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POPS Ancient Greece Ancient Greece consisted chiefly of a peninsula that separated the two seas, nearby islands, and the coast of Asia Minor (now part of Turkey). Greek civilization developed later than that of the Euphrates and Nile valleys, but earlier than that of Rome. Ancient Greece reached its highest point of achievement in the fifth and fourth centuries B.C., but its influence remained strong throughout the era of Roman supremacy. Vigorous, adventuresome, and freedom-loving, of strong practicality and great intellectual capacity, they produced art, architecture, literature, drama, and philosophic concepts that have never been surpassed. The Greeks developed the political institution of democracy, established freedom of speech and religion, and founded a system of law defining the rights of citizens. They made major discoveries in astronomy, physics, mathematics, and medicine. The first experimental scientists were Greeks.
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POPSIrena Sendler Saved 2500 Jewish Children In Warsaw Ghetto On Oct. 20, 1943, the Gestapo arrested her and took her to Pawiak prison, where subversives were tortured and killed. Over three months, her detainers used clubs and other devices to fracture her legs and feet. She did not inform on Zegota leaders and was sentenced to death by firing squad, but a bribed guard helped her escape and marked her as having been executed. Mrs. Sendler remained incognito for the rest of the war -- she could not even risk attending her mother's funeral -- and continued to help Zegota. Yad Vashem, the Holocaust memorial in Israel, recognized Mrs. Sendler in 1965 as "Righteous Among the Nations," the designation for gentiles who aided Jews during the war. The number of children saved by Mrs. Sendler and her partners is unknown, according to Yad Vashem, but some estimates by survivors groups claim more than 2,500. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/12/AR2008051202751_pf.html
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POPSThe Gold of Varna Prehistoric Necropolis "There are crouched and extended inhumations. Some graves do not contain a skeleton, but grave gifts (cenotaphs). Interestingly, the symbolic (empty) graves are the richest in gold artifacts. 3000 gold artifacts were found, with a weight of approximately 6 kilograms. Grave 43 (photo) contained more gold than has been found in the entire rest of the world for that epoch. Three symbolic graves contained masks of unburnt clay. The findings showed that the Varna culture had trade relations with distant lands (possibly including the lower Volga and the Cyclades), perhaps exporting metal goods and salt from the Provadiya rock salt mine. The copper ore used in the artifacts originated from a Sredna Gora mine near Stara Zagora, and Mediterranean Spondylus shells found in the graves may have served as primitive currency." The text above from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Varna_Necropolis
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POPSTectonic paleo-history of the earth [images] Created by Ron Blakey ; maps of the tectonic evolution of the earth's surface. Dr. Ron Blakey Professor of Geology http://www2.nau.edu/rcb7/ Rectangular Global Maps (750 x 375): http://www2.nau.edu/rcb7/rect_globe.html "These help to visualize broad historical processes in a way that is visually clear, conceptually unforgettable, and imaginatively provocative, to say the least."
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POPSLeonardo Da Vinci's 10 Best Ideas I had never heard of his scuba gear designs. From the source page: "Da Vinci's fascination with the sea spurred many designs for aquatic exploration. His diving suit was made of leather, connected to a snorkel made of cane and a bell that floated at the surface. Proving the artist was also practical, the suit included a pouch the diver could urinate in."