Salvador Dali's first exhibition

Salvador Dali's first one-man
exhibition was in 1929

Salvador Dali showcased his surrealist art
In Paris, which is where his legend would start
Gaining a following the year of 1928
With several paintings that led to his fate
His one-man exhibition that helped to define
Occurred on this day in 1929
The success launched Dali onto the global stage
At just 25 years of age
Soon after he joined the Surrealists
Led by Andre Breton, formerly of the Dadaists
The same year Dali met his business manager
Gala Eluard who would become his muse and lover

The legend of William Tell

Fact or fiction we don't know for sure
But the legend of William Tell continues ever more
Famous for firing an apple off his own son's head
He fought the Austrians with a Swiss army he led
Captured by Austrians trying to take over his land
They agreed to let him go if the apple was shot minus trembling hand

William Tell of Switzerland

His army consisted of mountaineers and noble men
Bitter at the takeover by the Austrian
Tell killed Governor Hermann Gessler, his nemesis
Who thought tyrannical rule was bliss
After this happened the Duke Albert I
Led an army to do their worst
So Tell and co hid in the trees and waited for their chance
Waiting for the devil so they could dance
The Duke soon appeared with his large troop
But the mountaineers were ready for their coup
From the advantage of their height
Tell and co caused the army to take flight
They threw down rocks and trunks upon them all
Injuring several and killing more in their fall
The Duke had no choice but to flee
And recognise the Forest of Cantons did not belong to thee
This launched the Republic of Switzerland
And William Tell was a hero, his legend far from bland

First President in the White House / First Prime Minister at 10 Downing Street

John Adams was the first president
in the White House, 1797-1801

Anyone know who was the first president
To live in the White House?
Incase you're unsure
Upon your uncertainty I shall douse
The first president to live there was the second
John Adams was his name
Preceded by George Washington
He followed in his predecessor's fame
Boldly defying governmental disputes
Mainly over Europe's conflicts perchance
His reign was marked by the Quasi-War
Which did involve France
What about the first prime minister
To live at 10 Downing Street?
Would you be able to recall the name

Sir Robert Walpole was the
first prime minister in Downing Street,
1721-1742

Of the man to achieve this feat?
I'll tell you then
Should you not know
It was indeed
Sir Robert Walpole
Third son from a family of 17
He's described as a large man
Despite his prickly attitude
He still gained many a fan
He did enjoy a bribe or two though
And was once tried for it
He spent six months in prison
But regained his position upon exit

King Jadwiga of Poland

Jadwiga of Poland was crowned king
On this day in 1384
But Jadwiga's reign was unique
Something never seen before
You see Jadwiga was no ordinary king
Because of certain detail

King Jadwiga of Poland

For Jadwiga was in fact
Not a man but female
Upon the death of King Casimir III
The throne went to his sibling
Elizabeth of Poland and her son Louis I
Of Hungary, who became king
Jadwiga was the daughter of Louis
And Elizabeth of Bosnia, his wife
Louis died when Jadwiga was ten
And everything changed in her life
She was made king at that age
Recognised as a sovereign in her own right
She reigned for 15 years
Until she died giving birth at 25
Intelligent, cultured, charitable and a polyglot
She was revered as a saint
Many legendary tales have been told
Making her ever more quaint
Now recognised by the church
By all means
Jadwiga is the patron saint
Of a United Europe and all queens

First song ever written

Discovered in the 1950s
This is oldest song known to man
Written in cuneiform
In the ancient language of Hurrian
Found on a clay tablet
In Ugarit, Syria
It was deciphered by
Prof. Anne Draffkorn Kilmer
Named Hurrian Hym No. 6
It's 3400 years old
Predating the next oldest song
By 1000 years we're told

Walt Disney and the FBI

Did you know that Walt Disney

Walt Disney worked with the FBI

Worked with the FBI?
It seems in J. Edgar Hoover
He had a firm ally
Animators went on strike
In 1941 July
Accusing them of 'Communistic agitation'
Disney did not comply
So to the bureau did he step forth
And begin to testify
Made into a Special Agent in Charge Contact
Against Hollywood he did spy
Those suspected of political subversions
Came under his watchful eye
This continued until 1966
The year that he would die

Egica enslaves Jews

On this date in 694

Egica forced Jews into slavery

Jews were condemned to slavery

By a Visigoth King named Egica

Convinced they were an adversary

Believing Jews and Muslims were in alliance 

He announced a veto

From them overthrowing Christian leaders

In the Seventeenth Council of Toledo

Forced into slavery 

Jews had to give up their land

While Jewish children were raised as Christians

All stemming from one ruler's demand

In Flanders' Fields

Flanders' fields poem by John McCrae

In Flanders' fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place: and in the sky

Poppies worn on Remembrance Day

The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.


