41 Interesting Facts About . . .The Black Death

1. A plague epidemic swept through Europe from 1348 through 1351, killing an estimated 25–60% of Europeans. Some estimates are as high as 2/3 of the population
2. The exact death toll is difficult to measure from medieval sources. The number of deaths varied considerably by area and depending on the source. Current estimates are that between 75 and 200 million people died from the plague
3. The term "Black Death" is recent. During the plague, it was called "the Great Mortality" or "the Pestilence."
4. Although the period known as the Black Death ended in 1351, the plague continued to return to Europe, with epidemics every few years through the end of the fifteenth century.
5. The Black Death was the second plague pandemic of the Middle Ages. Justinian’s Plague in the sixth century was deadly and widespread, but did not create the same devastation as the second pandemic.
6. The Black Death followed a period of population growth in Europe which, combined with two years of cold weather and torrential rains that wiped out grain crops, resulted in a shortage of food for humans and rats. This caused people and animals to crowd in cities, providing an optimal environment for disease
7. In 1346, rumors of a plague that started in China and spread throughout Asia, Persia, Syria, Egypt, and India reached Europe. All of India was rumored to have been depopulated
8. The first named victims of the plague died in 1338 and 1339 in the area around Lake Issyk Kul (Lake Baikal) in Russia, where a grave marker says, "In the year of the hare (1339). This is the grave of Kutluk. He died of the plague with his wife, Magnu-Kelka."
9. During a siege of the Genoese city of Kaffa by the Tatars in 1347, the inhabitants were reportedly infected with the plague when the Tatars threw the bodies of plague victims into the city.
10. In November 1347, a fleet of Genoese trading ships landed in Messina, Sicily after trading along the coast from the Black Sea to Italy. The ships carried dead and dying sailors, many of whom had strange black growths on their necks, in their armpits, or in their groins. Many coughed blood. Those who were alive died within days.
11. From Sicily, the disease took three years to sweep through Europe, moving north and traveling as far as Iceland and Greenland. The plague and simultaneous climate changes put an end to the European colonies on the coast of Greenland.
12. In Siena, more than half the population died. Work stopped on the city’s great cathedral, planned to be the biggest in the world, and was never resumed. The truncated transept still stands as reminder of the death that halted construction.
13. In May 1349, the plague reached Bergen, Norway, on a ship carrying wool from England. Within days of arriving in Bergen, the crew and passengers of the ship had all died.
14. Most experts agree that the plague was caused by Yersinia pestis (or Y. pestis), a bacillus carried by fleas that live primarily on rats and other rodents that were common in medieval dwellings
15. Since the 1980s, several researchers have blamed other diseases, including anthrax and typhus, for the plague. The argument claims that other diseases spread more easily between people without the required flea vector and can display similar symptoms.
16. A November 2000 study of tooth pulp in a French plague grave showed the presence of Y. pestis in all of 20 samples from three victims.
17. Y. Pestis infects its flea by blocking its stomach. The flea tries repeatedly to feed, but the blockage causes it to regurgitate bacilli into its host. When the host dies, the flea and its offspring seek a new host, infesting humans when necessary.
18. Y. pestis causes three varieties of plague: bubonic plague, caused by bites from infected fleas, in which the bacteria moves to lymph nodes and quickly multiplies, forming growths, or buboes; pneumonic plague, a lung infection that causes its victim to cough blood and spread the bacteria from person to person; and septicemic plague, a blood infection that is almost always fatal.
19. The mortality rate for humans who caught the bubonic plague was 30-75%. The pneumonic plague killed 90-95% of its victims. The septicemic plague killed nearly 100% of the people it infected and still has no cure to this day.
20. Medieval doctors believed the plague had at least one of several causes. Many thought it was a punishment from God for the sins of the people.
21. Many also believed the plague was caused by pockets of bad air released by earthquakes or by an unfavorable alignment of Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars in the 40^th degree of Aquarius on March 20, 1345.
22. Virtually nobody suspected the ever-present rats and fleas.
23. The Jews were often accused of causing the plague to destroy Christians, even though Jews and Muslims were as likely to be infected as Christians.
24. After being tortured, some Jews confessed that they were poisoning wells and other water sources, creating the plague. As a result, Jews were expelled or killed by the thousands.
25. As a result of forced confessions, the entire Jewish population of Strassburg, Germany, was given the choice to convert to Christianity or be burned on rows of stakes on a platform in the city’s burial ground. About 2,000 were killed.
26. Many doctors believed that bad smells could drive out the plague. As a result, some of the treatment for the disease included dung and urine, as well as other ingredients that were more likely to spread disease than to cure it.
27. Other ways purported to prevent or cure the plague were to be happy and avoid bad thoughts, drink good wine, avoid eating fruit, put fragrant herbs in beverages, avoid lechery, do not abuse the poor, eat and drink in moderation, maintain a household in accordance with a person’s status, and so on
28. Bathing during the plague was discouraged for two reasons. First, along with changing clothes, it was a sign of vanity, which invited the wrath of God and the punishment of sin. Second, bathing was believed to open the pores, making it easier for bad air to enter and exit the body, spreading disease. The latter belief was common throughout Europe well into the the nineteenth century.
29. Eau de Cologne and other perfumes were first used during the plague to cover up odors due to not bathing or changing clothing.
30. Although the poor were hit hardest, nobility didn’t escape. King Alfonso XI of Castile and León was the only reigning monarch to die, but many members of royal families from Naples to England were killed
31. Bodies were piled up inside and outside city walls where they lay until mass graves could be dug. This contributed to the bad air and helped to spread the disease.
32. Closed communities, such as monasteries and nunneries, were especially vulnerable. If one person became infected, the whole community might die. And because friars and nuns tended the sick, infection among them was common.
33. Gherardo, brother of the famous humanist Petrarch and a monk in the monastery of Montriuex, was the only survivor of the plague in his monastery, along with his dog. He buried the other 34 monks himself.
34. Of 140 Dominican brothers in Montpellier, only seven survived.
35. English soldiers carried the disease from France to England, beginning an especially devastating round of plague in England that some estimates claim killed as much as 75% of the population in many areas.
36. Prior to the Black Death, music was plentiful and cheerful. During the plague, music was rare and grim. Other art forms, including visual arts and literature, also reflect the misery of the time
37. As the population dwindled and society crumbled, old rules were ignored. The Catholic church lost influence, creating the seeds that led to Protestantism.
38. The attempts to find cures for the plague started the momentum toward development of the scientific method and the changes in thinking that led to the Renaissance.
39. After the Black Death, plague epidemics continued to ravage Europe. For example, London was struck by the Great Plague of 1665, with thousands of deaths. This plague was followed almost immediately by the Great Fire, leaving London devastated.
40. A third pandemic began in China and India in the 1890s and eventually reached the United States, with infections being especially dangerous in the San Francisco Bay Area. It was during this pandemic that the real cause (Y. pestis) was discovered, along with a cure.
41. Plague continues to survive in the modern world, with Y. pestis foci in Asia, Russia, the American Southwest, and other areas where the host rodents and fleas live. Today, though, it is rarely fatal.

66 Interesting Facts About . . .Evolution

1. Ultimately every living thing can trace its ancestry to a bacterium that lived billions of years ago
2. Bears, seals, and dogs are closely related carnivores but are on a different branch of the evolutionary tree than cats and hyenas
3. Some snakes have hipbones, which shows they once had four legs like lizards, their close cousins.
4. Inside some whales and dolphins are small bones that show they once had back legs and that their ancestors walked on land. These occasionally reappear as tiny rear flippers.
5. Birds evolved from dinosaurs and both are descended from reptiles. The closest living reptilian relation of a bird is the crocodile.
6. Evolution rarely follows a straight line from species to species. Instead, it is more like a tree with many branches. Some branches lead to new branches, while others become dead ends
7. An elephant’s trunk is an amazing example of evolutionary development. It is a combined nose and upper lip that lengthened as the elephant’s ancestors became taller and their tusks grew bigger. With its heavy head, it needed an easy way to reach the ground
8. Physically, the human body seems to have changed very little in the last 50,000 years. However improvements in diets, increased lifespan, and developments in biotechnology may start to speed up the evolutionary process.
9. All humans develop a tail in the womb that eventually dissolves
10. The penises of human ancestors were covered in hard spines. Theorists believe these spines possibly helped a man’s sperm overtake that of his competitors. As humans became more monogamous, the spines became obsolete
11. Charles Darwin did not come up with his theory of evolution while at the Galapagos Islands. His ideas came later, after his return from the voyage.
12. Darwin (1809–1882) did not come up with the phrase “survival of the fittest” to summarize his theory. Rather, the philosopher Herbert Spencer (1820–1903) coined the phrase.
13. Darwin did not argue that humans came from monkeys. Rather he wrote only thatmonkeys, apes, and humans have a common ancestor
14. Approximately 550 million years ago, humans had a common ancestor with a lancelet, a rod-like sea animal
15. Humans share about 31% of their genes with yeast, a single living cell that replicates every 90 minutes. They share about 50% of their genes with a banana
16. A pair of parents would have to have 1,000,000,000,000,000 (a quadrillion) babiesbefore they possibly might have a child with the same genes as any of their other children. This genetic variation between individuals is the key to how species have evolved
17. According to a Pew Research Center analysis, 6 in 10 Americans agree that humans and other animals have evolved over time. A third reject the idea of evolution.
18. Approximately 43% of Republicans and 67% of Democrats believe in evolution.
19. According to Pew Research, men are somewhat more inclined than women to say that humans and animals evolved over time. Younger adults are more likely than older generations to agree with evolution. Additionally, those with more years of formal education are more likely than those with less education to agree with evolution.
20. A descended larynx, which allows humans to speak, evolved roughly 350,000 year ago. Humans also possess a descended hyoid one, which allows humans to articulate words. In contrast, the larynx in a chimp, for example, sits higher in the throat than in a human
21. A hobbit-like species of human lived about 18,000 years ago. About the size of a 3-year-old, they lived with pygmy elephants and 10-foot-long lizards
22. The changes in a human pelvis that allow humans to walk upright also made bearing children unusually more dangerous than the rest of the animal kingdom. Additionally, the lumbar curve in the lower back, which helps humans maintain balance, is more vulnerable to pain and injury.
23. A square inch of human skin on average has as much or more hair-producing follicles as other primates. The difference is that human hair is thinner, shorter, and lighter.
24. Researchers believe that goose bumps are a remnant of thick hair that covered early humans
25. While other primates have opposable thumbs, humans are unique because they can bring their thumbs across the hand to their ring and little fingers. Humans can also flex the ring and little fingers toward the base of the thumb. This allows humans to have a powerful grip and dexterity to hold and use tools.
26. The development of human clothes has influenced the evolution of other species. For example, unlike all other kinds of louse, the body louse clings to clothing not to hair
27. Evolutionary biologists hypothesize that species that cooperate rather than compete value sameness, which has led to right-hand dominance. Lefties constitute just 10% of the normal population; yet they make up 50% of elite athletes.
28. Researchers suggest that the discovery of fire influenced human evolution. Fire allowed humans to cook their food, which made food easier to chew and digest—which, in turn, contributed to the reduction of human tooth and gut size.
29. While most animals reproduce until they die, humans have evolved to survive long after the ability to reproduce. Scientists believe this has helped ensure the success of a woman’s family
30. The theory of evolution has three basic parts: 1) it is possible for an organism’s DNA to change or mutate; 2) the change is harmful, beneficial, or neutral; and 3) after a long period of time, the mutations cause new species to form.
