Did you know

0 (number)

0 (zero) was the last numerical digit to come into use

Edward VII of the United Kingdom

King Edward VII was known as the "uncle of Europe" as he was related to nearly every other European monarch

Murder

In some jurisdictions if the victim survived longer than "one year and a day" the perpetrator could not be tried for murder

Incense

All of the major religions incorporate the burning of incense in their rites

Water

Water covers about 71 percent of the Earth's surface

Exercise

Physical exercise is beneficial to both physical and mental health

Polygamy

Even within societies which allow polygamy, in actual practice it generally occurs only rarely.

Drawing and quartering

In Britain, the penalty of drawing and quartering was usually reserved for commoners, including knights. Noble traitors were merely beheaded

Plagiarism

Plagiarism is the passing off of another person's work as one's own

Zhou Dynasty

The Mandate of Heaven, requiring rulers to rule justly, was introduced by the Zhou Dynasty of China

The "Copernican revolution," placing the sun instead of the Earth at the center of the universe, is considered "the" scientific revolution and marked the starting point of modern astronomy and cosmology

Pyramids of Giza

The Great Pyramid at Giza is the last of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World still in existence

Wellesley College

Wellesley College was founded by Pauline and Henry Fowle Durant to give women an opportunity for higher education

Ajivika

Ajivika was an ancient Indian philosophical and ascetic movement that did not believe in karma or the possibility of free will

Robert Joffrey

Robert Joffrey started his career in dance with tap dancing but was quickly guided to ballet

U.S. Virgin Islands

The United States bought the U.S. Virgin Islands from Denmark in 1917

Petroglyph

Petroglyphs, or rock engravings, have been found dating back at least 10,000 years

Czechoslovakia

Czechoslovakia was a country in Central Europe that existed from October 28, 1918, when it declared independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until January 1, 1993, when it split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia

Bankruptcy

In the Jewish law there was no provision for bankruptcy; instead, all unpaid debts were canceled every seven years

Max von Laue

Nobel Prize winning German physicist Max von Laue openly resisted the Nazi regime's anti-Jewish Deutsche Physik

Tuscarora (tribe)

After conflict with European settlers the Tuscarora left their lands in North Carolina and settled in New York where they became the sixth tribe to join the Iroquois Confederacy

Baba Yaga

Baba Yaga's "cabin on chicken legs" may be based on real buildings.

United States Constitution

The first ten amendments to the United States Constitution are known as the Bill of Rights

Indian Railways

Indian Railways constitutes one of the largest and busiest rail networks in the world, transporting transporting six billion passengers a year

Mary I of England

The execution of Protestants during the reign of Queen Mary Tudor earned her the nickname "Bloody Mary"

Vaishnavism

Vaishnavism differs from other traditions of Hinduism by recognizing Vishnu as the supreme deity

Yupik

Yupiit believe in benign and evil spirits, and their mediators (shamans) can communicate with both

Nunavut

Nunavut is the newest, largest, and most northerly territory of Canada

Judo

Despite the meaning of "judo" being "the gentle way," it is very demanding and injury can easily occur

Mesozoic

The Mesozoic began after the "Great Dying" - the largest mass extinction in history

Albert Bierstadt

Although Albert Bierstadt's paintings were not fully recognized in his lifetime, he is now regarded as one of the greatest landscape artists in history.

Bermuda Triangle

The Bermuda Triangle in the Atlantic Ocean, where a number of aircraft and ships are said to have disappeared under mysterious circumstances, is also known as the Devil's Triangle

Fidel Castro

Castro's dying wish was to avoid a cult of personality developing by banning statues and naming of streets in his honor

Feng-huang

Unlike the Phoenix of the Western World, the Feng-Huang is immortal without needing to go through a cycle of death and re-birth.

Atlantis

There have been dozens—perhaps hundreds—of locations proposed for Atlantis

Tipi

For the Plains Indians, the tipi was more than just a home—it was a sacred space.

Victor Turner

Victor Turner coined the term "communitas," referring to an unstructured state in which all members of a community are equal allowing them to share a common experience, usually through a rite of passage

British Empire

The British Empire was known as "the empire on which the sun never sets"

Mohandas K. Gandhi

Mahatma Gandhi never received the Nobel Peace Prize

Indigenous peoples of the Americas

There was no definitive culture for the Indigenous peoples of the Americas although cultural practices were shared within geographical zones among otherwise unrelated peoples

Michael Faraday

Although Michael Faraday received little formal education he became one of the most influential scientists and one of the best experimentalists in the history of science

Nation-state

A nation-state is a political entity (sovereign state) that governs a cultural entity (nation) by successfully serving all its citizens

Symphony

The form that we now recognize as the symphony took shape in the early eighteenth century

Gentile

The word "gentile," used to translate the Hebrew "goy," derives from the Latin word "gentilis" meaning descended from a common ancestor