World History
The History of Calendars, in 7 Facts
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Article
The humble calendar of one of civilization's oldest staples. The earliest means of measuring days and weeks dates back 10,000 years, and timekeeping techniques adopted by the ancient Babylonians, Egyptians, and Romans slowly evolved into the calendar we use today. Yet the emphasis here is on “slowly.” The evolution from charting moon phases to separating seasons to measuring fiscal years was one of controversy and chaos across centuries. Still, humans never stopped working to perfect how we mark the passage of time. Here’s a brief look at the fascinating history of calendars, just in time ...Read More
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World HistoryFact1Britain once skipped 11 days in September.
Designing a yearly calendar is tricky, since solar days, lunar months, and solar years don’t completely line up. The Gregorian calendar, established by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582 and used…
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World HistoryFact3In WWII, Germany built a secret weather station in Canada that wasn’t discovered until 1977.
Though it tends not to receive as much credit as its neighbor to the south, Canada made significant contributions to World War II. Entering the conflict just nine days after…
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World HistoryArticle29The Strange Origins of Common Food Superstitions
Humans are superstitious creatures by nature, with many strange habits that seem entirely illogical. We avoid walking under ladders or opening umbrellas indoors in fear of bad luck. We knock…
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World HistoryFact2September was originally the seventh month of the year.
Septuplets are seven siblings born at the same time; a septennium is a period of seven years; and September is the… ninth month of the year. What gives? As you…
