How Things Began
How the day of the Week began
There was a time when the only division of time was a month, because days and weeks were not known to man. When cities were built and they began to flourish,the need for fixing the days for trading,festivals,holidays arose. The Jews fixed every seventh day of the week religious purposes, the Babylonians fixed every seventh day for trading and so on and so forth. Next came the need to name these days, the Egyptians named the days after the planets, the Jews gave them numbers beginning with the Sabbath day and finally the anglo-Saxons named the days after the gods. They called their god 'SUNNAH' and so they named Sunday as Sunnandaeg. The day of the Moon was called Monandaeg, Tuesday was named their good of war called Tiw and was called Tiwesdaeg , they named Wednesday after their god Woden. Thursday was named after the god of thunder'Thor'. Friday was named after Frigg, the wife of the gad odin and finally Saturday after the planet Saturn.
The Beginning of Counting
Today it seems very simple and natural that when you add one and one, you get two yet it was no so for millions of years because man never thought of it.In the earlier days,quantity was represented by objects, i.e., if a man wanted to tell how many sheep he had then he would put the many stones in a heap or in a small bag and indicate it to another person. Soon the use of stones changed to tally marks or vertical lines but numbers were still not known. The use of the fingers of the hand came next and with this began the general use of the number ten and its multiples. The number system we use today was invented in India and carried to Europe by Arabian traders. Under this system all numbers are written from 1 to 9 and the zero is added to the base. This system was called the decimal system.
How the Coins began
Coins are used as currency or money and are pieces of metal of a specific weight and bearing the seal or stamp of the issuing authority. The Lydians made the first coin in the 7th century B.C. and were called 'staters'. Other people also saw the utility of these coins and they too started making their own and within the century entire Asia minor and Europe had different of coins, Greek coins lasted far about five hundred years and the Romans ran over Europe, they introduced their own coins. Till this period the coins were thin, uneven and unattractive. It was only in the fifteenth century that skilled artists were asked to engrave the dies and more attractive coins came into being. Gold coins were considered to be the most valuable and then came coins in silver and copper.
How the Banks Began (The First Bank)
Banks were originally meant to perform the services of accepting deposits from people and lending money on interest and they began in ancient Greece, Babylon and Egypt. In those days the deposits were made in the temples and it was much later, around 200 B.C., that the Romans passed laws which made banks and money changers official. The Italian money changers carried out their business from benches on the streets and the name bank is derived from the Italian word 'banco' which means bench. The first official bank was established in 1587 in Venice called "Banco di Rialto, this bank not only accepted deposits but also allowed people to write cheques and issue them. These were followed by banks in Amsterdam in 1609. Banks were also started by the English goldsmiths, Bank of England which was incorporated in 1694 and in 1782 the Bank of North America. Banks are today an invaluable part of our daily lives and business and they perform a host of services.
How the School began( The First School)
Our modern schools are the successors of the ancient Roman and Greek schools. Initially in Greece the teachers taught only a single pupil at a time. In fact the singular teacher and pupil relationship existed elsewhere in the world as well. Over a period of time these teachers began to hold teaching classes more than one pupil was taught at the time, as a result of this, Academies were established and the Greek philosopher called 'Plato' began to give regular educational course extending over a period of three to four years. Later Aristotle also set up his school ,this was followed by the first grammar school in the year 250 and subsequently the Romans also followed the Greek example and set up schools. Today education is complicated and once the basic or primary level education is completed, there are various types of subjects and specializations being offered to students, Modern schools are able to take care of not only the mental but also the physical development of the students.
How the Books Began( The First Book)
Rolls of paper or papyrus were the predecessors of books and the first books appeared only in the middle ages. In the middle of the 5th century, parchment made of goat and sheep skin with writing on one side was cut to a uniform size and bound together with pieces of leather to form the first books, This manner of making books underwent a change in the 2 middle ages when writing was one on both sides of the parchment, Pieces of parchment were first folded to form sections, these were then unfolded and sent to a scribe who wrote on them. Once completed, the sections were sent to the binder who re folded them and stitched them together, He then made wooden covers for these books, covered them with beautifully decorated pieces of leather and bound them together.
How the libraries began(the First Libraries)
The first libraries are known to have existed during the Mesopotamian civilization over 8000 years ago. The Mesopotamians used to write on wet clay tablets, by making wedge shaped marks on them. These tablets were then baked and preserved. During archaeological excavations a large number of these tablets have been uncovered from temple and palace sites. The Egyptians also had large libraries, under the charge of priests, with rolled sheets of papyrus stored on shelves and in chests. The largest and most famous library of that age was the one in Alexandria with a collection of over 7,00,000 scrolls fully classified into various categories. Subsequently the Romans began the first public library system and later in the Christian era they were set up in churches and monasteries. The biggest library in the world today is in the University of Oxford, which was founded in the beginning of the fifteenth century
How The Nursery Rhymes Began
Rhymes,verses and jingles have existed for hundreds of years,though the name 'Nursery Rhymes' was first used in the year 1824. Rhymes have grown out of scriptures,ceremonies and ritual used for hundreds of years. These have been passed down from generation to generation and the fascination still tends to exists.
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