We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders' fields.


Take up our quarrel with the foe;
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high, 
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders' fields. 


John McCrae, 1915

The life of Caravaggio

Ottavio Leoni's portrait
of Caravaggio

Caravaggio was the name acquired by painter Michelangelo Merisi
Possibly the greatest Italian painter of the 17th century
He was born in the town of his acquired name
Which is close to Milan you see
Caravaggio was a man of brilliance
Whose divisive work was both lauded and loathed
But he also lived a tempestuous life and once murdered a man
Which led to his work turning morose
The apprentice of Simone Peterzano for four years
In the 1590s Caravaggio moved to Rome
There his work was noticed by Cardinal del Monte
And soon Caravaggio's work found a religious home
Commissioned to decorate the Contarelli Chapel
With the life of St Matthew
The public were stunned by the artwork
The beautiful realism and unflinching brutality was so new
From then Caravaggio was commissioned

The Crucifixion of St Peter
by Caravaggio, 1601

To produce many more pieces of art
Until 1606 when a heated game of tennis
Would forever blacken Caravaggio's heart
A quarrel broke out with his opponent
And Caravaggio stabbed the man to death
After that the painter went on the run
Living a life of strife and unrest
His work over the next four years
Were darker than before
In 1609 he was wounded badly
In a vicious tavern brawl
A year later he was pardoned of the murder
Which in Rome he had committed
But just a few months after that he died from a fever
A deeply troubled man but so very talented

Celebrating 10th Twitter follower

The base of our number system if you don't know is ten
And is the total number of legs on a crustacean
Such as a crab which is also known as a decapod
Deca meaning ten as in Decalogue
That's the Ten Commandments according to the Bible
Which also states there being ten virgins that rival
Ten years in a decade, ten players in a Lacrosse team
Ten pins in bowling it would also seem
We have ten fingers on our hands and ten toes on our feet
The Prime Minister lives at 10 Downing Street
Ten is a triangular number like 1, 3 and 6
Ten's great to have for a random fact fix

Sigmund Freud's The Interpretation of Dreams

On this day in 1899

Sigmund Freud

Sigmund Freud released a book that explored the mind
Entitled The Interpretation of Dreams 
It explored ways in untangling the mind at the seams
Believing that nothing happens by chance
Freud psychoanalysed the theory that unconscious minds advance
They tackle issues that occur in reality
But they tackle them with no real elements of normality
Using impulses and urges that we usually suppress
Freud believed the mind has to find a way to express
So in our dreams urges come forward in a disguised form
So when conscious we can be part of society and conform
Freud believes the mind is categorised into three
The ego, the superego and the ID
The ID releases our impulses which have potential to shock
So the ego acts as a sensor in an effort to block
This preserves sleep and doesn't disturb us too much
But them working together can make dreams confusing as such
When we awake and cannot remember our dreams anymore
The superego is working because it wants us to be normal before we step out the door

Guy Fawkes' Gunpowder Plot

Remember, remember 
The 5th of November

James I

In 1603 Queen Elizabeth I was on her death bed
And it would be James VI of Scotland who would be newly appointed
When he took to the throne he became England's James I
Catholics were excited that he may lift their curse
They'd been accused of being traitors and banned from Mass
Because of the Spanish Armada and the Queen/Pope clash
When James came in he brought Catholics in from the dark
Because his wife was one, Queen Anne of Denmark
But by the end of the year Catholics had abused their freedom
And in the New Year James admitted his 'utter detestation' of them
Heavy fines were imposed and priests were thrown out to rot
So a gang came together to form the Gunpowder Plot
Many think it was Guy Fawkes who led this band
But it was actually Robert Catesby who showed the first hand
His Catholic father had been imprisoned so he decided to rebel
With his friends Thomas' Percy and Wintour, and Jack Wright as well
They recruited Guy Fawkes who was originally from York
He'd been serving in the Spanish Army, in Flanders he fought
The group started out with five vengeful men
And over the course of a year they expanded to ten
A lease was occupied for a cellar under the House of Lords

