300.WHO INVENTED MATHEMATICS?
Mathematics is the science that deals with number, quantity, and form. Without a knowledge of mathematics, our whole modern way of life would be impossible!
For example, we would have no good houses, because men who build houses must know how to measure and count and figure. Our clothing would be very crude, because figuring is necessary to cut cloth correctly. There would be no railroads, steamships, or airplanes, nor any great industries, nor any commerce as we know it.
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.
