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Who invented the refrigerator?

The world had to wait almost 160 years before the first practical, electric refrigeration unit was finally introduced by American inventor Nathaniel B. Wales in 1914.The designs and mechanisms of refrigeration underwent a lengthy series of minor and major breakthroughs prior to the 20th century. Depending on what level of sophistication the technology must reach to be considered "invented," there are numerous other men of the 18th and 19th century who could be said to have invented what we think of as the refrigerator today.

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What are the results of the enclosure movement?

Before the enclosure movement, when land was not being cultivated, it was available to the community for grazing of livestock and other needs. Enclosing land using fences or hedges cut off the land for common use and made it available only to one farmer or landowner. Theoretically, this increased the efficiency of land use.\nThe enclosure movement began in England in the 12th century, but it became more popular from 1450-1640 when aristocracy wanted to increase the size of their manorial lands. During the British Agricultural Revolution in the 18th and 19th centuries, the enclosure movement he..

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What countries were involved in the Gallipoli campaign?

One of the chief difficulties the Allies faced during World War I was the fact that Russia's main route to the sea passed through the Dardanelles, a strait controlled by the Ottoman Empire. As the Ottomans had come into the war on the side of Austria and Germany, this meant Russia's naval power and shipping capacity were both crippled. The Gallipoli campaign was an amphibious attack launched in April 1915 aimed at securing the Dardanelles and then attacking Constantinople.\nThe Gallipoli campaign was a major failure on the part of the Allies and an unexpected victory for the crumblin..

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Why was the Texas annexation so controversial?

Because the Whigs held a majority in the Senate during the first half of the 1840s, they were able to stop the annexation of Texas for a time. However, near the end of his presidency, President Tyler, who was also a Whig but who supported the expansion of slavery, made a push to bring Texas into the Union. With strong backing from Democrats and pro-slavery southern Whigs, Tyler got the Congress to pass the annexation with simple majorities and sent the order to Texas on the last day of his presidency, March 3, 1845. Texas formally joined the United States on Dec. 29, 1845.

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Who invented the simple microscope?

Anton van Leeuwenhoek's simple microscope did not look much like modern microscopes. Each microscope had two metal plates, which were riveted together. The microscope lens was located between these plates.\nThe magnifying capability of each microscope depended on the quality of the lens inside the instrument. According to researchers from the Museum of Microscopy, some scientists suspect van Leeuwenhoek experimented with lenses made from blown glass. Microscopes made with these lenses had superior magnification capabilities when compared with other microscopes from the same period.

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What caused the end of Reconstruction?

Northerners became less interested in rebuilding the South as jobs became more scarce. At the same time, the Democratic Party started to gain more ground in Congress and wanted to gain control of the White House.To try to hold onto control of the White House, the Republicans chose Rutherford B. Hayes as its candidate. He won, but there was a dispute, which led to the Compromise of 1877. The compromise led to the withdrawal of troops from the South.

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Who was the inventor of the polio vaccine?

Franklin D. Roosevelt was one of Dr. Salk's supporters in his effort to end polio. The vaccine was never patented by the doctor, who wanted it to be used as widely as possible to stop the disease. Cases of polio dropped from 45,000 in 1953 to 910 by 1962.

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What are some interesting facts about Sir Francis Drake?

Over the years, Drake's raids on the Spanish were so successful that the King of Spain, Philip II, finally decided to invade the country. He commissioned a gargantuan fleet of warships, dubbed the Spanish Armada. When the British found out, Drake swooped in on Cadiz, one of the ports of Spain. He ruined over 30 ships as well as thousands of tons of Spanish supplies; when discussing this raid, he called it "singeing the king of Spain's beard."\nWhen the Spanish Armada finally invaded, the British fleet proved faster and more maneuverable, using cannon fire to roil the Armada. Drake ev..

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How did Portugal gain control of the spice trade?

In the 15th century, Portugal had a strong presence on the sea due to its established relationship with Africa. Through this relationship, they were able to transport a significant amount of gold from Africa to Europe. With this knowledge of the seas, they were able to gain power for the spice trade. In doing so, they completely transformed the way trade was conducted since they took away the cooperative structure that was common among African countries at the time.

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What damage did Vesuvius cause?

Pliny the Elder wrote about the eruption in detail in two letters written to Tacitus. A large earthquake preceded the eruption in A.D. 62 damaging Pompeii and Naples. Pliny noted that earthquakes were common in the area and unalarming. Earthquakes presaging the A.D. 79 eruption began days earlier but were ignored. Pliny stated that a column rose from the volcano at midday, and, at night, pyroclastic flows began to emerge, estimated by scientists today to be as hot as 572 degrees Fahrenheit. This Plinian eruption, which refers to large, violent eruptions, created enormous columns of ash, rock ..

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