IN 2023….scientists found that ancient Roman concrete….can repairs its own cracks….packed with special lime-chinks that react with water….this 2,000 year-old mix acts like “liquid stone”!….healing itself over time….it’s why structure like the Pantheon….still sand strong…..while modern concrete crumbles within decades.
TEEN SHAKESPEARE….was rushed into marriage after getting 26-year-old Anne Hathaway pregnant in 1582…..their daughter arrived 6 months after the wedding….he later left her his second-best bed in his will….it was either an insult….or a loving gesture….since guests got the second bed
FREDRICK JONES’S…..invention replaced unreliable ice and salt methods…..letting trucks transport fresh food nationwide for the first time….his brilliance led to 60+ patents and co-founding Thermo King…..a self-taught Black inventor with just 4-years of schooling…..created the first successful mobile refrigeration system in 1938.
BUTTONS ON WOMEN’S CLOTHING….were placed on the left side in 13th century Europe…..to help right-handed maids dress wealthy ladies….men’s buttons went on the right side for easier self-dressing……this difference still defines modern dressing 700 years later.
LEONARDO….was never named “da Vinci”……it simply means “from Vinci”….he was born an illegitimate child…..his full name was “Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci”…..without proper surnames….Renaissance Italy identified people by their birthplace.
IN 1600….Catholic clergy labeled coffee “Satan’s drink”……and urged Pope Clement VIII to condemn it…..instead, after tasting this mysterious brew….the pope declared it too delicious to leave to non-believers…..by 1945….coffee houses flourished across Christian Europe.
DESPITE ITS NAME…..German Chocolate Cake is not from Germany….but from America….it was named after Samuel German….and English-American baker who developed a type….of sweet baking chocolate in 1852….the name was stuck when a Texas newspaper published a recipe…..for “German Chocolate Cake” in the 1950’s
PATRICIA BATH….and African-American ophthalmologist…..invented the Laserphaco Probe….a revolutionary laser tool used to remove cataracts with extreme precision…..her invention has restored sight to millions of people….she is the first Black woman to receive a medical patent in the United States.
GWENDOLYN ELIZABETH BROOKS (June 7, 1917 – December 3, 2000)…..Was an American poet, author, and teacher…..her work dealt with the personal celebrations and struggles of ordinary people in her community…..she won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry on May 1, 1950,…..for Annie Allen, making her the first African American to receive a Pulitzer Prize.
GREGORY OLIVER HINES (February 14, 1946 – August 9, 2003)…..Was an American dancer, actor, choreographer and singer…..he is considered one of the most celebrated tap dancers of all time…….Hines began tap dancing when he was two years old…..and began dancing semiprofessionally at age five……after that, he and his older brother Maurice performed together, studying with choreographer Henry LeTang……Gregory and Maurice also studied with veteran tap dancers…..such as Howard Sims and The Nicholas Brothers when they performed at the same venues……the two brothers were known as The Hines Kids……making nightclub appearances at venues such as the Cotton Club in Miami with Cab Calloway…..they were later known as The Hines Brothers…..when their father joined the act as a drummer, the name changed again in 1963 to Hines, Hines, and Dad…….Hines made his movie debut in Mel Brooks’s History of the World, Part I (1981)……replacing Richard Pryor, who had originally been cast in the role but suffered severe burns in a house fire just days before he was due to begin shooting…….Madeline Kahn, also starring in the film, suggested to director Mel Brooks that he look into Hines for the role after they learned of Pryor’s hospitalization……Critics took note of Hines’s comedic charm…..and he later appeared in movies such as Wolfen, The Cotton Club, White Nights, Running Scared with Billy Crystal, Tap, and Waiting to Exhale…..on television, he starred in his own series in 1997 called The Gregory Hines Show on CBS…..as well as in the recurring role of Ben Doucette on Will & Grace……he would return to voice Big Bill in Nick Jr.’s television show, Little Bill, in the end of 1999……he starred in The Tic Code in 2000….Hines starred in more than 40 films and also made his mark on Broadway during his lifetime…..he was the recipient of many accolades, including a Daytime Emmy Award, a Drama Desk Award and a Tony Award…as well as nominations for a Screen Actors Guild Award and four Primetime Emmy Awards.
MUDDY WATERS (1913–1983)……Was a pioneering American blues musician…..often called the “Father of Modern Chicago Blues.”….his electric guitar-driven sound influenced rock and roll……inspiring artists like The Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin…..hits like Hoochie Coochie Man and Mannish Boy defined his raw, powerful style…..born in Mississippi, he brought Delta blues to Chicago…..shaping the genre’s evolution…..his legacy endures as a cornerstone of blues and rock musiot the second bed