Guy Fawkes

And 36 barrels of gunpowder moved in beneath Parliament's floorboards
It was agreed that Fawkes would be the man to light the fuse
Then he would make his escape to Europe on a continental cruise
Simultaneously James' daughter was planned to be kidnapped by some of the team
In order for them to control her as their puppet Queen
But an anonymous letter scuppered the plan of action
And while using an alias Fawkes was caught by a mere fraction
The rest of the group were either captured or killed as they resisted in fight
And on 5 November they were left ruing their plight
Celebratory bonfires were lit in London to the dismay of Catholics
Fawkes and the rest were executed in January 1606
New laws were passed preventing Catholics the right to vote
This was uplifted in 1829, two centuries later...no joke

Mythological creatures from around the world

Humans have long held a fascination
With mystical creatures
Supernatural beings
With ghastly features
Spirits of the undead
That roam the land
Taking us into the afterlife
By the hand
Every country from around the world
Possesses a different tale
So here are 26 of the best
Deep breath now, inhale...

A is for Acheri
An Indian ghost
Of a little girl
That brings illness to most
She descends from the mountains
Preying on children in bed
The only form of defence
Is a ribbon in red

B is for Black Dog
From the coastlines of the UK
A sighting of the creature
Will cause much dismay
For it is linked to the devil
And to the dead
Larger than a normal dog
With eyes that glow red

Cerberus guards Hades

C is for Cerberus
A three-headed hound
Who the Greeks believe
Lives below ground
The beast guards the gates
To the place called hell
Where banished souls can never escape
Because Cerberus guards it so well

D is for Dybbuk
From Jewish folklore
They are spirits denied access
Through the front door
To a place called Sheol
Where all dead rest
Denied for suicide
Or serious acts for which they cannot attest

E is for Erlking
From German description
A creature that haunts forests
Carrying travellers away to extinction
Linked to the elf king
Who was Scandinavian
The Erlking got his name
From a mistranslation

F is for Fucanglong
Dragons of the underground
Chinese mythology believes
They guard treasures found
When a volcano erupts
It is one of the Fucanglong
Carrying a message
To heaven's echelon

G is for Grine
From Moroccan verse
A duplicate of ourselves
Born in a parallel universe
Every action we make
Influences that of the Grine
And vice-versa
Making you unable to call your life "mine"

Heikegani crabs

H is for Heikegani
A type of crab from Japan
Unusual in that its shell
Depicts the face of a man
Legend has it they are the faces
Of the Heike warriors that died
In the sea during the battle
Of Dan-no-ura in 1185

I is for Incubus
A demon in male shape
That preys on sleeping women
In order to copulate
Succubus is the female version
And Medieval legend has it
That Merlin was conceived this way
Hence the wizard's magic

J is for Jörmungandr
A humungous serpent of the sea
The god Loki was his father
Loki's children he had three
Jörmungandr grew so big
He's able to grasp his own tail
Encompassing the earth
If he lets go the world will fail

K is for Kishi
That lives in Angolan hills
A two-faced creature
One side is handsome the other leaves chills
The Kishi seduces women
And invites them for dinner
Then when alone
It devours them like a sinner

La Llorona

L is for La Llorona
The Weeping Woman of Latin America
A spirit of a woman who drowned her children
Her name was Maria
She committed the murder for a man
Who rejected her loving bids
So she killed herself and now wanders the earth
Looking for her kids

M is for Mimi
Who taught the Australian Aborigines
How to hunt, prepare food
And light fires for families
Fairy-like beings
Their bodies are so thin
They remain in rock crevices
As protection from the wind

N is for Nightmarchers
Hawaiian warrior ghosts
They revisit places of battle
On grounds which played hosts
Marching and chanting is heard
By people living close by
If you are seen by a Nightmarcher
Then you'll supposedly die

O is for Orang Bunian
Forest dwelling supernatural beings
In parts of West Borneo
There have been many seeings
They kidnap children
And lead adults astray
Some have married humans
Without ever giving anything away

P is for Pesanta
A demon that sits on peoples chest
While they are sleeping
They will surely gain no rest
Catalonians believe the Pesanta
Brings nightmares and causes problems to breathe
In the shape of a cat or dog
It creates feelings of unease

Q is for Qareen
That is everyone's personal jinn
According to Islamic faith
It is hidden within
God gave us one each
And it tries to make us disobey
But it is a test in life
And our responsibility not to be led astray

R is for Rusalka
A Slavic ghost of the river
A sight of their form
Would make a man shiver

Saci of Brazil

But they had powers of seduction
And could turn him into a knave
Then once under a spell
They'd be taken to their watery grave

