This is the June 2023 edition of the fascinating facts Newsletter, which includes a broad range of interesting topics. This includes information about the month of June, life in ancient Egypt, nursery rhymes, and much more.
Fascinating Facts June 2023 Contents
You can download the full newsletter to read HERE, however some snippets are listed below.
FASCINATING FACTS ABOUT JUNE
There are many theories why the name of the month of June was the fourth month in the year at the time of Julius Caesar, when the year only had 10 months. But in 46 BC, he created the Julian calendar by adding two more months, which made June the sixth month. There are more theories regarding its name. One is it was named after the Roman goddess of marriage, Juno. Another theory is that its name originates from the Latin word iuniores, which translates into “younger ones”.
Yet another possibility is that the month was named after Lucius Junius Brutus, the founder of the Roman Republic. But if you take Anglo-Saxons, it was called sera monath, which translated into “dry month”. The name June is the modern day adaption of the Latin word Junius, which has its origins dating back to the ancient Romans. Read Full Article…
LIFE CHANGING ACCIDENTAL INVENTIONS
Human evolution has benefitted from a succession of chance discoveries and accidental inventions. It is claimed that between 30 and 50 percent of all scientific discoveries are in some way accidental. The ability to swiftly recognise the benefit of something unexpected is one of the abilities that sets us apart from other
animals. Some serendipitous discoveries have spawned staggering success and led to further developments. But whether a problem or boon, these are a few of accidental inventions, from the past two centuries that have changed the world. Read Full Article…
LIFE IN ANCIENT EGYPT
Along with Egyptian King Tut, perhaps no figure is more famously associated with ancient Egypt than Cleopatra VII. But while she was born in Alexandria, Cleopatra was actually part of a long line of Greek Macedonians originally descended from Ptolemy I, one of Alexander the Great’s most trusted lieutenants. The Ptolemaic Dynasty ruled Egypt from 323 to 30 B.C., and most of its leaders remained largely Greek in their culture and sensibilities. In fact, Cleopatra was famous for being one of the first members of the Ptolemaic dynasty to actually speak the Egyptian language. Read Full Article…
For over two centuries the Egyptians fought the Hittite Empire for control of lands giving rise to bloody battles like 1274 BC’s Battle of Kadesh. But the by time of the pharaoh Ramses II neither side was the clear victor. With both sides facing threats from other peoples, in 1259 B.C. Ramses II tribes the Hittite King Hattusili III negotiated a famous peace treaty to end the conflict and decreed that the two kingdoms would aid each other in the event of an invasion by a third party. The treaty is recognised as one of the earliest peace accords. So important that a copy can even be seen above the entrance to the United Nations Security Council Chamber in New York. Read Full Article…
THE HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE. LOOKING BACK INTO CREATION
The Hubble Space Telescope can see out to a distance of tens of billions of light-years. A light-year is the distance that light travels in 1 year. A light year equals 37 million earth years. Since light has a speed of 186,000 miles per second (light can travel about 7 times around the entire earth in 1 second!), light travels about 5,865,696,000,000 miles in just one year. Nine more zeros to the end of this to get 1 billion light years and another one for 10 billion 15,865,696,000,000,000,000,000) light-years. Read Full Article…
NURSERY RHYMES ARE THEY SO INNOCENT?
I, as I expect as many of a certain age can remember, my mother singing nursery rhymes to me. Totally innocuous. But were they? Research shows that many had hidden even political messages. It seems that there were often slightly different regional versions and great discussion on the history of each but generally there was a strong connection. Read Full Article…
BALLOON FLIGHTS FROM 559 AD
None of these historical accounts are supported by corroborating evidence but are claimed to be fact in folklore. It is claimed that in China in 559 A.D. several prisoner of Emperor Wenxuan of Northern Qi were forced, as an experiment, to launch themselves with a kite from a tower, Only one survived, only to be executed later. Then in the 9th century, the Andalusian Abbas Ibn Firnas attempted a short gliding flight with feather covered wings from the Tower of Cordoba but was injured while landing. Read Full Article…
RAGS TO RICHES
Millionaires are made, not born! How many millionaires grew up poor? Some we have never heard of. The majority of millionaires did not grow up with the proverbial silver spoon. Surveys indicate that 8 out of 10 millionaires come from families at or below middle-income level. Only 2 per cent of millionaires came from an upper– income family. Read Full Article…
