Showing results by author "iMinds" in All Categories

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 the British Houses of Parliament in London with iMinds Travel's insightful audio knowledge series. They are one of the most iconic sights in London. Situated on the shore of the River Thames, they have become an international symbol of Britain and national systems of government. The Houses of Parliament are both a captivating building to behold and an important historical monument.

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....

Learn about the Fall of the Berlin Wall with iMinds insightful audio knowledge series. The Berlin Wall stood as a boundary in the German capital for 28 years, 2 months and 26 days. It symbolised the split between not only West and East Berlin, but western and eastern Europe as a whole. It was an international symbol of the Cold War and represented an ideological divide between capitalism in the west and communism in the east.

Learn about the history of Colonialism with iMindsJNR audio learning series for younger minds. Around 500 years ago, European nations began to explore the world around them more than ever before. With safer and faster ships, Europeans were able to sail across the globe, over oceans that had once been unnavigable. As they undertook these great voyages of discovery they encountered cultures very different to their own.

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.

Learn about Murphy's Law with iMinds insightful audio knowledge series. Murphy's Law is a tongue-in-cheek and rather pessimistic adage of eight simple words: Anything that can go wrong will go wrong. The translation of these words into "Murphy's Law" was in honour of US aerospace engineer Edward Aloysius Murphy Junior.

Learn about the Great Fire of London with iMinds insightful audio knowledge series. Before the Great Fire, the City of London was filled with crowded, timber-framed buildings with thin, plaster walls. Candles, rushlights, coals and fireplaces were omnipresent, and the risk of fire was paramount.The Great Fire of London is believed to have been started by the baker Thomas Farrynger shortly after midnight on Sunday, 2 September 1666, in his shop on Pudding Lane, just East of London Bridge.

It is increasingly in the media, but what exactly is culture jamming and how does it work? Culture jamming is a form of protest in which advertisements and other media messages are re-arranged or parodied in humorous or disturbing ways. The term covers a range of practices, including sabotaging billboards, spoofing well-known ads, and hoaxing the mainstream media.

Learn about landing a man on the Moon with iMinds insightful audio knowledge series. When the Cold War was at its height in the 1950s and 1960s, the U.S. and Russia were fierce rivals. So, with burgeoning technology making flying safer and easier, these two world powers embarked on a "space race" to see who could be the first to launch a man into space - and eventually to put a man on the Moon.

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.

Learn about the World Bank with iMinds Money's insightful fast knowledge series. The World Bank is an international financial institution of the UN whose purpose is the alleviation of poverty through providing leveraged loans and technical assistance to the world’s poorest countries. The World Bank was created at the Bretton Woods Conference in 1944 with the primary role of financing the post-war reconstruction of European and Asian countries devastated in World War II.

Hone your knowledge with iMinds Specialist Series. Have a particular interest? Recognize gaps in your knowledge? iMinds Specialist works across each of our 12 categories bringing you targeted information to broaden your mind. Sport & Action, Volume 1 covers the history of climbing Everest, the story of the New York Yankees, the development of Parkour, one of soccer's greatest players Pele, and the oldest sporting trophy in the world: the Davis Cup.

Christmas trees and Christmas cards seem to be an essential part of the holiday season. So it may surprise you to know they are both relatively recent traditions in the United States and Britain!

Learn about the Cold War with iMindsJNR audio-learning series for younger minds. For nearly half of the 20th century, the two most powerful countries in the world were also two great enemies.The Cold War was a time of great tension between the United States and the Soviet Union, led by Russia. It lasted from the end of World War II in 1945 until about 1991. Russia was a communist country, and the U.S. was the largest capitalist country in the world. Their different ideas of government caused them to be extreme enemies.

Learn about the life and times of Saint Francis of Assisi with iMindsJNR audio-learning series for younger minds. The story of Saint Francis is particularly famous among Catholics. The story of his simple, peaceful life has transcended religious borders to become an inspiration to many.

A meteorite is a mass of stone or metal which has reached the earth's surface from outer space. There are various names for a meteorite depending on where it is situated. While it is traveling in space, it is referred to as a "meteoroid". When it passes through the earth's atmosphere and produces a fiery streak in the sky, known as a "shooting star", it is called a "meteor".

Learn about the New Wave cinematic genre with iMinds insightful audio-knowledge series. Cool. Auteur. Jump cut. Godard. Truffaut. New Wave. These were the words on every film lover's lips in the late 1950s and 1960s. A new type of cinema was exploding on screen.The French New Wave, or Nouvelle Vague, was one of the most influential movements in the history of cinema.

Learn about the dance style of Krumping with iMinds insightful audio knowledge series. Imagine teams of super athletic dancers, engaging in spectacular and aggressive dance battles, their styles reminiscent of African dance to Hip Hop break beats, the scene looking more like a fight than a dance. The teams of dancers, made up of men, women and children, have their faces painted in elaborate styles from the childlike to the grotesque.