DID YOU KNOW
While 666 is unlucky in Christian cultures it is lucky to the Chinese because it is divisible by both 2 and 3.The Fibonacci series can be seen in nature – for example in a sunflower seed head or a nautilus shell. It is also key to pleasing architecture.
The polymath Eratosthenes of Cyrene (276-195 BCE) measured the circumference of the earth within 320 km (200 miles) without even leaving home.
The hand is a measurement used in ancient Egypt and still used for measuring horses from the ground to the withers (the top of the shoulder).
The Romans word pondo gives us the word pound, but when they came to Britain they used the word libra for the basic unit of weight.
The dollar originated in Bavaria, not in America. Here, in 1518, silver from the mines was minted into thalers, each with a standard weight of 29.2 grams (just over and ounce).
The Babylonians were probably the first to have a 7-day week – for them it had a mystical significance linked to the Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus and Saturn.
Daffodils, irises and their close relations all have flowers with petals arranged in multiples of 3.
Today’s single-toed horse evolved from a 5-toed ancestor.
