Tag Archives: history

Why Men’s Bicycles Have a Horizontal Crossbar and Women’s Bicycles Typically Don’t

women's bikes vs men's bikes

Today I found out why men’s bikes have a horizontal crossbar and women’s bikes typically don’t. It would seem that having a slanted crossbar like on women’s bikes would make much more sense for men’s bikes, decreasing the chance of racking the guy if he slips off the pedals or the like.  However, there is actually a really good reason […]

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“Hip Hip” in “Hip Hip, Hooray” Was Once an Anti-Semitic Phrase

hip hip hooray

Today I Found Out the “Hip Hip” in “Hip Hip, Hooray” was once anti-Semitic. This phrase is thought to have its origins in the middle-age Latin battle-cry “Hieroslyma est perdita’, which means “Jerusalem is fallen” or “Jerusalem is lost”.  This was later shortened by Germanic tribes fighting Jews to “Hep Hep Hu-raj”, meaning loosely “Jerusalem is fallen and we are […]

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Origin of the Name of the Sport Cricket

Cricket

Today I found out the origin of the name of the sport Cricket. The name is originally thought to either have been derived from the Old French “criquet”, meaning “goal, post, or stick” or from the Middle Dutch “kricke”, meaning “stick” or “staff”.  The latter Middle Dutch derivation from “kricke” is generally considered more likely due to the strong medieval trade connections […]

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Why Some Countries Drive on the Right and Some Countries Drive on the Left

Driving Map

Today I found out why some countries drive on the right and some countries drive on the left. The origin of this varies based on the time period and country, but primarily throughout history people used the “keep-left” rule.  It has only been very recently that the world has predominately switched to the “keep-right” rule. The first real archaeological evidence […]

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The Term “Third World Country” Refers to the Political and Economic Structure of a Country, Not Its Developmental State or Wealth

Today I found out a “Third World” country is not a country that simply is primitive, underdeveloped, or poor, as most people think.  In fact, a third world country is actually just a country that is not considered a capitalist country (first world) and not considered a communist country (2nd world). This terminology was originally coined just after WWII with […]

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