Showing results by author "iMinds" in All Categories

Learn about inflation with iMinds Money's insightful fast knowledge series. Inflation is the increase in the general price of goods and services brought about through either an increase in the amount of money in circulation or by an increase in costs. Historically, inflation often occurred due to the acquisition of new gold deposits. For example, inflation occurred in Europe when Europeans brought back gold from their new American colonies in the Early Modern period.

William Shakespeare is one of the most famous writers of all time. But little is known about the life of this playwright and poet.What we do know is that Shakespeare was born in 1564 in a town in the west of England called Stratford-Upon-Avon. His father, John Shakespeare, was a glove-maker who was also on the local council.

Learn about the Rosetta Stone with iMinds insightful audio knowledge series. In 196 BCE, priests of all the gods of Upper and Lower Egypt assembled at Memphis to celebrate the accession to the throne of the boy king Ptolemy V. He was already in the ninth year of his reign, but this was the first time that such a momentous gathering as this had taken place.

Learn about investment traps with an insight into fraudulent Ponzi Schemes with iMinds insightful audio knowledge series. A Ponzi scheme is an illegal business practice. Investors are recruited into a Ponzi scheme and offered excellent returns over time for little or no risk. The operator of a Ponzi scheme relies on further recruitment of investors to accumulate funds. Earlier investors are repaid with later investor's money. They have also been described as Pyramid Schemes.

Learn about Carbon Trading with iMinds Money's insightful fast knowledge series. Carbon trading is a scheme designed to curb the amount of greenhouse gas emissions companies produce. This is due to the widely-held view that such emissions negatively impact the planet. Carbon trading forms part of the carbon market, which can be divided into two main categories. The first of these is project-based transactions.

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 Seven Wonders of the World with iMinds insightful audio knowledge series. Twenty-five hundred years ago, people began to talk about the wondrous structures they had seen in their travels around the Mediterranean. In 222 B.C., Philo of Byzantium wrote an essay called "On the Seven Wonders".

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.

Learn the history of Stonehenge with iMinds insightful audio knowledge series. Five thousand years ago, at the same time as the pyramids were being constructed in Egypt, another monolithic structure was being built in the English county now known as Wiltshire. This structure, a complex series of earthworks and towering standing stones, is one of Europe's most famous prehistoric sites.

Learn about Contracts for Difference with iMinds Money's insightful fast knowledge series. Contracts for difference, or simply CFDs, are a type of derivative whereby two parties agree to exchange the difference between the current value of an underlying asset and its value upon expiry. The underlying assets can be very diverse, from equity to commodities, but share prices, exchange traded funds or market indices are most commonly used.

Confucius was a Chinese philosopher, teacher, and political figure. His teachings have profoundly influenced Asian thought and life. The impact of his life and intellectual ideas have changed human history and it can be argued that he is the most influential philosopher who ever lived.

Learn about the theory of nature vs. nurture with iMinds insightful audio knowledge series. The phrase "nature vs. nurture" refers to a long-standing debate about the importance of heredity and environment in shaping who we are. It asks whether our personality, our behavior, and our sexuality are primarily the result of genetic or social influences. The debate is central to us as human beings. Perhaps this is because it essentially asks, "Who are we?" and "Why are we who we are?"

Learn about the history of Notre Dame in Paris with iMinds Travel's insightful audio knowledge series. The French term Notre Dame literally means 'Our Lady'. It refers specifically to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus in the Christian faith. 'Notre-Dame de Paris' is known as the mother church of all Parisians. Beyond Paris, it is also one of the most famous cathedrals in the world.

Learn about UFOs with iMinds insightful audio knowledge series. On 25 June 1947, Kenneth Arnold, a United States Forest Service employee and private pilot, witnessed nine Unidentified Flying Objects in the sky near Mount Rainier, Washington. This incident was to mark the beginning of a rapid increase in public interest in UFOs. Arnold, who at the time was searching for a downed transport plane, originally thought the objects he saw were jets. However, on closer inspection, he realised the objects had no tails and all but one looked like flat disks.

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 Nazca Lines with iMinds insightful audio knowledge series. The Nazca Lines have been called the eighth wonder of the world. They are a series of large drawings on the ground - called geoglyphs - located in the Nazca desert, in Peru. The Nazca desert is a high plateau situated between the towns of Palpa and Nazca, which is 400 kilometres south of the Peruvian capital of Lima.

Learn about the history of the amazing Eiffel Tower in Paris with iMinds Travel's insightful audio-knowledge series. It was once the tallest building in the world. Each year it attracts millions of visitors making it the worlds most visited paid monument. It is both a global icon and the symbol of an entire nation. Yet, it was actually intended to be taken down and sold as scrap metal just a few decades after its erection. We are talking about the Eiffel Tower; the postcard image of France and a modern engineering masterpiece.

Learn about the history of Buckingham Palace in London with iMinds Travel's insightful audio-knowledge series. Walking through Buckingham Gate is like stepping into an entirely different London. This is a London far removed from the hustle and bustle of the long and crowded public streets, such as Piccadilly and Regent. Hemmed in by large parks, the area surrounding this world famous palace seems almost unnaturally hushed....

Bubonic plague is widely regarded as being responsible for two of the most infamous plagues in recorded history - the Black Death in the mid-14th century and the great plague of London in 1665. The causative organism of modern-day plague was discovered independently in 1894 by two bacteriologists: the Swiss born Dr. Alexandre Yersin and Dr. Shibasaburo Kitasato from Japan.

Learn about Route 66 with iMinds insightful audio knowledge series. Route 66 is arguably the most famous road in the United States of America. Stretching 2448 miles across much of the country, from Chicago in the East to Los Angeles in the West, it was also America's longest road.