FUN facts
FIREWORKS- Fireworks originated in China. It was during the Song dynasty that Li Tian, a Chinese monk, invented fireworks. This invention came soon after the creation of gunpowder. Gunpowder is created by a mixture of saltpeter, which is also a flavoring agent, charcoal, and sulfur. It must be enclosed in a casing in order to have the exploding effect, otherwise it will simply burn. This is most likely where the legend of a Chinese cook accidentally spilling saltpeter into a fire came from. Stocked in bamboo casings, these fireworks were shot into the sky for New Years celebrations, though the original purpose was to scare away evil spirits.
FOOTBALL- The sport we in the United States know as football is more properly called gridiron football, for the vertical yard lines that mark the field. Closely related to two English sports—rugby and soccer (or association football)—gridiron football originated at universities in North America, primarily the United States, in the late 19th century. On November 6, 1869, players from Princeton and Rutgers held the first intercollegiate football contest in New Brunswick, New Jersey, playing a soccer-style game with rules adapted from the London Football Association. While a number of other elite Northeastern colleges took up the sport in the 1870s, Harvard University maintained its distance by sticking to a rugby-soccer hybrid called the “Boston Game.” In May 1874, after a match against McGill University of Montreal, the Harvard players decided they preferred McGill’s rugby-style rules to their own. In 1875, Harvard and Yale played their first intercollegiate match, and Yale players and spectators (including Princeton students) embraced the rugby style as well.
PEANUT BUTTER-
While Carvar may have made peanut butter, the preparation arose in other cultures independently. The Aztecs were known to have made it from ground peanuts in the 15th century, and Marcellus Gilmore Edson was awarded U.S. Patent 306,727 (for its manufacture) in 1884, when Carver was 20.
SCHOOL- Credit for our modern version of the school system usually goes to Horace Mann. When he became Secretary of Education in Massachusetts in 1837, he set forth his vision for a system of professional teachers who would teach students an organized curriculum of basic content.
BACON- The word bacon itself comes from a combination of french and Germanic dialects. The French word “bako,” Common Germanic “bakkon” and Old Teutonic “backe” have all been flagged as sources of the word, and all refer to the back of the pig, and date back to well before the 12th Century.
FOOTBALL- The sport we in the United States know as football is more properly called gridiron football, for the vertical yard lines that mark the field. Closely related to two English sports—rugby and soccer (or association football)—gridiron football originated at universities in North America, primarily the United States, in the late 19th century. On November 6, 1869, players from Princeton and Rutgers held the first intercollegiate football contest in New Brunswick, New Jersey, playing a soccer-style game with rules adapted from the London Football Association. While a number of other elite Northeastern colleges took up the sport in the 1870s, Harvard University maintained its distance by sticking to a rugby-soccer hybrid called the “Boston Game.” In May 1874, after a match against McGill University of Montreal, the Harvard players decided they preferred McGill’s rugby-style rules to their own. In 1875, Harvard and Yale played their first intercollegiate match, and Yale players and spectators (including Princeton students) embraced the rugby style as well.
PEANUT BUTTER-
While Carvar may have made peanut butter, the preparation arose in other cultures independently. The Aztecs were known to have made it from ground peanuts in the 15th century, and Marcellus Gilmore Edson was awarded U.S. Patent 306,727 (for its manufacture) in 1884, when Carver was 20.
SCHOOL- Credit for our modern version of the school system usually goes to Horace Mann. When he became Secretary of Education in Massachusetts in 1837, he set forth his vision for a system of professional teachers who would teach students an organized curriculum of basic content.
BACON- The word bacon itself comes from a combination of french and Germanic dialects. The French word “bako,” Common Germanic “bakkon” and Old Teutonic “backe” have all been flagged as sources of the word, and all refer to the back of the pig, and date back to well before the 12th Century.