Witnessing the birth of a new language
Witness History5 Helmi 2020

Witnessing the birth of a new language

In the early 1980s deaf children in Nicaragua invented a completely new sign language of their own. It was a remarkable achievement, which allowed experts a unique insight into how human communication develops. Mike Lanchin has been speaking to American linguist Judy Shepard-Kegl, who documented this process and says "our belief is that you are born with a language-ready brain".

(Photo credit should read INTI OCON/AFP via Getty Images)

Jaksot(2000)

The playboy spy who inspired James Bond

The playboy spy who inspired James Bond

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20 Helmi 10min

'I taught the Dalai Lama'

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In 1944, two Austrian mountaineers fled into the forbidden land of Tibet to escape from a prisoner-of-war camp in India.Heinrich Harrer and his friend Peter Aufschnaiter spent seven years there.Harrer...

19 Helmi 10min

The photo which symbolised Argentina’s resistance

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Adriana Lestido, an Argentinian newspaper photographer, captured a mother and her young daughter raising their arms in protest in 1982. With clenched fists and anguished faces, they were wearing white...

18 Helmi 10min

Toxic shock syndrome and tampon safety

Toxic shock syndrome and tampon safety

In 1980, toxic shock syndrome (TSS) emerged as a public health crisis among women who used tampons. There were hundreds of cases, and The Centers for Disease Control linked deaths from TSS to super-ab...

17 Helmi 10min

World War Two’s Shetland Bus

World War Two’s Shetland Bus

During World War Two, whilst Norway was occupied by Nazi Germany, a group of Norwegian sailors set up a base on the Shetland Islands and began aiding their country’s resistance. Named “The Shetland B...

16 Helmi 10min

The flooding of Florence

The flooding of Florence

In November, 1966, Florence suffered one of the worst floods in its history after heavy rainfall caused the River Arno to burst.The Italian city was submerged under tons of mud, rubble and sewage, lea...

13 Helmi 10min

The Mont Blanc Tunnel

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In July 1965, a 12km tunnel dug deep beneath the Alps was opened to traffic, making it the longest vehicular tunnel in the world. Linking France and Italy, the Mont Blanc Tunnel was a remarkable feat ...

12 Helmi 9min

Gina Lollobrigida interviews Fidel Castro

Gina Lollobrigida interviews Fidel Castro

Gina Lollobrigida was one of the biggest stars of European cinema in the 1950s and 1960s. Often described as "the most beautiful woman in the world", her films included Beat the Devil, the Hunchback o...

11 Helmi 10min

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