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Why shouldn't we celebrate Columbus Day?

Columbus was not the first European to reach the Americas. The Vikings had traveled there approximately 500 years before he arrived. Columbus enslaved the native populations of the Caribbean in gold mines and other work. He enforced his rules using brutal methods, including cutting off their hands if they did not work enough. Contemporary accounts mention his men killing and raping for fun, and Columbus tacitly supporting it. Even during his lifetime, many people were horrified by his actions. At one point he was arrested for these crimes against humanity, but he was given a royal pardon.\n\nN..

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When and where was the first sewing machine invented?

In Austria, a tailor by the name of Josef Madersperger also received patents for sewing machine type devices in the 1800s. The first American sewing machine is credited to Elias Howe in 1846. The American invention of the sewing machine is important because this device was used in a factory setting during the Industrial Revolution to produce more products per hour. The American sewing machine was created in New Hartford, Connecticut.Howe was in dispute with Isaac Merritt Singer, whom he accused of stealing his patent. Howe eventually won the case, and Singer was found guilty of copyright infri..

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What are some facts about Jacques Cartier?

Jacques Cartier was born December 31, 1491 in Saint-Malo, Brittany, France. He reportedly explored the Americas, concentrating on Brazil, before making three major North American voyages.\nCartier set sail on April 20, 1534 with two ships and 61 men. The ships arrived 20 days later along the eastern coast of North America. In addition to searching for a new route to Asia, Cartier was also tasked with finding riches such as gold and spices.\nKing Francis was impressed with Cartier's success with the 1534 voyage. He sent Cartier back to the area in May of the following year, this time with ..

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How did the Holocaust affect the formation of a Jewish homeland?

The Holocaust had many effects on Jewish homeland formation. Following this historical event, it was very clear that Jews needed a place where they could live without fear of persecution. In 1948, Israel legally claimed statehood thanks to the 1947 United Nations Partition of the British Mandate. Once this occurred, most Jewish people willingly left homes in Arab countries to go to Israel, as well as other free counties, such as the United Kingdom, Canada, France and the United States.

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What are some interesting facts about Thomas Edison?

Edison's hated sleeping because he felt it was a leftover from prehistoric times. This caused him to train himself to function on as little as four or five hours of sleep per night. Of course, his invention of the light bulb helped to make this even easier.\nEdison was fierce about his intellect and well-known for his disdain of people with lower intelligence. He even went so far as to criticize his first wife's intelligence in her diary. Before hiring an employee, Edison would require candidates to take a test with over 150 questions so that he could judge their knowledge of many di..

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Who were some of the best and worst U.S. presidents?

Other top 10 presidents according to the poll were Theodore Roosevelt, Thomas Jefferson, Harry S. Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower. This was the first of similar polls where Bill Clinton made the top 10. Other presidents that ranked in the bottom 10 were Franklin Pierce and William Harrison. Presidents who served a shortened term tended to rank among the worst.\nIn regards to which presidents were the most underrated, the respondents ranked Eisenhower as no. 1, followed by George H.W. Bush and Harry Truman. Like other top-ranked presidents, these three all oversaw international conflicts. As fo..

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Has NASA ever taken photographs of UFOs?

It is a common misconception that Unidentified Flying Objects, or UFOs, are synonymous with alien spacecraft. A UFO is simply anything viewed in the sky that cannot be identified as a known object.\nNASA explains that close investigation of UFO photographs and video often leads to the objects' identification and declassification as UFOs. An example of this occurred during the Apollo 16 mission to the moon when American astronauts John Young, Thomas Mattingly and Charles Duke recorded an object that resembled commonly accepted ideas of an alien spacecraft. However, upon investigation of th..

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Who invented pi?

Prior to Jones' usage of the π symbol, the ratio of a circle's circumference and diameter was known as "the quantity which, when the diameter is multiplied by it, yields the circumference." William Jones first used the symbol in his book, "Synopsis Palmariorum Matheseos, or A New Introduction to the Mathematics." Jones believed, but could not prove, that pi was irrational. In 1761, Johann Lambert first proved that pi was an irrational number.

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What is "Why Don't We Complain" by William F. Buckley, Jr.?

Buckley uses three major points to make his argument. First, he believes Americans always expect other people to complain first, even in the face of unbearable conditions, because no one wants to be the lone voice of dissent. Second, much of the American people's reluctance to complain comes from simple fear. They are afraid to confront authority even when their rights are being violated. Third, the American desire to be unobtrusive means the government will grow bolder in restricting their rights.

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Who invented yogurt?

It is speculated that yogurt first was discovered as a side-effect of storing animal milk in warmer climates which caused it to curdle. Yogurt has roots in the Turkish word “yo?urt" and the verb "yo?urmak," which means "to thicken," or "to be curdled." Yogurt is mentioned in Persian tradition as a food which Abraham regularly consumed and was attributed as the reason for his longevity.

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