Most people think that the abbreviation SOS stands for “save our ships” or “save our souls.” No wonder since the corresponding meaning is what we usually see in cartoons, books, and movies. But truth to be told, SOS is a backronym, which letters don’t stand for anything. Moreover, the distress signal initially … Read more
During the heyday of colonialism, the wealthy countries around the world organized many expeditions that aimed to find spices to sell and to also look for people who will buy their products. The first circumnavigation of the world was the result of one of those expeditions, although it was by accident. Ferdinand … Read more
A novel is an extended version of narrative fiction, usually published in the form of a book. The present term we use in English is basically derived from the Italian word ‘novella,’ meaning ‘new,’ ‘news,’ or ‘short story of something new.’ With time, as more and more writers stepped into the world … Read more
The typewriter was a revolutionary invention that changed the dynamics of the world of letters. We owe the invention of the modern-day typewriter to a multi-faceted genius named Christopher Latham Sholes. Born in 1819 in Milwaukee, USA, Sholes was a publisher, a politician, and a philosopher. He is now known as the … Read more
It is interesting to know that many of the inventions and technologies that became relatively common today are actually older than we think, and one of these fascinating human creations is the fax machine. A fax machine is a device that is used to transmit a printed material over another even at … Read more
The word ‘robot’ was coined by Karel Čapek, a Czech Playwright, in the play called “RUR,” which stood for Rossum’s Universal Robots. In the said play, the human characters have mechanical servants that look like people and do manual labor for them. Capek called these machines “robots” as the Czech word “robota” … Read more
A lot has been documented and written about UFOs, especially the dish-looking aircraft called the flying saucer. The idea that there are unidentified flying vehicles on Earth sky refuses to go away, and the craze for UFOs started because a man in 1947 reported having seen them flying swiftly and brightly in … Read more
The Answer: Paper currency originated in China during the rule of the Tang Dynasty (618 A.D. – 907 A.D.). It came from the need to have a way to transport large sums of money without hauling hundreds of pounds of precious metals long distances. Such convoys would attract the attention of bandits … Read more