Did you know

From New World Encyclopedia


Miskito

The Miskitos are indigenous people of Central America living along the Mosquito Coast in Honduras and Nicaragua

Songhai Empire

At its height, in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, the Songhai Empire was the largest empire in West Africa

Chile

Chile is situated within the Pacific Ring of Fire and has many active volcanos and has suffered many severe earthquakes

Mehndi

"Mehndi" is the application of henna as a temporary form of skin decoration

Asbestos

Litigation related to asbestos is the longest-running mass tort in U.S. history

Great Pyramid of Giza

The Great Pyramid was the world's tallest building for four millennia

Raja yoga

"Raja Yoga" means "Royal Yoga" or the "King of the Yogas"

Paris, France

The name "Paris" is derived from its early inhabitants, the [[Celts

Daniel arap Moi

Daniel arap Moi was popularly known as "Nyayo," a Swahili word for "footsteps" which he used to describe his philosophy

Atlantis

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

Achilles

Achilles, the great warrior in Greek mythology, was educated by the centaur, Chiron

Social psychology

Social psychology developed as a field separate from the behavioral and psychoanalytic schools that were dominant at the time

Barter

Barter differs from gift exchange in that in barter the reciprocal exchange is immediate and has agreed upon terms

Paleozoic

The supercontinent Pangaea is thought to have formed near the end of the Paleozoic era

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

Tipi

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

Yellow River

The Yellow River is known as the "Mother River of China" and "the Cradle of Chinese Civilization"

Sylvia Plath

Sylvia Plath was the first poet to win a Pulitzer Prize posthumously, for The Collected Poems published almost twenty years after her death by suicide

Mary I of Scotland

Mary, Queen of Scots became queen when she was six days old, and died by beheading, convicted of treason against England as part of a plot to assassinate Queen Elizabeth I

Norman Borlaug

Nobel laureate Norman Borlaug has been called the father of the Green Revolution

Ghana Empire

The modern country of Ghana is named after the ancient Ghana Empire, although they do not share any common territory

Blueprint

Blueprints were originally created using photosensitive blue coating on paper

Structural engineering

Structural engineering has advanced significantly through the study of structural failures

Battle of the Alamo

The deaths of such popular figures as Davy Crockett and Jim Bowie contributed to how the Battle of the Alamo has been regarded as an heroic and iconic moment in Texan and U.S. history

Gandhinagar

Gandhinagar, the capital city of the Indian state of Gujarat, was named after Mahatma Gandhi who was himself a Gujarati

Bahadur Shah II

Bahadur Shah II, the last Moghul emperor of India, had little political power and was finally exiled for treason by the British

Esther Williams

"America's Mermaid," Esther Williams, was famous for movies featuring "water ballet" now known as synchronized swimming

Battle of Vicksburg

The Confederate surrender at Vicksburg is sometimes considered the turning point of the American Civil War

Academy

The first Academy was Plato's school of philosophy dedicated to Athena the goddess of wisdom

Sun

The Sun is a near-perfect sphere

Kelvin

Zero on the Kelvin scale is known as Absolute zero, the temperature at which nothing could be colder

Aretha Franklin

By the end of the 1960s Aretha Franklin had come to be known as "The Queen of Soul"

Java

The island of Java has over 100 volcanoes, over 40 of which are active

Actors Studio

The Actors Studio is best known for Lee Strasberg's work developing and teaching method acting, based on the innovations of Constantin Stanislavski

Australian Aborigine

Before the arrival of the British there were at least 300,000, and possibly 1 million, Indigenous Australians living in Australia

Vanderbilt University

Vanderbilt University is named for shipping and rail magnate "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt

George Peter Murdock

Peter Murdock's research showed that the family of parents and children is a central social structure in all cultures

Ivy League

The term "Ivy League" came from the ivy plants that cover many of these institutions' buildings

Human sexuality

Human sexual activity is more than a physical activity, it impacts the minds and hearts as well as the bodies of the participants

Jimmy Doolittle

General Jimmy Doolittle was the first aviator to fly cross-country in under 24 hours (in 1922) and the first to fly blind, using only his plane's instruments.

Abnormal psychology

Many early societies attributed abnormal behavior to the influence of evil spirits.

Mohandas K. Gandhi

Mahatma Gandhi never received the Nobel Peace Prize

Blackfoot

The Blackfoot Confederacy consisted of three tribes, the Siksika (Blackfoot), Kainai (Blood), and the Piegan

Morse Code

Morse code has been in use for more than 160 years — longer than any other electronic encoding system