Maybe you have seen a map inside your classroom or on a website and you noticed that Greenland is bigger than Africa. Shouldn’t a continent be bigger than an island? Why isn’t Greenland considered a continent? The answer is that Greenland is an island that is a lot smaller than the continent of Africa. Greenland…
“Garand thumb” is a term used to describe a common injury that can occur when using the M1 Garand rifle. This rifle was used by the United States military during World War II and the Korean War. The injury happens when the shooter’s thumb gets caught in the ejection port while the clip is being…
Many people consider Friday the 13th unlucky, but the precise reason for this belief is not entirely clear. It is believed that some of the reasons are rooted in superstitions and religious beliefs that have been passed down from one generation to another. When discussing the cause of the fear of Friday the 13th, one…
The “Emu War” was a military operation conducted in Western Australia in 1932 to address an increasing emu population that was causing crop damage. The emus irritated farmers because they would raid farms and destroy crops. The Australian government sent a small group of soldiers to deal with the birds. Major G.P.W. Meredith of the…
The use of the letter “X” to represent the word “Christ” in “Xmas” is a common abbreviation that has been in use for many centuries. It is not intended to replace the word “Christ” in the celebration of Christmas, but is a representation of the Greek letter chi, which is the first letter in the…
Aristocracy is a form of government in which only a few people that hold a huge amount of wealth and influence are given the power to rule society. Government positions are reserved for a small group that includes those who are members of the upper classes of society and often this government position is handed…
Communism is a form of government associated with the philosopher Karl Marx. It is based on his vision of what a utopian society would look like which he describes in his book “The Communist Manifesto”. According to Karl Marx, the capitalist system brings inequality to a society, and it is divided into different classes. This…
What is the Cold War? The Cold War refers to the conflict between the United States of America (USA) and the United Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR or Soviet Union) that lasted for decades due to disputes between the two countries over their ideologies and has been made worse by the nuclear proliferation and the imminent…
World War II (often abbreviated to WWII or WW2) was a war that took place between 1939 and 1945 and involved many states and countries. Countries that were part of the war would split into two rival forces: Allied powers and Axis powers. World War 2 was the worst war in recent human history in…
After France helped assist the Americans during the American revolution, some of the French revolutionaries also wanted change within their country. But unlike the revolution they took part in the American colonies, the change they wanted to happen in France was more radical. The American revolutionaries only wanted independence from the British empire while the…