Speaking of History

The English language is like an ancient but thriving city, such as London. You might discover a Roman artifact or a Medieval building and then turn a corner and see the Millennium Bridge. Certain words are artifacts from the past while new words are being added. A number of Arabic words made their way into English during the Reconquest of Spain.

Raymond of Toledo, Archbishop of Toledo from 1126 to 1151, started the first translation team at the library of the Cathedral of Toledo, where he led a group of translators who included Mozarabic Toledans, Jewish scholars, Madrasah teachers, and monks from the Order of Cluny. Toledo had been surrendered by the Moors through negotiation and was spared being sacked and burned, so many Arabic libraries survived. The group translated many works, including works by Aristotle, from Arabic into Castilian, and then from Castilian into Latin, the official church language. Some translated books were purchased by the Pope and became the roots of the Renaissance. During translation, a number of Arabic words entered Latin and later became a part of the English language. Zero, zenith alcohol, logarithm, and algebra all entered English from the Arabic language at this time.  

Stop The Presses

The familiar layout of newspapers with large type headlines, illustrations, and factual articles with a broad appeal was once a fresh and exciting idea originated by Joseph Pulitzer to make the lackluster newspapers of his day more interesting. Today he is better remembered as the creator of the Pulitzer Prizes to recognize artistic and journalistic achievement, but he began his career as a groundbreaking newspaperman.

Not A Lightweight

Without the innovations of transistors and microprocessors, your laptop would be the size of a skyscraper and take a hydroelectric dam to power it. ENIAC, an early computer, designed by the U.S. Army to automate the process of making fast and accurate artillery calculations during World War II, filled a 30-by-50-foot room and weighed more than 27 tons. It used 174 kilowatts per second--enough to power a typical home for more than a week. ENIAC contained 17,468 fragile vacuum tubes, 7,200 crystal diodes, 1,500 relays, 70,000 resistors, 10,000 capacitors and around 5 million hand-soldered joints. It could store twenty 10-digit numbers in its memory, and it cost roughly $450,000. A handheld calculator now offers more computing power than ENIAC. A modern laptop computer weighs around 5 lbs. with most of the weight coming from the rechargeable battery that powers the computer--an amazing feat of innovation and miniaturization.

Flying High

The B-29 Superfortress was one of the most technically advanced American planes used in WWII. The aircraft was the first to be constructed of a new aluminium alloy that added zinc, to prevent cracking, to the usual lightweight alloy of aluminium and copper. The heavily armed, long-range plane could fly much higher than most aircraft of the time, at up to 33,600 ft. It was B-29s that made the famous supply runs over the Himalayas to China during WWII.

7/30

On July 30, 1916, German saboteurs conducted a massive terrorist attack on U.S. soil, blowing up tons of ammunition, in New York harbor. The explosions were heard up to 90 miles away. Windows were blown out up and down Fifth Avenue. The statue of Liberty was struck by shrapnel. It took investigators years to realize that the explosion was no accident.

Earhart Fashions

Did you know that Amelia Earhart was the first celebrity to have her own clothing line? Amelia Earhart Fashions, launched in 1933, featured designs for an active lifestyle.

A Taste of India

Did you know that the Egyptians, already traded with India for cinnamon over 4,000 years ago? It is portrayed in several tomb paintings. Later, the Romans even set up their own trade representatives in far off India to procure cinnamon. The word cinnamon is of Hebrew origins and probably came into English from the Bible. Cinnamon was an ingredient in the incense burned in the Temple in Jerusalem. Cinnamon is the inner bark of a species of laurel tree. Today most cinnamon comes from plantations on the island nation of Siri Lanka, located near the Southern tip of India. Thirty-five tons of cinnamon is consumed annually.