During the Tudor period, lead was utilized to build roofs and windows because it was easily mailable and resistive to corrosion. Farmers would mine for lead during the summer months when their crops did not need tending to in order to generate additional income. Mining during the summer months could earn an extra £5.00 which equates to £25,000 as of 2012 when accounting for inflation. Entire families often worked within the mines because 50 barrels worth of ore and soil would be extracted per day to meet the quota of what was required to be profitable. Smelting involved the use of white coal which is effectively dried wood from a kiln and was always setup upon windy hilltops or mountains because the wind would cause the fire blaze with more intensity therefore reaching higher overall temperatures. The best wood to make white coal is oak. Kilns must be airtight, so gaps were filled with clay. Knowing a kiln to be airtight was easily verifiable by searching for smoke as if smoke only came out of only the front entrance, the kiln was considered airtight. Ore was smashed into small pieces to help it smelt more rapidly which yielded approximately an 80% return upon investment. Metals were then refined using a secondary kiln, and smelted to remove any ash or impurities. The first burn removes ore from the rock, and the second burn removes impurities with the main impurity being sulphur. Molds were constructed using sand and wood to create divots which allowed the ore to be molded into blocks much the same as a modern day bar of gold. The sand gives the mold an indentation which archeologists use to identify Medieval bars of smelted ore
Category: Finance
Large Technology Corporations Purchasing Competition to Monopolize the Marketplace
Large technology corporations have the ability to analyze potential competitors and acquire them before they have a chance to compete. This is detrimental to consumers as it eliminates competition in the marketplace. Facebook has acquired more then 75 companies (e.g. WhatsApp, Instagram, Lightbox etc. ), Amazon has acquired more than 100 (e.g. Audible, Whole Foods, Ring etc.), and Alphabet, the umbrella organization which owns Google, has acquired more than 200 (e.g. Picasa, YouTube, Songza etc.). In 2010 and 2011, these technology juggernauts were acquiring competition at a rate of more than 1 company per week
The Origin of the Ku Klux Klan Uniform
Surprisingly, it was not the Ku Klux Klan that created the insignia of the ghostly white hooded robe as the uniform of the Ku Klux Klan as Hollywood was the first to portray this ensemble in the 1915 film The Birth of a Nation. The film was directed by David Wark Griffith, who wanted to portray the infamous Ku Klux Klan as modern Knights of the Round Table, directing his costume department to invent a rather frightening, single piece outfit with knight insignia (e.g. the Knights Templar crucifix etc.). These costumes were based upon the Christian flagellant society of Spain, who donned the capirote (pronounced “kah-pee-row-tay”), a pointed hooded headware worn during Easter processions as a means of penance. The costume became immensely popular and could be ordered from a catalog which Griffith setup to sell within. Shortly afterward, the Ku Klux Klan adopted these textiles as their official uniform
The Origin of the Wedding Garter Belt Tradition
During the Medieval period, pieces of a brides ensemble were considered tokens of good luck and fertility. These items were so prized that wedding guests would routinely fight to rip the textiles right off of the bride’s body. This is why the tradition of throwing the garter into the crowd developed as part of European stylized wedding ceremonies
The Financial Cost of a Hollywood Walk of Fame Star
As of 2023, the cost a celebrity must incur to have their name and profession immortalize upon the Hollywood Walk of Fame is $55,000. This fee is stated to pay for the installation of the star as well as its maintenance (e.g. sweeping and cleaning throughout the year etc.)
The Reason the Chinese Government Censored Footage of Soccer Games During the 2022 Fédération Internationale de Football Association World Cup
During the 2022 Fédération Internationale de Football Association World Cup in Qatar, the Chinese government intercepted and censored all footage displayed in China in a concerted effort to prohibit Chinese citizens from observing World Cup fans from around the world enjoying and celebrating the games without masks as the Chinese government does not want the Chinese public to believe that doing so is a potential possibility
The U.S.’ Attempt to Combat Fraudulent Currency in 2013
The U.S. $100.00 note was updated in 2013 to employ better and more advanced security measures. The $100.00 bill released in 2013 was a marvel of engineering which included the portrait watermark from the 1996 rendition, as well as the security strip which glows under ultraviolet light. In addition to these security features, color shifting ink was employed upon the bell which appears in the bottom right hand corner next to the text which states “100”, microprinting was implemented on Benjamin Franklin’s jacket cuff to inscribe “The United States of America”, “USA100” around the blank space containing Franklin’s portrait, “ONEHUNDREDUSA” along the golden quill, small 100’s in the notes borders, and a three dimensional ribbon which causes the bill to change its bell icons into text which states “100” when tilting the bill either up or down while continuing to focus upon the blue ribbon shown
The Coca Leaf Extraction Process to Manufacture Cocaine
The cocaine extraction process is complicated but begins with workers shredding the leaves of the coca plant into fine particulate with machinery (e.g. weed trimmer etc.) after which cement powder is added, then sulphuric acid dissolved in water, with the leaves then being placed into an oil drum and doused with gasoline. The mixture is left to sit for an extended period of time so that the cocaine itself can be extracted from the coca leaf. The oil drum mixture is stirred continuously using a large rod and then poured through a filter into another container where battery acid is introduced. The battery acid is sulphuric acid making it similar to the first few steps but it is slightly different as it is diluted with water to become no greater than a 37% concentrate. Battery acid helps to separate the cocaine liquid from the gasoline, with 90% of the barrel being gasoline and 10% at the bottom being pure liquid cocaine. Because the gasoline and liquid cocaine have different specific densities, plantation workers place a hose into the bottom of the barrel so that the liquid cocaine can be extracted, either using a pump or gravity by manually sucking on the hose until liquid cocaine starts flowing through. Pure liquid cocaine is clear like water, and has an acidic, bitter, strong taste. Sodium bicarbonate is then added as it helps to eradicate the excess gasoline and battery acid which remains and turns the liquid white. Once the liquid is dried, it begins to resemble cocaine but the process is not yet complete. The dried powder is then cooked on a stove top and stirred continuously to remove further impurities, the top layer is then removed the same way soup skin is removed with a brown colored liquid left remaining which is cocaine. The brown liquid is spread onto a baking pan and left to dry. It is this paste that is passed onto drug cartels to then be distributed internationally
Men Around the World Acting as the Primary Catalyst for Criminal Activity
5% of men in any given country are responsible for 60% of that nations crime. Violent criminals cost society a lot of money in respect to their victims medical costs, law enforcement time spent investigating and locating these individuals, judicial costs of a fair trial, and correctional facility costs which include housing, feeding, and providing for these people. Violent offenders cost the state between $1,500,000 – $36,000,000 (1.5 million – $36 million) each over the course of their lifetime. Rehabilitation at the point of incarceration has shown to be largely ineffective, as it is akin to pruning a weed, not removing it’s root. Researchers within the New Zealand Dunedin (pronounced “do-nee-den”) study found that if rehabilitation begins during adolescence, a persons chance of ending up imprisoned dramatically decreases
Civilizations Mastery of Metal By Manipulating Fire
The more carbon rich a fuel is, the more heat it produces. Typical wood fires burn at 700 degrees Celsius, however 6000 years ago, ancient people discovered the adaptation of burning wood in a low oxygen environment, only partially burning, but in doing so creating a much purer carbon rich fuel; charcoal. Charcoal can burn at temperatures upwards of 1100 degrees Celsius, hot enough to melt ore out of rock. The mastering of metal produced tools, finance, and weaponry, forever changing the evolutionary story of human beings. By the Middle Ages, the production of charcoal for metal smelting and metal work was a major industry