Monthly Archives: April 2014
299.WHEN DID THE PIANO ORIGINATE?
Except for the organ, the piano is the most complex of any musical instrument. In fact, its proper name is the pianoforte, which means “soft-strong.” This is because the piano is capable of a variety of tones.
Yet the piano grew from a very simple instrument called a monochord. This was a box with a single string which had the intervals of the scale marked off on it.
298.WHEN DID THE OLYMPIC GAMES START?
Probably the greatest honor that could come to an athlete is to win the gold medal at the Olympic Games. But did you know that the idea of having Olympic Games is more than 2,500 years old?
According to Greek legend, the Olympic Games were started by Hercules, son of Zeus. The first records we have are of gamer held in 776 B.C. on the plain of Olympia. They were held every four years for more than 1,000 years, until the Romans abolished them in 394 A.D.
297.WHEN DID PUPPET SHOWS START?
There are many kinds of puppets, as you know. There are hand puppets, rod puppets, shadow figures, and marionettes. They are little figures operated by strings and wires from above, by rods, or by hands from below. Puppets are as old as the theater itself. The first puppets were probably made in India or Egypt. Puppet theaters, thousands of years old have been found in both of these countries. Marionettes, which are puppets animated by strings from above, got their name in Italy. During the early Christmas celebrations, small, jointed nativity figures including the Christ Child and the Virgin Mary were made to move by strings. This kind of puppet became known as a marionette, or little Mary.