S is for Saci
A one-legged spirit with a red cap
Brazilians say he'll grant you a wish
If you capture him in a trap
But his cap is magic
So make sure to not dwell
You must take it from him, get your wish
And beware of the cap's smell

T is for Trauco
A sexually potent dwarf with skill
At summoning any woman
He desired at will
Despite his repulsiveness
No woman could resist
If a single woman fell pregnant
Then it was rumoured to be his

U is for Urmahlullu
A Mesopotamian hybrid
His job was to keep bathrooms
Safely guarded
The body of a lion
But the torso of a man
Urmahlullu was a legend
At protecting the can

V is for Vardøger
A Norwegian form of déja vu
But in this case it is a person's smell or voice
Or footsteps that precedes them coming into view
Those who encounter this
Believe it to be someone they know
But in actual fact the person hasn't arrived yet
It's merely their Vardøger spirit on show

W is for Witte Wieven
Spirits of wise Dutch women
That had the power to heal
And abilities to cast out sin
Lingering in burial sites
They can be helpful to those they choose
But for others they will not assist
Instead they will lose

X is for Xana
An Asturian fairy found in a river or a cave
They're extraordinarily beautiful
With a tendency to misbehave
During spring and summer nights
They sing come sun or rain
Those of pure souls who hear them are filled with peace
While those who are not go insane

Y is for Yilbegän
Talked about by Turkic folk
It is a monster with several heads
And devours humans like egg yolk
Some say it is like a serpent
While others claim it has wings
Some reckon it rides a 99-horned ox
While some suggest its a descendant of kings

Z is for Zmeu
A Romanian giant in life
He kidnaps young girls
And makes them his wife
He appears as a human
But this isn't his natural sight
His real form is a dragon
Which he turns into at night

Dia De Los Muertos (Day of the Dead)

The Day of the Dead
celebrations

The Day of the Dead is a Mexican tradition
That is 3,000 years old
The dates of November 1st and 2nd
Are important so we are told
For they are the days in which
We can commune with the dead
A deep rooted ritual
That's a joyous celebration instead
It would be disrespectful
To show tears or sorrow
To the visiting spirits of loved ones
Who could be gone again tomorrow
Death is not conveyed as frightening
Or strange in any way
Instead it's approached with positivity

Sugar Skull

Which teaches us to embrace every day
Bright colours are used
In paintings that are never dull
The most famous of all
Is the Mexican Sugar Skull
When the Spanish landed in Mexico
And discovered this ancient tradition
They tried hard to eradicate it
For they held no erudition
But despite colonisation
The Mexicans would not be led
Because these dates are important
It is the Day of the Dead

The origins of Halloween

Halloween began with the
ancient Celts

Halloween is one of the world's oldest celebrations
Dating back 2,000 years
The Celts celebrated a festival called Samhain (pronounced sow-in)
As a way of conquering fears
Their New Year was celebrated on November 1
Signifying the end of summer time

Druids made predictions for the
year during Samhain

It was believed that on the night of October 31

Two worlds would intertwine
The land of the living and that of the dead
Would have theirs boundaries exposed
In a transitional period that
Didn't allow ghosts to repose
Instead they revisited earth
Haunting everyone in sight
So the Celts lit a bonfire and dressed in costume
To ward the ghosts off for the night
The Celtic priests otherwise known as Druids
Used this time to make their prediction
For the year ahead comforting the people
Steering them away from feelings of affliction

What was Dadaism?

Marcel Duchamp's
Mona Lisa

A protest against World War I
Was known as Dadaism
It was started by creative types
Angry at nationalism
They regarded this as one vital part
To the beginning of the War
So a cultural movement was launched
With anger at its core
French and German creatives
Banded together to provoke
From their base in Zurich
Many emotions did they evoke
Marcel Duchamp was part of the movement
He liked to vandalise art
Like drawing a moustache on Mona Lisa

Tristan Tzara's
Dadai

And scrawling an obscene remark
Tristan Tzara was another member
He wrote a book about it all
It was called Dadai
And he would read from it wearing a monocle
Parts of Europe and America
In time followed suit
But some people were repulsed
And would have preferred them to stay mute
It began in 1916
Continuing for six years
But when mainstream art started taking notice
Dadaism died and disappeared

