By Tim Lambert There have been puppets since Ancient Times. As early as 2,000 BC there were puppets in Ancient Egypt. Puppets were also popular in Ancient Greece. Chinese shadow puppetry dates from the Han Dynasty, 2000 years ago. In Indonesia, Wayang Kulit is a traditional form of puppetry in which leather puppets perform behind… Continue reading A History of Puppets
Category: Articles
Catherine Hayes
By Tim Lambert This was a notorious case from the early 18th century when murderers were caught because of a head. Catherine Hayes was executed for killing her husband in 1726. She was born Catherine Hall near Birmingham in 1690. She moved around the country working as a domestic servant. Eventually, she was employed by… Continue reading Catherine Hayes
A History of Stockings
By Tim Lambert People have worn stockings since Ancient Times. Roman soldiers wore stockings called udones, especially in cold climates. The oldest existing stockings were made in Egypt in the 4th or 5th centuries AD. Early socks had split toes and were designed to be worn with sandals. In the Middle Ages, both men and… Continue reading A History of Stockings
A History of Pencils
By Tim Lambert The name pencil comes from a Latin word, Penicillus, which means brush. In the Middle Ages, in England, a pencel was a small brush made of camel hair, used for painting. Graphite was discovered in Bavaria in the 15th century. However, a pure deposit of graphite was discovered in Borrowdale, Cumbria, England.… Continue reading A History of Pencils
A Brief History of Contraceptives
By Tim Lambert Life was hard for women before artificial contraception. Not only did they usually have large numbers of children, but those children were also born close together. Reliable contraception was one of the great inventions of the 20th century. Of course, people have always attempted to prevent pregnancy. In Ancient Egypt, women made… Continue reading A Brief History of Contraceptives
A History of Pewter
By Tim Lambert Pewter was an alloy of tin and lead (although today lead is no longer used. Modern pewter is made of tin, antimony and copper). The earliest known pewter was made in Egypt in about 1,500 BC. The Romans also made pewter. In the Middle Ages, pewter was used by the Church and… Continue reading A History of Pewter
A History of Lead
By Tim Lambert People learned to use lead as early as 6,500 BC. It was used to make beads in what is now Turkey. Lead proved to be a useful metal because it has a low melting point and it does not corrode. The Romans used lead to make pipes. In fact, the Latin word… Continue reading A History of Lead
Famous Women Pilots
By Tim Lambert In 1784, Elisabeth Thible became the first woman to fly in an untethered balloon. In 1909, Elise Deroche became the first woman to fly solo. Raymonde de Laroche was born in 1882. In 1910, she became the first woman to gain a pilot’s licence (in France). Harriet Quimby was born in 1875.… Continue reading Famous Women Pilots
A History of Airplanes
By Tim Lambert Early Airplanes At first, people learned to fly in balloons or gliders, but in the 20th century, they made heavier-than-air flying machines. On 17 December 1903, the Wright brothers flew a plane. Once the plane had been invented, aircraft technology developed rapidly. In 1908, Henri Farman became the first recorded passenger in… Continue reading A History of Airplanes
A History of Balloons
By Tim Lambert Early Balloons The hot air balloon was invented by two brothers, Joseph-Michel and Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier. On June 4, 1783, the Montgolfiers publicly demonstrated an unmanned hot-air balloon. On 19 September 1783, a duck, a sheep, and a cockerel became the first living creatures carried by a hot air balloon. On 27 August… Continue reading A History of Balloons