Eying the past

Home
Eying the past

Hi! On this page you can find fun facts about our world's history! You can also find us on Instagram

11/10/2023

Popcorn in the movie theater, a biscuit with a cup of tea or just a bag of chips. Snacks are an indispensable part of our everyday life.

In ancient Rome, they liked to snack too! During the games in the amphitheaters, the audience ate figs, grapes, melons, nuts and olives.

Those might be healthier snacks than the ones we would choose today, but nevertheless delicious. And the fun part is, we still eat those foods nowadays!

Source photo 1: Mikaela Johnson, Mikaela's IDEA Blog, September 16, 2018.

Source photo 2: Dr Joe Ball, Twitter, July 2, 2022.

31/03/2023

"Mr Watson, come here- I want to see you"

These were the very first words to be spoken over the telephone. They were uttered by Alexander Graham Bell on March 10th, 1876, just three days after Bell was granted a patent for his invention.

He also proposed to use the word 'ahoy' when answering a phone call but 'hello' ended up more popular. We can thank another famous inventor for that choice of words: Thomas Edison.

Photo source: Wikipedia

20/03/2023

When you think about Leonardo Da Vinci, the words “artist”, “Mona Lisa”, “The Last Supper”, “The Vitruvius Man”, “inventor” and “scientist” come to mind. But what about “mirror writing”? Because he wrote in mirrorscript!

Da Vinci wrote from right to left in a kind of shorthand he invented himself. Only the notes that were intended for others to read were written normally. But why? There are a few theories:

1: Mirror writing kept his hands clean. Da Vinci was left-handed. Writing in mirrorscript prevented him from touching and smudging the ink while writing.

2: Other people couldn't read his notes and perhaps steal his ideas.

3: This way he could hide his scientific ideas from the Roman Catholic Church. The Church often disagreed with Da Vinci's observations.

The actual reason for his way of writing remains a mystery and one can only speculate which of the three theories is the truth.

Source photo 1: National Geographic, Simon Worrall
Source photo 2: Museum of Science, Boston
Source: Museum of Science, Boston

01/03/2023

Listening to the radio, shuffling your Spotify playlist or watching music videos on YouTube. Today, we listen to music on a daily basis and we can’t get enough of it. The music we know today, however, is very different from how it was in the beginning.

In 1400 B.C, the first song, called Hurrian Hymn No. 6, was written in cuneiform on clay tablets. All of them contained hymns in honor of the Hurrian gods. Most tablets were broken, but one of them could be deciphered. This tablet contained instructions on how to perform the hymn. It explained how the text must be sung and the way the lyre player must tune his instrument and play the song. The theme was an ode to the fertility goddess Nikkal.

If you want to listen to the song yourself, you can find the link to YouTube in our bio. Enjoy!

Source photo: Josh Jones, Open Culture.

13/02/2023

Every four years, talented athletes from around the world come together to compete for a gold medal. The Olympic Games are a widely popular event where sports and sportsmanship are most important. But did you know that once upon a time artists could participate as well?

Between 1912 and 1984 there were, besides sports, five other categories to compete in: architecture, literature, music, painting and sculpture. The artworks that were created had to be inspired by sports and had to be never published before. Competitors could win a gold, silver or bronze medal for their creations. There was even an Olympic Art Exhibit.

Although the art competitions are no longer a part of the Olympics, there is a cultural programme these days that makes sure the arts keep being celebrated during the Olympic Games.

Picture 1: Jack Butler Yeats, The Liffey Swim (1924), National Gallery of Ireland

Picture 2: View of the 1932 Olympic Art Exhibit, Artclasscurator

08/02/2023

Nowadays, we can name (most of) the planets in our solar system. But what planet did humanity discover first?

In 1781, Sir William Herschel discovered a strange “star” with his telescope. At first he thought it was a comet, but researchers Anders Johann Lexell and Johann Elert Bode later discovered that it was actually a planet.

They called it Ouranus, named after the Greek god of the sky. Today, we know this planet as Uranus.

