Tag: history

In the winter of 1887, Parisian journalists gathered at a curious construction site on the Champ de Mars. There, amid wooden scaffolding and the rhythmic clang of hammers, they witnessed what one reporter would describe as men "reaping lightning bolts in the clouds."

The next time you find yourself composing an angry email to customer service, take comfort in knowing you're participating in a tradition nearly four millennia old. Long before Yelp reviews and Twitter rants, an irate customer named Nanni etched his frustrations into clay, creating what would become the world's oldest documented customer complaint. His target? A copper merchant named Ea-Nasir...

For centuries, the phrase "burning of the Library of Alexandria" has conjured an image of mankind's greatest collection of knowledge going up in flames. It's become a metaphor for the triumph of ignorance over learning, a cautionary tale passed down through generations.

When someone tells you to "eat your heart out," they likely aren't speaking literally. This vivid expression dates back thousands of years to ancient Greece.

In the sunny corridors of Stanford University, two brilliant young men bumped into each other in 1995. Larry Page, a University of Michigan graduate visiting Stanford, met Sergey Brin, who was assigned to show him around.

Imagine playing an instrument from history that's been around for longer than written language, the pyramids of Egypt, and even the concept of agriculture. Now imagine this instrument can still serenade you with a hauntingly beautiful tune.