Showing results by author "iMinds" in All Categories

You may have asked yourself before now: if plants are alive, why don't they eat? The answer is they do eat, but not in the same way as humans and animals. Green plants, algae, and some bacteria are able to use energy from the sun as a kind of food that enables them to live and grow. The complicated process by which this happens is called photosynthesis.

Learn about the art movement called Impressionism with iMindsJNR audio-learning series for younger minds.

Impressionism was a style of art that began in late 19th-century Paris. It was concerned with depicting movement and capturing light in paintings. Impressionist artists included Claude Monet, Hilaire Edgar Degas, Eugene-Louis Boudin, Camille Pissarro, Paul Cezanne, Mary Stevenson Cassatt, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir.

In the 1830s, a young naturalist called Charles Darwin set out as part of a survey expedition on the HMS Beagle. Darwin collected fossils and different species of plants and animals, and made many detailed observations that inspired him to develop what once seemed an absolutely crazy idea - a theory that would change the world.

Want your general knowledge to cross all boundaries? Start becoming a "polymath" (a person of great learning in several fields of study) with iMinds Polymath collections. Polymath, Volume 1, is a collection of 36 iMinds knowledge titles, each a self contained grab of engaging information.

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.

Learn about the history of the Louvre in Paris with iMinds Travel's insightful audio-knowledge series. The Louvre is situated in the centre of France's capital city, Paris, on the northern banks of the river Seine. Although it is based in France, it contains masterpieces from most time periods and cultures throughout the world. In fact, the building that houses this incredible collection of art has an interesting history all of its own.

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 about the Apartheid Policy of South Africa with iMinds insightful audio knowledge series.

Until 1994, only one quarter of the South African population voted in elections. People classified as "non-White" were denied basic rights, including the right to vote. This system was known as "apartheid". The word comes from Afrikaans, a South African language. It literally means "separateness" or "apartness".

Throughout the world, there are hundreds of lakes in which monsters are said to live. None of these lake monsters is more famous than the Loch Ness Monster, who is said to inhabit Loch Ness in Scotland.

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 about the crimes of Jack the Ripper with iMinds insightful audio-knowledge series.

In late 1888, a series of brutal murders took place in the impoverished Whitechapel district of London. At least five women were attacked. The killer liked slitting the throats of the victims. The victims' abdomens were then sliced and several organs were removed. This serial killer became known as Jack the Ripper.

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 science and history of volcanoes with iMindsJNR audio-learning series for younger minds. A volcano is an opening in the earth's surface through which molten rock, gases and debris can escape. The mound commonly associated with volcanoes is what remains after eruptions have collected and hardened around this opening.Volcanoes exist in the mythology of numerous countries, such as Iceland and Japan. Many past cultures, such as the Greeks and the Romans, also had volcano mythology.

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 intricacies of sharia law with iMinds insightful audio knowledge series.

Sharia law is the law of the religion of Islam. The "sharia" means the "path" Muslims should follow if they are to lead good lives. Sharia law regulates not only human relationships between individuals, like other legal systems, but also human relationships with God. Therefore, sharia is much more than a law as Westerners know it. It is an entire way of life for Muslims.

Learn about the history of the Printing Press with iMindsJNR audio-learning series for younger minds.

Alongside the invention of the wheel, electric light and the internet, the invention of the printing press was one of history’s great, transformative moments.

Learn about the Rise of the Berlin Wall with iMinds insightful audio knowledge series. The Berlin Wall served as a monumental physical reminder of the differences in government between East and West Germany. After World War Two, there was a division of Germany between the Western Allied forces of the US, Britain and France and the Soviet Union in the East. Each assumed responsibility for a portion of Germany to help it back on its feet after the war.

The concept of prosecuting war criminals is not unique to the modern world. Individuals who breached the "rules of war" were tried in ancient Greece, and probably earlier. However, those early prosecutions were hardly examples of fair and impartial international justice. Underpinning the prosecutions, however, was a notion that, even in war, there are certain rules which must be obeyed.

Learn about the history of the St. Paul’s Cathedral in London with iMinds Travel's insightful audio-knowledge series. St. Paul’s Cathedral is a great monument by any standard. Its size, its architecture and its history cause it to be a continuing icon for the city of London.There has been a cathedral standing on the site of the present-day St Paul’s since the year 604. The cathedral we see today is actually the fifth incarnation.

Learn about your world 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. History Volume 1 looks at the history of the whaling industry; the context of the Boston Tea Party; the role of the Rosetta Stone in understanding language; the terror of the Barbary Pirates; the importance of the signing of the Magna Carta and more.