31. Mutations fuel evolution by providing new genes in the gene pool of a species. Many factors cause DNA mutation, including X-rays, cosmic rays, nuclear radiation, and random chemical reactions in a cell
32. In 1861, the fossil of a primitive bird named Archaeopteryx (“first bird”) was found in Germany. It has impressions of feathers and a long, bony tail. Scientist believe this fossil links birds and reptiles and was the first solid evidence to support Darwin’s theory of evolution.
33. In the 1870s, Ernst Haeckel, a German biologist and naturalist, developed the idea of “evolution as progress,” which assumes that all nature is moving toward a final goal: human beings.
34. The discovery of DNA (strands of hereditary material) provides the strongest proof for biological evolution. By comparing genomes of different living things and observing the changes in the coding of genes, scientists can figure out how closely different species are related to each other and identify how long ago a common ancestor lived
35. Modern evolution theory recognizes that evolution does not always mean progress. If the environment changes, more advanced animals can die out while less advanced relatives survive
36. Darwin was not the first to propose a theory of evolution. His real achievement was that he was able to present a more coherent argument for evolution backed up by a mass of accurate information
37. In revolutionary France, a theory of evolution (by Jean Baptiste Lamarck) was used to challenge the authority of the church and the king. Fearful of similar uprisings, England made evolution a scandalous idea.
38. Scientists believe that the nictitating membrane (the small pink tissue in the corner of a human eye) is a remnant of a third eyelid, similar to the semitransparent eyelid used by birds, reptiles, fish, and other mammals. It is used to protect the eye or moisten it
39. Eighty-five percent of the population cannot wiggle its ears or control the Auricularis muscles that surround the outer ear. Scientists believe this muscle allowed human beings’ primate ancestors to move their ears in different directions to pinpoint the locations of sounds. They lost the need to move their ears when they started to live in groups
40. Scientists believe that wisdom teeth and the appendix are leftover “equipment” from when humans ate a primarily leaf-based diet. As the human diet changed, these appendices have become essentially useless.
41. The term “Junk DNA” refers to regions of DNA that are noncoding—or, in other words, they do not code for a protein. Scientists note that evolution is messy, incomplete, and inefficient and, consequently, it results in DNA sequences with varying degrees of function or no function at all. In the human genome, almost all (98%) of DNA is noncoding
42. Hiccups may date back to humans’ watery ancestors. Wiring in the brain that pushes water over fish gills and makes amphibians gulp air has been imperfectly rewired in mammals. It can make the diaphragm go into spasms, which causes hiccups.
43. Because of evolution, many animals lay hundreds of eggs each year to ensure that even a few reach adulthood. If all the froglets survived, the world would be knee-deep in frogs within 10 years
44. The platypus is the earliest mammal offshoot from the reptiles. It lays eggs but produces milk like other mammals. It also has evolved the ability to produce venom independently of its reptile ancestors.
45. The plantaris muscle in the foot is used by animals to grip and manipulate objects with their feet. For example, apes seem to be able to use their feet as well as their hands. In humans, however, this muscle is so underdeveloped that doctors often remove it when they need tissue for reconstructing other parts of the body. About 9% of humans are now born without it
46. Humans have very little hair compared to other primates. Researchers believe humans have evolved this feature because 1) it made it easier to forage for food in shallow water, 2) it helped humans lose heat faster on the hot savannas, and 3) it helped reduce the number of parasites on the body.
47. Human evolution has taken 5 million years. Modern man, or homo sapiens (“wise man”), emerged 250,000 years ago. Until 25,000 years ago, humans lived alongside the Neanderthals, who were stronger and more stocky. Scientists are unsure what happened to the Neanderthals.
48. The evolution of the mammalian ear can be clearly tracked through fish, amphibian, and reptile fossils. Mammals have three small bones in the inner ear that began as the jawbones of fish. Over time, they changed form and function, shrank, and moved away from the jaw. This allowed mammals to develop a superior sense of hearing
49. Madagascar split from Africa 165 million years ago, which was before Africa’s large mammals, such as elephants and giraffes, evolved. Hence, elephants and giraffes do not live on Madagascar. Hippos are thought to be the only large mammals to have swum to Madagascar
50. Some scientists believe that if humans colonize other planets, colonizers would face new environment conditions, such as low gravity and oxygen. Over centuries, the colonizers and the plants and animals they took with them would evolve to look and behave differently
51. A panda’s thumb is actually an enlarged wrist bone that has evolved to allow thepanda to hold onto its favorite food: bamboo.
