Where did the Rx symbol come from?
Commonly seen on doctor’s prescription pads and signs in pharmacies, Rx is the symbol for a medical prescription. According to most sources, Rx is derived from the Latin word “recipe,” meaning “take.”...
View ArticleWhy are barber poles red, white and blue?
The barber pole’s colors are a legacy of a (thankfully) long-gone era when people went to barbers not just for a haircut or shave but also for bloodletting and other medical procedures. During the...
View ArticleWhy are they called the “dog days” of summer?
The sultry “dog days” of summer might spark visions of listless canines baking in the oppressive heat, but the moniker has nothing to do with panting pooches. Instead, it’s a throwback to the time when...
View ArticleWhat is the oldest known piece of literature?
As with the wheel, cities and law codes, the earliest examples of written literature appear to have originated in ancient Mesopotamia. The Sumerian civilization first developed writing around 3400...
View ArticleWhat is the oldest known piece of music?
The history of music is as old as humanity itself. Archaeologists have found primitive flutes made of bone and ivory dating back as far as 43,000 years, and it’s likely that many ancient musical styles...
View ArticleWhy did the Maya abandon their cities?
The ancient Maya, whose early settlements date back to about 2,000 B.C., lived in present-day southern Mexico and northern Central America. As a civilization, they are recognized for their...
View ArticleWho were the Sea Peoples?
For nearly a century in the second millennium B.C., a mysterious band of maritime warriors known as the “Sea Peoples” wreaked havoc on the Mediterranean. “They came from the sea in their warships,”...
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