Photo 1: The New York Times, Chronicle / Alamy Stock Photo
Photo 2: Wikipedia

05/02/2023

When you look at a picture from the late 1800s/early 1900s, you might have noticed that almost nobody smiles at the camera. But why?

It is said that people didn’t smile in photos, because their teeth weren’t white or didn’t look good. Back then, dental care wasn’t very common and people didn’t brush their teeth regularly. Many people were missing teeth.

Another reason is that photos were very expensive. Most people couldn’t afford it. Those who could, thought of it as a once in a lifetime event. For them, a photo was like a painting. That means they needed to pose without smiling.

The last reason is the long exposure time. Taking a photo wasn’t a matter of one click on the button. It took up to 15 minutes before the photo was taken! To make sure they didn’t move, people kept their faces as tight as possible. Those who stand in photos often lean on a chair or table, because of the long exposure time.

Photo: Fotocommunity, Visiones de vida

#1800

01/02/2023

Do you know the muffin man? Who doesn’t! But where does this famous nursery rhyme come from?

Legend has it that it refers to the infamous Muffin Man, called Frederic Thomas Linwood, who lived on Drury Lane (London) between 1589 and 1598. Linwood used his muffins to lure 15 children into dark alleys, where he would kill them. It is also said that he killed seven of his rivals with a sharpened wooden spoon. However, this is most likely an urban myth. So who was the real muffin man?

In the Victorian era, there were areas, such as Drury Lane, where poor people worked up to 12 hours a day. This did not leave a lot of time for cooking. That’s why people had a lot of their fresh foods delivered by street sellers. Presumably, some of these sellers sold lots of muffins, hence the name muffin man.

Sources: History of The White Hart, Museum of London

Photo 1: Wikipedia
Photo 2: Quora

29/01/2023

On the north shore of Cape Evans (Ross Island, Antarctica) stands an old hut. Scott’s Hut, named after expeditioner Robert Falcon Scott, was built in 1911. 25 people, who were part of the British Expedition of 1910 - 1913, lived here. The main goal of the expedition was to continue scientific research and secure the South Pole for the British Empire. Unfortunately, none of the crew members survived. In 1956, American expeditioners dug out the hut from the snow, which was very well preserved. To this day, it is still intact, including all the artifacts inside. The hut became a World Monuments Watch in 2008.

Photo 1: Helen Glazer
Photo 2: Pinterest

22/01/2023

Stolpersteine, or ‘tumbling stones’, are small memorial stones that can be found throughout Europe.

The stones, a project by the German artist Gunter Demnig, were placed to remember victims of World War II. You can find them in the pavement in front of the many houses where these people used to live.

On it are engraved, among other things, the name of the victim, the date of deportation and the date and place of death. The tumbling stones make sure that these people and the horrible things that happened to them, are never forgotten.

Photo 1: Wikipedia
Photo 2: Wikipedia

19/01/2023

Pythagoras, Ptolemaeus, Archimedes. All well known and important names when it comes to the foundation of modern day mathematics and philosophy. But they weren’t the only important minds in ancient Greece. Take Hypatia of Alexandria, she is known as the first female mathematician.

Hypatia was born in 350 AD in Alexandria, Egypt. Her father, mathematician, philosopher and teacher, Theoon of Alexandria, taught Hypathia mathematics and literature. Later, Hypatia even went on to teach her father’s classes. In addition to mathematics and literature, Hypatia also studied philosophy, astronomy and music. Her classes were interesting to both Christians and non-Christians, because she strongly believed in Neoplatonism: striving for union with the divine (the One). In 415 AD, despite her popularity, Hypatia was murdered by enraged Christians as a result of political and cultural conflicts in Alexandria. Today however, Hypatia lives on as a great example for feminists.

Photo 1: Store norske leksikon
Photo 2: Daily Nous

Address

Website

facebook.com

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Eying the past posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Address
Alerts
Claim ownership or report listing
Want your business to be the top-listed Media Company?

Country:

City: