Ancient Olympics

Today, the Olympics are one of the most popular sporting events in the world with hundreds of millions of viewers. When the Olympics first started back in 776 BCE, many things were different. To start, the games were held every four years only in Olympia, Greece whereas today they are held every four years in cities all around the world. Also, the ancient Olympics didn’t have winter games and there were only ten total events. In today’s games, there are about 380 total events in the summer and winter Olympics. In ancient times, the events were very different. Boxing for example, didn’t have gloves and there weren’t weight classes. Wrestling was also very different. There were two separate types, one played from the ground and one played from standing upright. The objective was to get the opponent to touch the ground. If the opponent’s shoulders or hips touch the ground, they lost. There were also some events played in Olympia that are not played today. These include chariot racing, pankration, and the pentathlon. Another huge difference was the competitors and viewers. Only men were allowed to compete and watch. If a woman was caught watching the Olympics she was killed. One way officials made sure women weren’t getting into the Olympics and viewing the games was by making everyone walk in to the stadium in the nude. Although the first Olympics were a training ground for Greek warriors, modern Olympic Games are a showcase for talented athletes from all around the world.

Hayden C. Period 7

http://period8dolzall.tripod.com/olympics.html

Parting of the Red Sea: Fact of Fiction?

The Exodus of the Hebrews from Egypt is recognized internationally by various cultures and peoples. The story focuses around Moses, a Hebrew adopted by an Egyptian royal family (ignorant of his affiliation with the religion) who freed his fellow Hebrews and led them to the Red Sea where God parted the waters, allowing Moses and his gang to cross the sea. The story’s legitimacy has been a subject of question since its distribution in ancient times. But despite the long held arguments over the subject, Carl Drews of the National Center for Atmospheric Research believes he has cracked the nut. The Book of Exodus provides information regarding the meteorological settings of the day, stating, “The Lord drove the sea away all night with a strong east wind and turned the sea-bed into dry land.” Drews used this information to develop a computer simulation, recreating the event. He found that a 63-mile-per-hour wind would be able to push the water to the point where wide, mud flats would be exposed, creating a land bridge in the water that would last for up to four hours. Though the occurrence of these winds would be extremely coincidental, it is plausible.

Max H. Period 7

http://news.discovery.com/history/moses-red-sea-parting.html

The Origin of Firearms

Ever wondered who invented the first gun? There has always been much speculation over this, but the exact date and place have never been completely confirmed. It is believed though that the Chinese of the Song dynasty around 500 A.D. were the first to discover this monumental invention. Although these firearms were very primitive and ineffective in their early stages, the Song put them to military use nonetheless. They originally consisted of just a projectile launched by the use of gunpowder. The Fire-lance was one such weapon, being “a combination of two components[:] a spear coated with gunpowder used as a flamethrower and a gun.”

Early cannons became used more broadly in the 12^th century, and also began to emerge in Europe. The original cannons were small and fragile, as they were not yet made of metal. These cannons (which rested on stands) were operated by one soldier and were ignited by a torch. These cannons could be very risky to use due to the explosive nature of gunpowder, and the lack of effective range allowed the enemy to get too close. This was largely due to the barrel being made of bamboo and firing ammunition made of shrapnel and pellets. The Chinese put these cannons to use against the Mongol invaders. The primitive bamboo cannons were eventually replaced by metal, and in a few centuries became what is now in use today.

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/who-invented-the-first-gun.html

Brandon Y. Period 7

The Origin of Blue Jeans

Blue jeans, everybody has them. They are the staple of every person’s—at least every teenager’s—closet. You can buy flare, boot cut, or skinny jeans. Historians for a long time have traced the timeline of jeans to two probable locations: a tough fabric from the city of Nimes in France—the word “denim” comes from the phrase “de Nimes”—and a cotton material from a city in northern Italy, Genoa—“Genes” in French, which later became “jeans” in the English language. But which place is the origin of this mega-popular clothing item?

The answer to this question may be in the works of an anonymous 17th-century northern Italian artist. In each of this artist’s ten newly found paintings (except one) he portrays a blue indigo fabric that is threaded with white. This blue indigo fabric, for example, appears in the jacket of a beggar boy and in the skirts of a peasant woman. Gerlinde Gruber, curator of for Flemish Baroque paintings at the Picture Gallery of the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, has dubbed this unknown artist the “Master of the Blue Jeans.” According to Gruber, it was unusual for a painter to depict the poor with great detail, which may be why jean fabric was not often portrayed in other artwork. The “Master of the Blue Jeans” however, did show the lives of the poor, and his inclusion of blue indigo fabric in his works could reflect the growing use of denim among the poor during his lifetime.

According to curators, the blue hue of the fabric depicted in this artist’s paintings is identical to the indigo that is used today to dye denim; further proof that today’s denim can claim northern Italy as its birthplace. But whether Italian or French, one thing is clear: jeans have gone from being a blue indigo fabric worn by lowly peasants and beggars to a must-have fundamental of a fashion-forward wardrobe, costing up to $600 a pair.

Ana N.
Period 7
http://news.discovery.com/history/first-denim-mystery-solved-italian-art.html

Tracing the Black Death

Ever since the sixth grade we have been told and have known that an epidemic wiped out more than a third of the population of medieval Europe. This deadly disease was known as the Black Death or the Black Plague. We have found today that this disease has been closely compared to the bacteria Yersinia Pestis. Yersinia Pestis has been blamed for the massacre of the people in Europe. This bacterium has been blamed because it has been proven that traces of this bacterium have been found on victims’ teeth and bones. We have always been told this plague came from northern France over to England and then spread from there. However, samples of different versions of Yersinia Pestis have not only been found in France, but also in southern Netherlands. This implies that the pandemic not only came from northern France, but was also penetrating Europe from the southern Netherlands. The concentration of these bacteria infiltrating Europe from both borders enhanced the disease, which may have made it stronger and unstoppable. All in all, historians will never know where the Black Plague started, but new evidence and new interpretations may lead us to new understandings and a different perspective.

Danny W. Period 7
http://news.discovery.com/history/black-death-plague-bacteria.html

Alexander the Great killed by toxic bacterium in The Styx

Originally, Alexander the great was said to have died over 2000 years ago of alcohol poisoning. Recent studies have shown that Alexander the Great may have died from an extraordinarily toxic bacterium from the Styx River. Alexander became ill while at an all night drinking party in Babylon, when he suddenly began crying out from a sudden “Sword stabbing pain in his liver,” which what the effect of the bacterium would do to you. In the twelve days following, he worsened and was unable to move anything but his hands and eyes. Later he fell into a coma a died on June 11, 323 B.C. According to studies the bacterium in the Styx River is called calicheamicin, which is a secondary metabolite of Micromonospora echinospora. Calicheamicin was discovered in caliché in the 1980s, it is crusty deposits of calcium carbonate that form on limestone and is common in Greece. According to myth the Styx was a portal to the underworld and it is where the gods swore sacred oaths. If a god lied on the sacred oath Zeus made them drink from the river and they were struck down. Alexander was said to be semi-divine which is why a sacred poison used by the gods was appropriate for him. The Styx has now been renamed to Mavroneri, meaning “Black Water”. It originates in the high mountains of Achaia, Greece, its cold water cascades over a limestone crag to form the second highest waterfall in Greece. Most people believe Alexander still died of natural causes, but a further study could prove otherwise.
By Tyler M.
7th period

http://news.discovery.com/history/alexander-the-great-bacteria.html

Black Death Blamed on Bacteria

On Friday, anthropologists announced and confirmed the germ that many feared called Yersinia pestis which caused the plague that killed third of the Europe’s population in the Middle Ages. They used 76 skeletons’ teeth and bones from the "plague pits" founded in the France, Germany, Italy and the Netherland. They had DNA test run to prove Yersinia pestis was to blame for. This germ had been around for longer than a century as a source of the Black Death which lasted from the 14th century to the 18th century. A study say that the germ was not located in Europe but in fact from Central or Southern Asia through trade. They continued to run testes on Yersinia pestis on 20 samples of DNA marker to indentify the bacterial strain. They are determined to see if our present day Yersinia pestis that has been going around the world is the match of the past Yersinia pestis, but they did not match. They were either Orientalis or Medievalis. The start of spreading started in November 1347, most likely driven by fleas living on rats that crept on the land from ship docked at the French port of Marseille. Over the six years, it reaches through western to northern France then over land to England then to all over Europe. Another guessing how the germ entered to Europe was from Norway or Friesland. After the chaos from 1347, the disease continued to spread around the continent, which causes a big mess in the social and political outcome.
http://news.discovery.com/history/black-death-plague-bacteria.html

Lynn N. Period 1

Dental and Medical Problems Tortured Egyptians

Although we take doctors and dentists for granted today, ancient people didn’t always have medical care available at their fingertips. Cavities and worn teeth had a negative impact on Egyptians, recent studies show that many ancient Egyptians suffered from a multitude of dental problems which caused excruciating pain, including cavities, abscesses, and periodontal diseases. The teeth on most mummies excavated are very well preserved, thus providing the opportunity for researchers to do CT imaging. Dental troubles were not the only problem of the ancient Egyptians however; many endured chronic infectious middle ear diseases as well as tuberculosis. Pulmonary diseases are being discovered in the ancient Egyptian mummies as well. These diseases, such as pneumonia, have been linked to the presence of carbon in the lungs. The death of Egyptians however remains a mystery, the embalming process and the nature of the diseases makes the death difficult to diagnose. Although in most cases, the deaths occurred due to disease, trauma, and malnutrition. Consequently, the medical well being of some Egyptians lead to a life of suffering and pain.

http://news.discovery.com/archaeology/mummies-teeth-disease-diagnosis.html

Mason G. Period 7

Victorian Texting Lingo?

These days, texting lingo has dramatically grown into a universal language. Whether you text or not, you can figure out that “I heard that 1 from U B4” means “I heard that one from you before.” This message looks like a typical text message from a teenager but actually, this type of abbreviated and acronym-filled language was used about 130 years by Victorian writers. In London, an exhibit displays an emblematic poem from 1867 that demonstrates the use of textspeak. Charles Carroll Bombaugh wrote the poem, entitling it Gleanings From the Harvest-Fields of Literature, and in it did it include verses as simple as “he says he love U2” or as complicated as “And 1st should NE NVU, B EZ, mind it not,” which translates to “And first should any envy you, be easy, mind it not.” According to David Crystal, author or Txtng: The Gr8 Db8 [“Texting: The Great Debate”], certain phrases have been around so long that the what seemed so foreign mobile language is not so alien after all. IOU [“I owe you”] has been around since 1618 and SWALK [“sealed with a loving kiss”] has been seen in the letters from World War II. So, next time your teacher calls you out for abbreviations or acronyms on your assignments, put the blame on the Victorian Era writers who started it all. TTFN. Charisse P. Period 7 http://news.discovery.com/history/victorian-poets-used-texting-lingo.html?print=true

The Titanic Sank because of a Steering Error?

Everyone has heard the story of the Titanic, the then biggest-ever ship that was lost on its maiden voyage. Recently, new light has been shed on the reason that the ship ran into an iceberg and sank, ultimately killing more than 1,500 people. Apparently, there were two different ways to command steering; Tiller orders, for sailing ships, and Rudder orders, for steamships. Therefore the Titanic, being a steamship, was operating on Rudder orders. Unfortunately, Rudder orders and Tiller orders meant the exact opposite of each other; “hard-a-starboard” meaning “turn left” for one, and “turn right” for the other. Thus, when the order “hard-a-starboard”, which, under Rudder orders, would have turned the ship away from the iceberg, was wrongly interpreted by experienced Quartermaster Robert Hitchins to be Tiller orders, he turned the Titanic toward the destined iceberg. This new evidence as to why the Titanic sank was released from Louise Patten, who had learned it from her grandfather, who was afraid telling the tale would cause his friends, who worked for the people who owned the Titanic, to lose their jobs. This family “secret” is apparently old news to Titanic experts, who speculate that this could be one reason for the Titanic’s failure. Hitchens, the aforementioned Quartermaster, has a granddaughter who is now writing a book contrary to this evidence. The reason for the sinking of the Titanic will always be debatable, because, as with any other historical event, we do not have the full evidence of what happened.

Zachary K. Period 7

http://news.discovery.com/history/steering-error-sunk-the-titanic-says-author.html