Showing results by narrator "Ellouise Rothwell" in All Categories

Learn about the development of burlesque performance with iMinds insightful audio knowledge series. Burlesque is a theatrical performance concerned with parody and exaggeration. But it didn't originate in the theatre. In fact, the term 'burlesque' is believed to have originally come from the Spanish word for joke, which was "burla". The term "burlesque" was used for satirical literary works from medieval times up until the 18th century.

Learn about the science of Forensics with iMinds insightful audio knowledge series. Forensics is the use of science to solve crimes. The word "forensics" comes from the Latin term "for ensis", which is closely related to the modern English word "forum". This close connection highlights the strong linkage between forensic evidence and courts - or forums - of law.

Learn about the story of Robin Hood with iMinds insightful audio knowledge series. The story of Robin Hood is one of the most famous legends in the English language. The events of the legend place him in the regency of Prince John, when King Richard the Lionheart was away on crusade. This means if Robin Hood existed, he would have lived in the late 12th century.The legend of Robin Hood takes place in Sherwood Forest, near the city of Nottingham in the East Midlands, England.

Learn about the story of the infamous Guy Fawkes with iMinds insightful audio knowledge series. "Remember, remember the fifth of November, gunpowder, treason and plot." Guy Fawkes has been called the most famous terrorist in history for his involvement in the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605. His influence is still felt today in United Kingdom where Guy Fawkes Night is still celebrated on November 5th.

Learn about the mysterious Hope Diamond with iMinds insightful audio knowledge series.

The 45.52-carat Hope Diamond is the largest deep-blue diamond in the world. In its body of less than one cubic inch, it holds a history dripping with mystery, conspiracy, and celebrity. It is now housed behind three inches of bulletproof glass in the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, and looks out at a world fixated with its beauty and history.

It was another cold night in Boston on the 16th of December 1773. But this was no ordinary night. This night would ignite the flames of injustice within many an American colonist. And it would eventually lead to the American Revolution. That night, three British ships - the Dartmouth, the Eleanor, and the Beaver - were moored in the Boston harbor....

Learn about the Last Supper with iMinds insightful audio knowledge series. "While they were eating, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them, and said, 'Take it; this is my body.' Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, and they all drank from it. He said to them, 'This is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed for many." In the Gospel according to Mark, we read of the night before Jesus was arrested, before he was taken to his death on the cross.

Learn about the mystery of the Dropa Stones with iMinds insightful audio knowledge series. The Dropa Stones are supposedly a collection of circular stones found in a cave in Tibet in 1938. They were discovered by Chinese archaeologist Chi Pu Tei. They purportedly tell of aliens coming to earth in 10,000 BC. No claims have been verified, and so the Dropa Stones are part of a highly elusive mystery.

Learn about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch with iMinds insightful audio knowledge series. In 1997, a Californian man named Charles Moore was sailing home from Hawaii after competing in a boat race. On a whim, he decided to change course and head through a part of the eastern Pacific Ocean known as the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre. Known to seafarers as "the doldrums", this is an area of light or no wind and little boat traffic.

Learn about the Barbary Pirates with iMinds insightful audio knowledge series. For 350 years, from the late 15th century onwards, Europeans travelling by boat in the Mediterranean Sea were under constant threat of pirate attack. But these were not pirates as normally understood; rather, they were Muslim warriors officially sanctioned to plunder ships from Christian countries and kill or enslave anyone they found aboard.

A Chinese book from 850 C.E., called Classified Essentials of the Mysterious Tao of the True Origin of Things, warns the reader that if sulphur, realgar and saltpetre are heated with honey, they produce smoke and flames. Thus begins the history of artificially made fire and, eventually, fireworks.

Learn the history of the Magna Carta with iMinds insightful audio knowledge series. Magna Carta: the great document has become synonymous with the power of the people. A medieval English charter of 63 clauses, it has become one of the most famous legal documents in history. Those who wrote the American Declaration of Independence claimed to have been inspired by it.

In its long and diverse history, trade has promoted communication between countless communities. And it has been concerned with the exchange of countless goods from local markets to national economies. Scientists have found evidence that ancient hunting tribes traded for flint more than 150,000 years ago. Such trade enabled these tribes to gain products they could not make or find in their own territory.

Learn about Blues Music with iMinds insightful audio knowledge series. Blues music is a type of African-American folk music. It is concerned with expressing emotions through song. Generally, blues songs deal with tragic themes such as lost love, hardship, poverty and death. Indeed, the name "blues" comes from the emotions expressed in the songs themselves!

There's nothing like a good comeback. It's witty, snappy and completely devastating to your verbal sparring partner. But how many times have you gone completely blank when arguing with someone, only to think of the perfect comeback an hour later? More than anything, you wish you could wind back time and deliver your riposte at the perfect moment. That's l'esprit de l'escalier.

Learn about the story behind the tradition of Thanksgiving with iMinds insightful audio knowledge series. Thanksgiving is a North American festival. It commemorates the good fortune its founders encountered when they arrived in the New World. In Canada, Thanksgiving is held on the second Monday of October. In the United States of America, Thanksgiving is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November.

Learn about the history of cricket's greatest contest, The Ashes, with iMinds insightful audio knowledge series. The Ashes is a test-cricket series played between England and Australia. Throughout its long history, winning the Ashes has been seen as a matter of national pride for the two sporting rivals. Today, there is an Ashes series in both men's cricket and women's cricket. But the men's Ashes series is more widely known.

Creationism is the name given to the belief that God created the universe and everything in it, including life. In the West, the word is usually associated with the account of creation given in the book of Genesis in the Christian and Jewish bibles, but it can apply equally to the foundation stories of other religions, such as Islam and Hinduism.

Learn about the life of John F Kennedy with iMinds insightful audio knowledge series.

On November 22, 1963, America was stunned. The events of that day would reverberate around the world and throughout history. The 35th president of the United States, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, had been killed. He was the fourth American president to be assassinated in office, but in the 1960s it was different - there was television.

Learn about Armistice Day with iMinds insightful audio knowledge series. Armistice Day is a day put aside to commemorate the ceasefire which effectively ended the "Great War", as World War One was previously known.