The life of Joan of Arc

Joan of Arc

Born on 6 January in 1412
In Domremy, Champagne
Jeanne d'Arc was illiterate her whole life
But destined to lead a revolutionary campaign
At the age of three her country France was invaded
By the English which divided the nation
One half was Burgundian, the other Armagnac
The latter of which would hold Jeanne's affiliation
Her family were poor and the Armagnac's showed support
While the Burgundians sided with the English
Originally led by the Duke of Orleans
Jeanne helped Charles VII gain his distinguish
At the tender age of 12 Jeanne received visions
Of religious figures who spoke to her
They included Archangels and Saints
And they informed she'd become a key figure
In that she would rid Orleans from its shackles
On behalf of the captured Duke
And get the Dauphin Charles VII
To Rheims to stage their rebuke

Joan of Arc's visions

In 1429 when she was 17
Jeanne approached a Lord
She explained the visions she'd encountered
And with the clergy's blessing they led by the sword
With Charles Jeanne led the revolt
And regained control
Of several neighbouring villages
Held captive by English soul
As they marched towards Rheims
For Charles VII's coronation
They kept hopes alive
Of uniting their nation
During a battle in Paris
Jeanne was wounded by an arrow
So Charles immediately retreated
To prevent any further sorrow
When she'd recovered in April 1430
Jeanne went straight back into war
Her army fought for the city of Compiegne
But they failed and her lead continued no more
What's strange is Jeanne knew this was coming

Joan of Arc was
executed at the stake

She's seen it all before
She had a premonition she'd be captured
Before St John's Day, June 24
It was May 23 to be exact
When Jeanne was captured by the enemy
She was locked up for a year
And charged with heresy
She was sentenced to death on May 30 1431
And was burned at the stake
Her only wish was to have a crucifix held in front of her
Upon which she could fixate
Jeanne was only 19
When she succumbed to her extinction
She may have suffered greatly for her country
But she's now held with Saintly distinction

The history of musical instruments

The oldest musical instrument

The oldest musical instrument ever to be found
Was a flute discovered in German ground
Believed to be 35,000-years-old
The bones of a vulture shaped its mould
The dulcimer dates back to Mesopotamia
And is still popular in parts of Asia
Bronze and silver trumpets are of an old age
Some of the instruments were found in Tutankhamun's grave
Bells were created in China 4,000-years-ago
When cast in bronze they were called Bo
12th century Europe is credited with the guitar
Though this descended from the tanbur, setar and sitar
The trombone comes from Belgium circa 1450
But was named a sackbutt originally
The double bass has links to the 15th century
German composer Michael Praetorius wrote about it in his theory
French horns were used purely on the hunting ground
But the Germans developed it for musical sound

Saxophones were invented
by Adolphe Sax

The French are to thank for the oboe
As well as developing the metronome
A German named Denner invented the clarinet
Modernising the chalumeau he created a new instrument
The classic piano was made in 1720 Italy
Bartolomeo Cristofori named it pianoforte
The modern tuba exists thanks to two Prussians' invention
Stolzel and Bliimel created the piston
Adolphe Sax is a name musically well known
The Belgian created the saxophone
1829 saw the birth of the accordion
It was invented by Wheatstone, an Englishman
The voltage controlled synthesizer is fairly young
Made in 1945 by a Canadian

The philosophies of Socrates

Socrates

In the Athenian days of the fifth century
Socrates' questioning influenced Western philosophy
Through the use of critical reasoning
Socrates influenced peoples way of thinking
People believed knowledge was gained by one-upmanship
But Socrates didn't believe this, he questioned it
And it was from this simple act of defiance
That Socrates was able to form an alliance
With the greatest thinkers of those days
Such as Plato, Xenophon and Alcibiades
He made them reconsider everything
With his parallel ways of questioning
Is the pious loved by the gods because it pious
Or is it pious because it is loved by the gods?
He believed everyone's opinions varied, even the Gods

The death of Socrates

Leaving no work of his own he starred in Plato's dialogues
The Socratic method leads to greater knowledge and piety
But alas the magistrates did not agree
Aged 70 Socrates was charged with corruption
Influencing the youth and religious disruption
He was sentenced to death by the poison hemlock
Leaving friends, family and students in a state of shock
We learn not to regard anything too great or small
If we break it down and question it all  