52. Birds haven’t had teeth for 70 million years, but researchers have found them in the embryos of mutant chickens. Researchers believe that chickens lost their teeth to grow beaks—although, they still have the potential to make teeth.
53. Most people had brown eyes until about 10,000 years ago when a single genetic mutation from the Black Sea switched the eyes from brown to blue. Approximately 8% of the world’s population now has blue eyes.
54. Researchers are unsure if humans are still evolving or if they have reached their evolutionary peak
55. A new species is achieved when two populations of the same living thing become so different that they can no longer breed with each other.
56. Evolutionary biologists note that a symmetrical face is more attractive around the world because symmetry signals good genes for reproductive health.
57. According to evolutionary biologists, women are more attracted to men with a large jaw and prominent brow, which are shaped by high levels of testosterone. Men are attracted to women with smaller chins and less prominent brows, which signal higher estrogen levels.
58. One study found that men who were hungry preferred women with higher body weights. Researchers suspect this happens because of an evolutionary response to resource scarcity; in other words, a heavier woman advertises access to more resources, such as food.
59. Historically, men prefer women with an hourglass figure. Researchers believe this is a product of evolution because the waist-hip ratio (WHR) serves as an indicator of reproductive health.
60. Scientific studies have shown that blushing helps ease hostile responses by communicating that a person is ashamed or apologetic. Studies show that blushing elicits sympathy, which helps keep the subject alive. Humans are the only animals capable of blushing.
61. Lip twitching when angry is an evolutionary leftover. It is the first part of baring teeth at an intruder and can also be seen in wolves, bears, and chimpanzees.
62. Many people feel the urge to lift their feet or climb to a more elevated position when scared or feeling anxious. Evolutionary biologists claim this is a remnant instinct from when early ground-dwelling mammals would climb trees when threatened.
63. Evidence for evolution is continually being gathered and tested; consequently, scientists argue that evolution is both a fact and a theory.
64. The Tiktaalik is a fossil that shows the transition between a fish and a walking tetrapod. This “fishapod” had developed wrist and finger bones that enabled it to prop itself up on its fins. Holes on top of its head suggest it may have breathed air through primitive lungs.
65. The term “evolution” dates from the Latin evolutionem, meaning “unrolling” or “an opening of what was rolled up.
66. Scientists believe that red hair and pale skin was evolutionarily advantageous in northern Europe because it helped humans to synthesize vitamin D more easily.

74 Interesting Facts About . . . China

1. The modern word “China” most likely derives from the name of the Qin (pronounced “chin”) dynasty. First Emperor Qin Shi Huang (260-210 B.C.) of the Qin dynasty first unified China in 221 B.C., beginning an Imperial period which would last until A.D. 1912.
2. China is often considered the longest continuous civilization, with some historians marking 6000 B.C. as the dawn of Chinese civilization. It also has the world’s longest continuously used written language
3. China is the fourth largest country in the world (after Russia, Canada, and the U.S.). It has an area of 3,719,275 square miles (slightly smaller than the U.S.) and its borders with other countries total more than 117,445 miles. Approximately 5,000 islands lie off the Chinese coast.
4. China is also known as the “Flowery Kingdom” and many of the fruits and flowers (such as the orange and orchid) are now grown all over the world.
5. One in every five people in the world is Chinese. China’s population is estimated to reach a whopping 1,338,612,968 by July 2009. China’s population is four times that of the United States.
6. Fortune cookies are not a traditional Chinese custom. They were invented in 1920 by a worker in the Key Heong Noodle Factory in San Francisco
7. Toilet paper was invented in China in the late 1300s. It was for emperors only.
8. The Chinese invented paper, the compass, gunpowder, and printing.
9. The Chinese invented kites (“paper birds” or “Aeolian harps”) about 3,000 years ago. They were used to frighten the enemies in battle, and Marco Polo (1254-1324) noted that kites were also used to predict the success of a voyage. It was considered bad luck to purposely let a kite go.
