The First Use of Spaces In Writing

 

Ancient Greek writing did not observe spaces as modern day written language does so all words were connected, forming a continuous string of text. Aerated text with irregular spaced intervals did not develop until the late 7th century A.D. and standard modern day spacing after each term did not develop until the 11th century A.D. Ancient Greek writing also observed the practice of Boustrophedon (pronounced “boos-trah-fee-don”) which is when text is written and read right to left instead of left to right as modern day English and most other, however not all other, world languages do (e.g. Japanese, Arabic, Hebrew etc.)

The Advent of the Envelope

The first envelopes ever developed were by the Babylonians over 4000 years ago. The Babylonians baked clay around documents to ensure they were protected from being read whilst in transit

The Peculiarity of Spanish King Philip II

King Philip II of Spain was referred to as the “bureaucrat king” because he loved nothing more than to sit in a plain room with documents which he needed to read and sign. Philip II didn’t like human contact or interaction and made his court submit their requests to him via a written document even if they were in the next room. Philip II spoke very quietly and stared at those who spoke to him, often cited as making others feel uncomfortable. Philip II cared only of his empire and his religion of Catholicism and had no interest in building or maintaining relationships with others

The Athleticism and Intellect of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is perhaps the most educated athlete who ever lived, inspired by his father who was an avid reader. Abdul-Jabbar is also a voracious reader who has written 12 books and has worked as a columnist for Time magazine. Abdul-Jabber spent 20 seasons in the NBA, was an NBA All Star for 19 of those seasons, a 6 time NBA champion, and a 6 time NBA Most Valuable Player. Abdul-Jabbar invented and perfected the “sky hook” which was a high arching shot, a shot which he accredits to his time spent learning the sport of archery in which one must shoot above the target in anticipation of the projectile being pulled down to Earth the second it is launched, therefore acting against that downward pull by counteracting with a shot resulting in an arc

The Rarity of Incunable Books

Any book printed before 1500 (or within 50 years of the invention of the printing press) is referred to as an “incunable” book. Book printing started around 870 A.D.. but the limitation of literate people who could read and write restricted books from being mass produced until Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press in 1440. Books before 1500 are considered incredibly rare and expensive because they are one of a kind and essentially artwork, pieces which only the very wealthy could afford during the period of their introduction. Incunable means “in the cradle” in Latin which refers to the infancy period of book prints