The life of Carlo Gesualdo

Carlo Gesualdo

A brilliant composer or crazed killer
Italy's Gesualdo divides opinion like strawberry or vanilla
He murdered his wife and her lover for adultery
In 1590, the late sixteenth century
Born with a talent recognised by the state
His crime went unpunished which sealed his fate
Despite public outrage the church intervened
And although he was spared he was regarded a fiend
Gesualdo composed his first piece at 19
His style was unique never before seen
During the Renaissance he made a huge contribution
His music helped create the 'Mannerist Revolution'
Gesualdo had the power to enthral
With the intensity of his madrigal
Written with distinction far ahead of his time
They were tinged with guilty words possibly for his crime
Dissonance occurred almost frequently
Influencing music in a modernist century
His brilliance shone in the six madrigals he wrote
The latter two of which are considered extra special in note
Sacred and captivating, adored by the church
His mind may have been troubled but not so for his work
Rumoured to have killed his second son in infancy
Because he questioned his own paternity
Gesualdo fell into a deep depression
Before passing away at 47

The world's first photograph

Joseph Nicéphore Niépce was a genius

Joseph Nicéphore Niépce

Who was fascinated with lithography
He began experimenting in 1816
And this led to a ground-breaking discovery
Using engravings carved on stone or glass
And making these transparent
With a layer of light-sensitive varnish
Things soon became apparent
He was able to copy an engraving
With a wireless solar telegraph
Of a man leading his horse
The instrument is known as heliograph
Niépce made his almighty breakthrough
A year later and a decade on from his start
When he used a polished pewter plate
And bitumen of Judea playing a part
Using a camera obscura which projected images
Of its surroundings on a screen
The Frenchman set up the device in his home
In order to capture the scene
At the window of his study he exposed the lens
For eight hours straight
Afterwards an image was rendered visible
When he carefully washed the plate

View from the Window at Le Gras

He gave the piece a name
Calling it 'View from the Window at Le Gras'
The piece was very special
Because it was the world's first photograph
Before passing away Niépce made a partner
A French artist named Louis Daguerre
His job was to carry on the legacy
With deserved love and care
He created the daguerrotype, a silver-plated sheet of copper
And many people did he convince
That photography existed
Including a young Louis Le Prince

The accidental discovery of Lithography

A lithograph of Senefelder
taken from Specimens of Polyautography

Lithography was discovered by a playwright in Germany
Merely by chance, however, as it happened accidentally
Alois Senefelder was the gentleman's name
Greasy crayons and limestone are what gave him his fame
Realising that if he wrote a script on a limestone slab
With a greasy crayon, which must have seemed mad
He'd be able to make more than one print
If he applied the use of some rolled-on ink
Thus a new publishing method came to life
And the copying of art soon became rife
This all occurred in 1796
And without it only originals would exist

The history of Mesopotamia

Map of Mesopotamia

Mesopotamia
Now known as Arabia
More specifically Iraq
Helped develop civilisation
With agriculture and domestication
Thus in history making their mark
They developed a language known as Sumerian
Which is the oldest on the planet
Pictures became characters known as 'cuneiform'
And was found on many a clay tablet
Language was not the only invention
That we can attribute to their credit
For the Mesopotamians were innovators
Whose developments hold merit
Glass, the column, the seeder plough

Kudurru

The arch, the dome and sanitation
The concept of numerical zero
And lest we forget irrigation
They revolutionised the way we transport
When they created the wheel
And with their astronomical observations
They could harvest crops to make a deal
They did not have money as a currency
Instead they used the crops they grew
Barley was the main source of exchange
And keeping records of transactions was 'kudurru'
They realised they could control the wind
If they used a sail
This gave them a natural source of energy
Much to their avail
They were expert architects
And formed an industry

Babylon

With bricks made from mud
Between 4000 - 3500 BC
They built themselves cities
The first of which was Eridu
For protection and irrigation
Because rain drops were so few
Mesopotamia had a special capital
The empire of Babylon
Spanning 700 miles
This was Nebuchadnezzar II's kingdom
It is amazing to think
This all occurred 8000 years ago
Because without this 'cradle of civilisation'
What would we know

First film ever made

The first film ever made was called Roundhay Garden Scene

It dates back to 1888 October 14

Filmed by Louis Le Prince who hailed from France

The recording showed the Whitley family in somewhat of a trance

Le Prince wed into the family after his move to Leeds, UK

Where he worked with John in the brass industry in the town of Roundhay

He took John’s sister Elizabeth, a talented artist, as his wife

And they founded the Leeds Technical School of Art during the course of their life

But Le Prince’s breakthrough moment came with a special invention

A 16-lens camera that took pictures to another dimension

With it he was able to capture 24 frames

Of the Whitley’s and his son in the garden of Oakwood Grange

Recorded at a speed of 12 frames per second

The film only lasts for a couple but motion picture beckoned