10. Cricket fighting is a popular amusement in China. Many Chinese children keep crickets as pets.
11. Despite its size, all of China is in one time zone
12. Many historians believe soccer originated in China around 1000 B.C.
13. Ping-pong is one of the most popular games in China, but it was not invented in China. It originated in Britain, where it is called table tennis.
14. The number one hobby in China is stamp collecting.
15. Giant Pandas (“bear cat”) date back two to three million years. The early Chinese emperors kept pandas to ward off evil spirits and natural disasters. Pandas also were considered symbols of might and bravery
16. White, rather than black, is the Chinese color for mourning and funerals
17. Though Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) is credited with designing the first parachute, Chinese alchemists successfully used man-carrying tethered kites by the fourth century A.D. Parachutes were not used safely and effectively in Europe until the late 1700s.
18. The custom of binding feet (euphemistically called “golden lilies”) began among female entertainers and members of the Chinese court during the Song dynasty (A.D. 960-1279). Tightly wrapped bandages gradually broke the arch of the foot and caused the woman’s toes and heel to grow inward toward one another. Her leg muscles would also atrophy and become very thin. Bound feet were seen as highly sexual.
19. Historians speculate that as the Chinese population grew, people had to conserve cooking fuel by chopping food into small pieces so that it could cook faster. These bite-sized foods eliminated the need for knives and, hence, chopsticks were invented.
20. In A.D. 130, Zhang Heng, an astronomer and literary scholar, invented the first instrument for monitoring earthquakes. The machine could detect and indicate the direction of an earthquake
21. China invented ice cream, and Marco Polo is rumored to have taken the recipe (along with the recipe for noodles) back with him to Europe
22. A civil servant named Su Song built the first mechanical clock between A.D 1088 and 1092. It could tell the time of day and also track the constellations so that accurate horoscopes could be determined
23. On September 27, 2008, Zhai Zhigang made the first spacewalk by a Chinese astronaut.
24. The Chinese were the first to invent the waterwheel to harness water in A.D. 31—1,200 years before the Europeans. China was also the first country in the world to use an iron plow. Europe didn’t begin using the iron plow until the seventeenth century.
25. The name of China’s capital has changed over the centuries. At one time or another it has been known as Yanjing, Dadu, and Beiping. Peking or “Beijing means “Northern Capital.” Beijing is the officially sanctioned pinyin spelling based on the Mandarin dialect. Beijing is the second largest city after Shanghai.
26. It was customary for wealthy men and women in the late empire to grow the nails of their little fingers extremely long as a sign of their rank. They often wore decorative gold and silver nail guards to protect their nails
27. By the fourth century B.C., the Chinese were drilling for natural gas and using it as a heat source, preceding Western natural gas drilling by about 2,300 years.
28. By the second century B.C., the Chinese discovered that blood circulated throughout the body and that the heart pumped the blood. In Europe, circulation wasn’t discovered until the early seventeenth century by William Harvey (1578-1657)
29. The Chinese were using the decimal system as early as the fourteenth century B.C., nearly 2,300 years before the first known use of the system in European mathematics. The Chinese were also the first to use a place for zero.
30. The crossbow was invented and first used by the Chinese. They were also the first in the world to use chemical and gas weapons, 2,000 years before gas was used in Europe during WWI.
31. The Three Gorges Hydroelectric Dam spans the Yangtze River and is the largest dam in the world. It is also the most controversial dam in the world because it has been plagued by corruption, human rights violations, technological difficulties, and has caused dramatic environmental changes.
