The Most Important Events That Changed History Forever

The printing press was a crucial step in the process of democratizing knowledge. Within half a century of its invention, the classical canon was reprinted and distributed throughout the entirety of Europe. The printing press also caused the decline of Latin as the language of most public works, as well as higher levels of urban growth.

The Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand (1914)

Archduke Franz Ferdinand was the heir presumptive to the rhone of Austria-Hungary. On June 28, 1914, Ferdinand and his wife were killed in Sarajevo by a member of young Bosnia named Gavrilo Princip. Ferdinand's assassination is considered to be the catalyst for World War I.

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The More You Know

  • The people who are currently alive are only 7% of the total number of people who have ever lived.
  • The woolly mammoth survived until Egyptian times.
  • Where the Wild Things Are was supposed to have been about horses—but the illustrator couldn't draw them.
  • The stars and flashes of light you see when you rub your eyes are called "phosphenes."
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