“Belief in reincarnation was the central tenet of the Pythagorean religion. Pythagoras taught that the soul was indestructible, but that people needed to follow certain rules to ensure the best possible reincarnations after their physical deaths. Among the rules adopted… — David S. Kidder Copy Share Image
“Zhang’s seismometer—Houfeng Didong Yi, or the “instrument for inquiring into the wind and the shaking of the earth”—was reconstructed by a Chinese museum in… — David S. Kidder Copy Share Image
“As you can see, it is very hard to say what causation is. This has led some philosophers to deny that there are causes… — David S. Kidder Copy Share Image
“One by one, Napoleon's armies toppled the ancient monarchies of Europe. The French believed the great ideals of their Republic-liberty, equality, and fraternity-were universal… — David S. Kidder Copy Share Image
“But it would take the English more than fifty years to subdue Scotland. According to legend, Wallace’s animosity toward the English was sparked by… — David S. Kidder Copy Share Image
“Do not fly a kite in a thunderstorm. Several imitators, under the impression that Franklin had safely carried out the test as described in… — David S. Kidder Copy Share Image
“Why didn’t the chicken cross the road? According to the ancient philosopher and logician Zeno of Elea (c. 495–c. 430 BC), the bird simply… — David S. Kidder Copy Share Image
“Robespierre was unmoved by the mayhem he unleashed. “Terror is nothing other than prompt, severe, inflexible justice” he once declared.” — David S. Kidder Copy Share Image
“Combining the French passions for snails and beheadings, Lavoisier conducted a series of experiments in 1768 that proved that certain species of snails would… — David S. Kidder Copy Share Image
“It is physically impossible to walk under a rainbow. They literally exist only in the eyes of the observer.” — David S. Kidder Copy Share Image
“Babylonian scientists used a counting system based on the number sixty, which is why minutes have sixty seconds.” — David S. Kidder Copy Share Image
“At the time, most Europeans believed that religious conformity was necessary to safeguard civil order, and they questioned how such a diverse colony could… — David S. Kidder Copy Share Image
“Belief in reincarnation was the central tenet of the Pythagorean religion. Pythagoras taught that the soul was indestructible, but that people needed to follow… — David S. Kidder Copy Share Image