32. According to popular legend, tea was discovered by the Chinese emperor Shennong in 2737 B.C. when a tea leaf fell into his boiling water. The Chinese consider tea to be a necessity of life
33. Martial arts are practiced throughout China and were largely developed from ancient farming and hunting methods
34. The most important holiday in China is the Chinese New Year or Lunar New Year. Chinese traditionally believe that every person turns one year older on the New Year and, thus, that day is considered to be everyone’s birthday.
35. Chinese is spoken by 92% of China’s population. There are at least seven major families of the Chinese language, including Mandarin, Cantonese, Wu, Hakka, Gan, Xiang, and Min.
36. Red symbolizes happiness for the Chinese and is commonly used at Chinese festivals and other happy occasions such as birthdays and weddings.
37. In ancient China, the lotus was seen as a symbol of purity and was sacred to both the Buddhists and Daoists. The peony (“King of Flowers”) symbolized spring, the chrysanthemum symbolized long life, and the narcissus was thought to bring good luck
38. The Chinese have made silk since at least 3,000 B.C. The Romans knew China as “Serica,” which means “Land of Silk.” The Chinese fiercely guarded the secrets of silk making, and anyone caught smuggling silkworm eggs or cocoons outside of China was put to death
39. According to a Chinese legend, silk was discovered in 3000 B.C. by Lady Xi Ling Sui, wife of the Emperor Huang Di. When a silk worm cocoon accidentally dropped into her hot tea, fine threads from the cocoon unraveled in the hot water and silk was born
40. The oldest piece of paper in the world was found in China and dates back to the second or first century B.C. Paper was so durable, it was sometimes used for clothing and even light body armor.
41. The Chinese were the first in the world to use stirrups in the third century A.D.
42. China’s “one child” policy has contributed to female infanticide and has created a significant gender imbalance. There are currently 32 million more boys than girls in China. In the future, tens of millions of men will be unable to find wives, prompting some scholars to suggest that this imbalance could lead to a threat to world security.
43. The first known species of Homo erectus, the Peking Man, was found in China and lived between 300,000-550,000 years ago. It is thought that he knew how to manipulate fire
44. During the first half the twentieth century, Shanghai was the only port in the world to accept Jews fleeing the Holocaust without an entry visa
45. Chinese mathematics evolved independently of Greek mathematics and is consequently of great interest to historians of mathematics.
46. Originating as far back as 250 B.C., Chinese lanterns were an important symbol of long life. Lanterns were once symbols of a family’s wealth, and the richest families had lanterns so large, it required several people with poles to hoist them into place
47. In the Tang dynasty, anyone with an education was expected to greet as well as say goodbye to another person in poetic verse composed on the spot
48. In 1974, a group of farmers digging for a well in the Shaanxi province uncovered some bits of very old pottery. They discovered the tomb of Qin (259-210 B.C.) the first emperor who united China. The tomb contained thousands of amazing life-sized soldiers, horses, and chariots
49. China’s Grand Canal is the world’s oldest and longest canal at 1,114 miles (1,795 km) long with 24 locks and around 60 bridges
50. The bat is a traditional good luck symbol that is frequently depicted in designs for porcelain, textiles, and other crafts
51. The bicycle was introduced into China around 1891 by two American travelers named Allen and Sachtleben. The bicycle is now the primary transportation for millions of Chinese. The last Qing emperor (Puyi) rode a bicycle around the Forbidden City in Beijing. China is currently the leading bicycle manufacturer
52. The Boxer Rebellion between 1898 and 1901 in northern China was against Christian missionaries, foreign diplomats, and technology by a secret group called the “Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists” (Yihequan or I-ho-ch’uan) so named because its members practiced weaponless martial arts as well as secret rituals. Westerns called it “shadow boxing” and the members “Boxers".
53. Suspension bridges were invented in China in 25 B.C, 1,800 years before such bridges were known in the West.
54. The first American woman to win the Nobel Prize was Pearl S. Buck (1892-1973) for her novels about China, most notably The Good Earth (1931). Amy Tan (1952-) is a best-selling Chinese-American author of The Joy Luck Club
55. The Chinese word for civilization (wen) is pronounced the same as the word for script, pattern, or calligraphy. In fact, calligraphy was thought to reveal the calligrapher’s moral and spiritual self-cultivation as a type of “heart print.”
