As they went deeper into the wood, she saw it more clearly. Tiny doors into the base of trees. From which, occasionally light issued forth. And then one with a window, into which Delrin peered into, trying not to intrude on whoever — or whatever — might be lurking inside. Tiny people! An old man and a woman.
Category: Other Page 165 of 177
The fields to which scholars associated with the House of Wisdom contributed include, but are not limited to philosophy, mathematics, medicine, astronomy, and optics.[6][5] The early name of the library, Khizanat al-Hikma (literally, “Storehouse of Wisdom”), derives from its function as a place for the preservation of rare books and poetry, a primary function of the House of Wisdom until its destruction.[1]
Source: House of Wisdom – Wikipedia
And when von Petzinger looked through archaeology papers for mentions or illustrations of symbols in cave art outside Europe, she found that many of her 32 signs were used around the world. There is even tantalising evidence that an earlier human, Homo erectus, deliberately etched a zigzag on a shell on Java some 500,000 years ago. “The ability of humans to produce a system of signs is clearly not something that starts 40,000 years ago. This capacity goes back at least 100,000 years,” says Francesco d’Errico from the University of Bordeaux, France.
Nonetheless, something quite special seems to have happened in ice age Europe. In various caves, von Petzinger frequently found certain symbols used together. For instance, starting 40,000 years ago, hand stencils are often found alongside dots. Later, between 28,000 and 22,000 years ago, they are joined by thumb stencils and finger fluting — parallel lines created by dragging fingers through soft cave deposits.
Source: Stone Age Cave Symbols May All Be Part of a Single Prehistoric Proto-Writing System
Variations of this cipher were used by both the Rosicrucian brotherhood[6] and the Freemasons, though the latter used the pigpen cipher so often that the system is frequently called the Freemason’s cipher. They began using it in the early 18th century to keep their records of history and rites private, and for correspondence between lodge leaders.
Source: Pigpen cipher – Wikipedia
The tap code, sometimes called the knock code, is a way to encode text messages on a letter-by-letter basis in a very simple way. The message is transmitted using a series of tap sounds, hence its name. The tap code has been commonly used by prisoners to communicate with each other. The method of communicating is usually by tapping either the metal bars, pipes or the walls inside a cell.
Source: Tap code – Wikipedia
Every morning before sunrise, the floor of the house, or wherever the Kolam may be drawn, is cleaned with water and the muddy floor swept well to create an even surface. The kolams are generally drawn while the surface is still damp so the design will hold better. Even powdered white stone (வெங்கசங்கள் பொடி / மொக்குமாவு) can be used for creating Kolam. Occasionally, cow dung is also used to wax the floors. In some cultures, cow dung is believed to have antiseptic properties and hence provides a literal threshold of protection for the home. It also provides contrast with the white powder.[3]
The decoration is not the main purpose of a Kolam. In olden days, kolams were drawn in coarse rice flour, so the ants would not have to walk too far or too long for a meal. The rice powder also invites birds and other small creatures to eat it, thus welcoming other beings into one’s home and everyday life: a daily tribute to harmonious co-existence.
Source: Kolam – Wikipedia
Examining Solomon’s hand, they discover a clue leading them to Solomon’s Masonic altar in a room in the Capitol’s sub-basement, where they find a small pyramid lacking a capstone, with an inscription carved into it.
Source: The Lost Symbol – Wikipedia
On the morning of February 16, 1832, the rocks were visited by Charles Darwin on the first leg of his voyage on HMS Beagle around the world. Darwin listed all the fauna he could find; noting that not a single plant or even a lichen could be found on the island. Darwin found two birds, a booby and a noddy, a large crab that stole the fish intended for baby birds, a fly that lived on the booby and a parasitic tick. He found a moth that lived on feathers, a beetle, a woodlouse that lived on dung, and numerous spiders that he thought lived on scavengers of the waterfowl. Darwin felt that these rocks represented how life first took hold on a newly formed outcrop.
Europe has very few sources of tin. Therefore, throughout ancient times it was imported long distances from the known tin mining districts of antiquity. These were the Erzgebirge along the modern border between Germany and Czech Republic, the Iberian Peninsula, Brittany in modern France, and Devon and Cornwall in southwestern Britain (Benvenuti et al. 2003, p. 56; Valera & Valera 2003, p. 11). There are several smaller sources of tin in the Balkans (Mason et al. 2016, p. 110) and another minor source of tin is known to exist at Monte Valerio in Tuscany, Italy. The Tuscan source was exploited by Etruscan miners around 800 BC, but it was not a significant source of tin for the rest of the Mediterranean (Benvenuti et al. 2003). Even at that time, the Etruscans themselves had to import additional tin from the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula, and later from Cornwall (Penhallurick 1986, p. 80).