at a map, they usually have no idea of which projection cartographers used to construct that map. However, almost everyone has heard of or seen the most frequently used projection-the Mercator-developed by Gerardus Mercator in 1569. It was the map projection used by European navigators in their voyages of exploration and empire
How did the Mercator Projections revolutionize navigation ? Read More »
The Jacob Zuma Saga reiterates time and again that forcefully removing heads of state from office however unpopular they may be always produced catastrophic consequences. First I send my support to the south African people and wish them the very best in such times of difficulty, the upheaval that has been going on
There are striking similarities between the assassinations of the Presidents of these countries. First of all I send my condolences to the beautiful people of Haiti. There is talk in the Streets of Port–au–Prince that the recent assassination of their beloved leader has something to do with one of their old villains. Critiques argue that
There are Disturbing Similarities between Haitian and Burkina Faso Presidential deaths Read More »
Early on the morning of September 1, 939, German tanks, troop carriers, and dive-bombers poured over the Polish border. The Polish army, outnumbered perhaps two to one, fought valiantly, but it was no match for the overwhelming surprise attack. In just a few weeks, Poland was utterly defeated by Hitler’s blitzkrieg. World War II had
Aggressive expansionism in 20th Century Europe Read More »
In 1955 Nasser had announced the signing of an arms agreement between Egypt and Czechoslovakia (acting for the Soviet Union). Alarmed by the possibility of an alliance between Egypt and the Eastern bloc, the United States and Britain offered to help fund the most ambitious of Nasser’s development projects for Egypt, the construction of a
The Hostile takeover of the Suez Canal Read More »