Did you know: Education of children received laudable attention in ancient Athens. The school curriculum was divided into three categories: writing, music and gymnastics. At the age of six, the child was enrolled in one of the many schools run by professional schoolmasters. There, his day typically started with classes […]
Monthly Archives: August 2011
5 posts
Morbid fear of heights, especially when it is irrational (for e.g. when one is not particularly high up or is safely secured) – is often and incorrectly referred to as vertigo – perhaps, at least in parts, due to the popularity of Alfred Hitchcock‘s psychological thriller film by the same […]
Did you know: The early Greek cities were commonly built on top of hills to make it easier to fortify and defend them in case of attacks. As the Greek word for peak was akros and for city, polis, such cities came to be called acropolis. The first Greek ‘states’ […]
Did you know: The Latin word texere means to weave. Texture, thus, originally referred to the art of weaving and we now use it in phrases such as this cloth has a fine texture to refer to how it ‘feels’ (against our skin). It is also sometimes used more broadly […]
Did you know: Prolific comes from French prolifique, which is in turn derived from Latin proles (progeny or offspring) + root of facere (to make). A prolific artist, thus, is one who makes/produces many works of art and prolific growth signifies abundant growth. From the same root we also get the word proliferate (multiply, grow fast), […]