Best of the Week

Buses got their names after a hat shop in France!

Besides having the greatest band of electronic music ever (If “Daft Punk” didn’t come to your mind you need some serious help), the French also have the credit of being the ones who named the “bus”.

The word “bus” itself comes from the Latin word “Omnibus”, in other words is a clipped form of this word. The bus is also called multibus or autobus, depending in which country you are at.

This was actually a reference to “Omnes Omnibus,” which was the name of the hatter shop located next to the first bus station in Nantes, France back in 1823, whch was in turn a Latin pun on the name of the owner, “Omnès”.

Another fun fact is that the bus is still called “omnibus” in several countries throughout the world! An example would include Argentina.

The bus is in fact one of the greatest inventions ever, however, there are some evil bus drivers out there that no matter how fast they see you chasing them across the street, they’ll just step the gas pedal deeper, and deeper and share an evil laugh as you are falling behind.

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Ever heard of Manhattanhedge? The sun does something pretty amazing in New York twice a year!

Named after Stonehenge and the amazing phenomenon in which the sun aligns with the stones on the solstices, Manhattanhedge is similar. One key difference is it takes place in New York. Twice a year, around May 28 and July 12, the sun begins to set and perfectly aligns with the east-west streets of the main street grid in Manhattan.

Also referred to as the Manhattan Solstice, this dramatic effect usually occurs around 8 pm and the view is amazing. There are also two corresponding morning of sunrise, which occur around December 5 and January 8, near the winter solstice and have the same effect. Although the dates vary somewhat from year to year, it is pretty reliable. The term was coined in 2002 by Neil deGrasse Tyson, an astrophysicist at the American Museum of Natural History.

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A traditional demolition wastes an entire building. If you do a 'deconstruction' you can reuse up to 90% of the materials!

When you think of demolition, you probably think of dynamite and a building crumbling into a bunch of useless rubble. Well, a new form of environmentally friendly demolition called 'deconstruction' might just change that stigma in your mind. But, what exactly is deconstruction?

Deconstruction is a process that involves removing materials from the building and sorting them into piles of things that can be reused, and what can be recycled. When executed properly, deconstruction has resulted in 90% of materials from a building being reused, rather than ending up in a landfill!

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Ever wonder why Wal-Mart has greeters? It's actually to deter shoplifting!

It began in 1980 when a manager of a Louisiana Wal-Mart had severe problems with shoplifting. To deter people from stealing, he placed a woman by the front door. This woman was charged with simply greeting people as they walked in and asking them if they needed any help.

The mere presence of this woman helped discourage potential shoplifters, who immediately thought twice about it. When Sam Walton, the company founder, visited the store, he made it universal and a Wal-Mart trademark. In the end he claimed this helped customers because less shoplifting results in lower prices!

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A torture scene in Game of Thrones portrays an actual method of tortures used in Soviet Russia!

Big Games of Thrones fan? Remember the torture scene with the rat in the heated pot? Well, that was an actual method of torture used during the Red Terror! The Red Terror occurred in Soviet Russian, and back during this era there were several events occurring, such as mass killings, torture, and systematic oppression.

One of the torture methods that were used was one in which rats were placed in iron tubes sealed at one end with wire netting and the other placed against the body of a prisoner, with the tubes being heated until the rats gnawed through the victim’s body in an effort to escape.

This was only one of the torture methods used during the red terror, some people were frozen to death, others skinned people to make gloves, and these are just some of the terrible things that people would use to torture back then.

So don’t forget; you are actually learning some history from watching Games of Thrones! Sadly you’ll have to wait a little bit longer until next season comes up and you can keep up with the great learning process.

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