History

June 22, 2024

The Decimal Point Is a Lot Older Than We Thought

For centuries, the earliest known use of the decimal point appeared in 1593, when the German mathematician Christopher Clavius wrote it in an astronomy book. Since then, it has radically changed the course of mathematics. However, it was recently discovered that the first documented use of the decimal point was not in 1593 but over 100 years before in Renaissance Italy.

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June 4, 2024

15th-Century Manuscript Covered in Medieval Cat’s Paw Prints and Urine

Today, cats are the kings and queens of the internet. Their popularity amongst humans is nothing new though. Felines have accompanied humankind for centuries for a variety of reasons. Medieval monks often kept cats in their monasteries because their kitty companions protected their food stores from rodents. Cats were also employed to limit the rodent population, as mice and rats were known to nibble on manuscript pages, ruining them.

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May 8, 2024

Emily Dickinson’s Collection of Plants and Flowers Now Viewable Online for Free

The now-renowned Emily Dickinson is widely regarded as one of the most important poets of American literature. Famously a recluse in her later years, the overwhelming majority of her poems were never published until after her death. Even then, it wasn't until the 1920s, 40 years after her death, that her unconventional style was embraced and celebrated as proto-modern work. Poetry wasn't her only passion, though.

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April 23, 2024

Scholar Discovers 11th-Century Astrolabe With Inscriptions in Arabic, Hebrew, and Latin

An 11th-century astrolabe inscribed with Arabic, Hebrew, and Western numbers shows a strong collaboration between different religions and cultures. In a new report, Dr. Federica Gigante of the University of Cambridge discusses this scientific instrument, which she discovered thanks to a photo uploaded to a museum in Verona, Italy. Dr. Gigante, an expert on Islamic astrolabes, contacted the museum, which didn't know much about the astrolabe and thought it could be a fake.

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