There are many reasons to be thankful for the benefits of modern living: antibiotics, airplanes, velcro …. Another subtle but essential item is our calendar. It may have some frustrating moments, but consider how months used to work. Take heed of Mercedonius In the days of the Roman calendar, an intercalary month was added in leap years and a few other times as well. This …
Usually, triangles only strike fear and terror into the hearts of trigonometry students. However, there is one particular triangle that has captivated and terrified people the world over for quite a long time: the Bermuda Triangle. Is the Bermuda Triangle actually real and is there really any good reason to be afraid of this three-cornered geographic area? Let’s brave the unknown together and travel deep …
What exactly is the holy grail? Search recent and current headlines, and you’ll find folks looking for the “holy grail” of everything from winemaking, to math and clean energy. The term is so rich in myth and history that we can’t resist the opportunity for elucidation. What is a holy grail? For the record, most of the uses of this term holy grail are informal …
As you may suspect, the term “ballroom dancing” originates with the word “ball.” But what you may not know is that “ball” comes from the Latin word ballare, which means “to dance.” So what about all those dances performed in the ballroom? How did they get their names? The waltz The waltz is now considered a harmless, traditional type of ballroom dancing. But in 1825, it …