Tag: pkar

How old is the rollercoaster?

• Q&A: YOU ASK, WE ANSWER HISTORY’S GREATEST CONUNDRUMS AND MYSTERIES SOLVED How old is the rollercoaster? • SHORT ANSWER Don’t expect ups, downs and loop-the-loops: the first ride was a one-direction affair • LONG ANSWER A sled speeding down a human-made ice-covered ramp may not sound as exhilarating as the rides of today, but […]

What did Michael Collins do during the Moon landing?

Q&A What did Michael Collins do during the Moon landing? • SHORT ANSWER Far from being lonely, his thoughts were on his colleagues – both human and mouse • LONG ANSWER As Neil Armstrong took his “one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind” on the Moon in July 1969, shortly followed by […]

What were the five punishments of China?

Q&A What were the five punishments of China? • SHORT ANSWER Hundreds of crimes, five brutal penalties… judges had an easy job • LONG ANSWER For a long time, ancient China’s legal system operated under a simple philosophy that punishments should leave criminals physically and psychologically marked for life and so suitably deterred from reoffending. […]

When were the last hieroglyphics written?

Q&A When were the last hieroglyphics written? • SHORT ANSWER Written? The fourth century. But Egyptian writing had to wait over 14 centuries, and some clever decipherment, to be read again • LONG ANSWER On a wall at the ancient Egyptian temple complex of Philae, an inscription depicts the god Mandulis, carved on behalf of […]