Do you know the story of William McGonagall, the worst poet in Britain?
This story, unlike many others, is an entertaining and humorous tale that demonstrates how being different, even in ways that might not seem positive at first, can still earn a person a place in history. It’s the story of William McGonagall, a Scotsman from Dundee, who, despite having little to no command over the finer […]
About Champagne!
The Romans first planted vineyards in the champagne region of France, it was a pinkish wine. However, there was a problem making wines sparkle, and bottles strong enough to withstand the pressure. In the 19th century Veuve Clicquot cracked it, starting the growth of the famous Champagne houses. During the French Revolution, they tried to […]
Steamboat Willie the first Mickey Mouse cartoon with sound
“I only hope that we never lose sight of one thingthat it was all started by a mouse.” Walt Disney, Disneyland; October 27, 1954 It was the first Disney Cartoon with sound, with Mickey’s voice provided by Walt himself! This is the reason why on November 18, 1928 the Disney company celebrates Mickey’s birthday, […]
When did we first learn of the Balaclava, the Cardigan and the Raglan Sleeve
Did you know that these three items of clothing were the result of the Crimea War? Some war wasn’t it? This is what makes history fun. 10 questions to discuss: How did soldiers in the Crimea War adapt to the harsh winter conditions? What clothing item, originally improvised by soldiers, became fashionable after […]
Mechanical Turk – a chess machine that could beat anyone
Have you heard of the Mechanical Turk? I do not mean the Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) Amazon’s crowdsourcing marketplace, this is not the same. The Mechanical Turk was a creation of Wolfgang von Kempelen. How did it happen? In 1769 when the French illusionist François Pelletier was invited to perform in Vienna at the court […]
The Dutch create a lake
In 1932 the Dutch completed what they call The Afsluitdijk, which is Dutch for “shut off dike”. It stretched across the top of the Zuiderzee and created a large lake and as several rivers were flowing into it, it soon became a freshwater one. It was completed 89 years ago, even though the project had […]
A village, an independent republic!
The Flag of Perloja Yes, it actually happened, would you believe that a small village in Northern Europe actually became an independent state, a republic and it even had it’s own flag! It was all as a result of the chaos across Europe after World War I. This village was situated in what today we […]
The ‘dancing plague’
Today we dance for fun, we can dance all night, and we think nothing of it, but in the 14th century they thought it was a disease! They called it the “Dancing Plague”. Between the 14th and 17th centuries in European towns people would suddenly start dancing erratically, then others joined them, sometimes this grew […]
Athens, an early democracy
In 510 BC the Athenians overthrew their tyrant King Hippias, with the help of Cleomenes I, King of Sparta. Naturally, he tried to put his own man on the throne, and he chose Isagoras. However, Cleisthenes, an Athenian lawyer, who was supported by the middle class and basically most of the population, opposed him. Isagoras […]
The Ancient Olympics, how did they start?
Do your children know that the Olympics date back to an Ancient Greek festival, which was part of a five day festival held every four years in honour of Zeus, the King of the Gods. It is believed there were similar festivals as far back as the 13th century BC, yes, that long ago! However, […]