As this fascinating, witty, and surprising book reveals, we quite often attribute first in world history to the wrong people. Many "modern" ideas and inventions actually date back to ancient times. The use of steroids can be traced back to the Sung dynasty. Oral contraceptives were popular in ancient Greece. A Communist revolution took place long before Lenin and Trotsky. The famous croissant comes not from France but from Austria. Canada and the United States played cricket before England and Australia. In Whose Bright Idea Was That? you'll discover that many things we hold dear began outside their traditional homelands. Whose Bright Idea Was That? identifies the major first in every field in over 1,600 entries covering science, sports, philosophy, finance, food and drink, literature, music, medicine, and many others. The most entertaining and informative reference book of its kind, it will amaze and delight with its myriad insights into human progress.
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3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
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Who REALLY invented or discovered that?,
By Nathan Sklare (Indianapolis, Indiana United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Whose Bright Idea Was That?: Great Firsts of World History (Paperback)
This book can really make you think again when you feel you really know who invented what and who explored what first. This book goes through dozens of subject areas throughout history and tells the truth about who is really behind the inventions and discoveries. Also, each key entry is bolded in the margin for easy searching.
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
If there were a way of knowing what was invented first, it might turn out to be a crudely fashioned tool, a primitive garment for keeping warm, or something equally simple and ordinary. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
differential gearing, cantilever bridge Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Ham Dynasty, Sung Dynasty, New Zealand, Roman Empire, North China, New York, Old Kingdom, United States, Babylonian Empire, South America, New South Wales, Tarng Dynasty, North Africa, North America, Northern India, Asia Minor, Nile River, Warring States Period, Middle Kingdom, South Pole, Central Asia, First World War, Harn Dynasty, Juarng Dzu, Maw Dzu New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
If there were a way of knowing what was invented first, it might turn out to be a crudely fashioned tool, a primitive garment for keeping warm, or something equally simple and ordinary. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
differential gearing, cantilever bridge Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Ham Dynasty, Sung Dynasty, New Zealand, Roman Empire, North China, New York, Old Kingdom, United States, Babylonian Empire, South America, New South Wales, Tarng Dynasty, North Africa, North America, Northern India, Asia Minor, Nile River, Warring States Period, Middle Kingdom, South Pole, Central Asia, First World War, Harn Dynasty, Juarng Dzu, Maw Dzu New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 34
books:
See all 34 books this book cites
- The South Pole: An Account of the Norwegian Antarctic Expedition in the Fram, 1910-1912 by Captain Roald Amundsen on 4 pages
- Vitruvius: The Ten Books on Architecture (Bks. I-X) by Vitruvius on page 102, page 358, and page 359
- Yoga Sutra by Patanjali on page 161, and page 176
- On the Origin of Species (Penguin Classics) by Charles Darwin on page 154, and page 212
- The Origin Of Species: 150th Anniversary Edition by Charles Darwin on page 154, and page 212
See all 34 books this book cites
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