The Common Origins of American Football, Soccer, and Rugby
While different countries may debate as to what sport should really be called ‘football’, the reality is that the word football describes a broad family of sports all of whom have a very similar backg...
28 Aug 202010min
How the Latin Alphabet Took Over the World
The Latin Alphabet has become the most widespread system of writing in the world. Its origins can be traced back thousands of years to Ancient Romans and to civilizations before that. It is probably t...
27 Aug 20209min
Why are French Fries called French Fries?
Everyone loves french fries. It is one of the few things which most people can agree on in the world today. The average American consumes over 16 pounds of them every year, and they have become a stap...
26 Aug 20209min
The Last US Civil War Pension
On May 31, 2020, Irene Triplett passed away at the age of 90. Her life was rather unremarkable save for one important fact: she was the last person who received a pension from the United States govern...
25 Aug 20207min
Happy Birthday To You: The Most Famous Song in the World
If there is one song almost everyone knows it is Happy Birthday to You (yes, that is the actual title of the song, even though everyone just calls it Happy Birthday). Not only has the song been sung a...
24 Aug 202010min
The US/Canadian Border
The border between the United States and Canada is the longest border between any two countries in the world. The total length of the land border is 8,891 kilometers or 5,525 miles long. In addition t...
23 Aug 202012min
The English Longbow: The Weapon That Changed Medieval Warfare
The longbow was one of the most devastating weapons in medieval Europe. It was a weapon that could launch projectiles hundreds of yards and pierce the heaviest of armor. It was the battlefield trump c...
22 Aug 202010min
Norman Borlaug: The Man Who Fed the World
Which person can be credited with having saved the most human lives in history? There might not be a direct answer to that question, but one person whose name always comes up is that of Normal Borlaug...
21 Aug 20208min