56. The carp is a symbol of strength and perseverance. The scales and whiskers of the fish make it resemble a dragon, the greatest symbol of power in China. Fish in general play a large role in Chinese culture and the words for “fish” and “abundance” are pronounced the same in Chinese (yu).
57. In some parts of China, “pigtails” were associated with a girl’s marital status. A young girl would wear two pigtails, and when she married, she would wear just one. This may have contributed to the Western view that pigtails are associated with children and young girls.
58. In ancient China, mirrors were believed to protect their owners from evil, making hidden spirits visible and revealing the secrets of the future. A person who had been scared by a ghost could be healed by looking in the mirror. Mirrors were often hung on the ceilings of burial chambers.
59. The longest river in China is the 3,494-mile Yangtze (Changjian) River and the 2,903-mile-long Yellow (Huanghe) River.
60. The Chinese developed a theory of three levels of heaven—Heaven, Earth, and man—which has been influential in landscape painting and flower arrangements.
61. The horse most likely originated in Central Asia and became very important in China. A horse is considered to be associated with the masculine symbol, yang, and with the element of fire. A person born in the Year of the Horse is considered cheerful, independent, clever, talkative, quick to anger, and able to handle money.
62. Because the cicada (katydid) has the longest life span of any insect (up to 17 years) and sheds its skin, it has long been a symbol of regeneration and rebirth for the Chinese. In ancient China, the Chinese would place jade cicadas in the mouths of the dead because they were thought to slow down the decay process and speed up the rebirth in another world
63. Concubinage has been practiced throughout Chinese history, primarily by wealthy men who could afford it. Chinese emperors had large harems with hundreds of concubines.
64. The phoenix is the most important bird in Chinese legend and represents the feminine power of the empress. The graceful crane, which is a symbol of long life, is the second most important bird in Chinese legend. Ducks are also important symbols and represent happiness and marital faithfulness.
65. The Cultural Revolution (the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution) from1966-1976 resulted in severe famine, thousands of deaths, and the erosion of thousands of acres of farmland.
66. While the dragon is typically seen as an evil creature in Western culture, it holds first place among the four greatest creatures in Chinese mythology, including the phoenix, tiger, and tortoise. It is typically associated with the emperor.
67. The highest mountain in the world (29,028 feet) is named in the honor the Englishman Sir George Everest who was the first surveyor of India. The Chinese call Mount Everest Qomolangma, which means “Mother Goddess of the Earth.”
68. China’s national flag was adopted in September 1949 and first flown in Tiananmen Square (the world’s largest public gathering place) on October 1, 1949, the day the People’s Republic of China was formed. The red in the flag symbolizes revolution. The large star symbolizes communism and the little stars represent the Chinese people. The position of the stars represents the unity of the Chinese people under the leadership of the Communist Party.
69. China has the world’s oldest calendar. This lunar calendar originated in 2600 B.C. and has 12 zodiac signs. It takes 60 years to complete
70. The number of birth defects in China continues to rise. Environmentalist and officials blame China’s severe pollution.
71. The consumption of mushrooms was recorded in Chinese historical documents more than 3,000 years ago. In 1996, China produced 600,000 tons of mushrooms, making it the world’s leading producer, and it has 60% of the world’s mushroom varieties
72. In 2007, dog food and toothpaste products made in China were recalled because they contained poisonous ingredients. In July, China’s head of the State Food and Drug Administration was found to have accepted bribes from pharmaceutical companies. He was executed.
73. Famous Chinese and Chinese-American actors include Jackie Chan (Hong Kong), Chow Yun Fat (Hong Kong), Bruce Lee (San Francisco), Jet Li (Beijing), Zhang Ziyi (Beijing), and Lucy Lui (New York).
74. The 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing were the most expensive games in history.^bWhile the 2004 Athens Games were estimated to cost around $15 billion, the Beijing Games were estimated to cost a whopping $40 billion.