Science & Industry
How Did People Wake Up on Time Before Alarm Clocks?
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Science & IndustryArticle0
How Did the Romans Represent Zero?
The origins of zero as a mathematical symbol — and concept — are fascinating. As early as 5,000 years ago in ancient Mesopotamia, Sumerian scribes used a slanted double wedge…
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Science & IndustryFact8
Pangaea wasn’t the only supercontinent.
Despite breaking apart into the seven continents we know and love around 200 million years ago, Pangaea remains fairly well known long after its heyday. Less well known is the…
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Science & IndustryFact14
Humans invented alcohol before we invented the wheel.
Few inventions have shaped the course of history more than the wheel, which dates back to roughly 3500 BCE. That may seem ancient (and it is, by definition), but it’s…
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Science & IndustryFact18
“Computers” used to be people.
In today’s English lexicon, the word “computer” almost exclusively refers to electronic devices — but it used to be a human job. For centuries, “computer” meant “one who computes,” particularly…