Browsing: Misconceptions

A Brief History On June 24, 109 AD, Roman Emperor Trajan opened the aqueduct known as Aqua Traiana, bringing water to Rome from Lake Bracciano 25 miles away.  The ancient Romans are known for their architectural achievements, but other societies also built some pretty impressive projects as well.  Here we list 10 impressive examples of ancient architecture, not necessarily the most famous, but ones we hope you will like.   Digging Deeper 10.  The Mound Builders, 3400 BC to 1500 AD. Along the Mississippi Valley to the Ohio Valley, Native American civilizations built a series of earthen mounds of large proportions…

A Brief History On June 13, 1966, the US Supreme Court ruled in favor of Miranda in Miranda v Arizona, creating the requirement for police to inform people of their rights before questioning.  On March 13, 2014, we ran an article about that, and on May 20, 2014, we wrote a list about things commonly misunderstood about the law.  Here we list another 10 of those commonly misunderstood legal things.  Remember, laws may vary from state to state and local laws might have differences as well, so we are talking what is generally the case, not always.  If you need actual…

A Brief History On May 20, 1899, history’s first traffic ticket was issued to a New York cab driver, Jacob German who was zipping down Lexington Street at 12 mph.  Ever since, drivers have been arguing about traffic tickets with no real idea what the law is, just basing their beliefs on urban myths that are frequently untrue.  We list 10 of the most misunderstood facts about everyday traffic and other laws as told by a retired police captain.  (Note: laws vary from state to state and sometimes from town to town.  We know that and are trying to avoid…

A Brief History On May 13, 1958, George de Mestral, a Swiss engineer trademarked Velcro, and the company called Velcro is based in the United Kingdom. Did you think Velcro was American invented and made? Many products or inventions that “seem” as is they should be American are not necessarily so. Here is a list of 10 such items. Digging Deeper 10. Baseball and Football, circa 1344, 1400. Baseball is really a variant of Cricket, and forms of it have been played since 14th Century France. Football is a form of Rugby, which started around the beginning of the 15th…

A Brief History On May 9, 1926, Richard E. Byrd claimed to have made a flight over the North Pole, making him (the navigator) and his pilot the first men to have achieved that distinction. Doubters surfaced soon afterwards, and the 1996 release of Byrd’s diary clearly showed how he had falsified data to claim he had made the trip when in reality he had turned back without achieving his goal. People lie. Not all the time, but often enough and about big enough subjects that we have compiled a list of 10 big whoppers for you. Digging Deeper 10.…