Classic touch

Archive for July, 2009

The invention of practical steam engines was the most significant advance in the 1700s, providing power for the industrial revolution. The first steam engines were massive stationary devices that pumped water from flooded mines, but they were soon adapted to power vessels that were smaller and more efficient. People and goods were transported through the first steam locomotives that appeared in the early 1800s which further helped to power the industrial revolution. Trains were an important means for social change because, for the first time, people could travel quickly and visit areas that were previously too far away to visit.

World War I was the first mechanized war in history. In the beginning fighting was similar to wars fought in the previous century. But new and terrifying weapons were introduced which changed the whole idea and style of warfare. Aircrafts were used for the first time in warfare to observe the enemy and to locate suitable targets for the long-range artillery. Later on fighter planes began to shoot down the spotters, introducing aerial warfare. Aircraft and Zeppelin airships were used as bombers. The most terrifying new weapon was the poison gas which caused millions of deaths and caused terrible suffering.

As in World War I some international alliances were activated following the German invasion of Poland. As a result of this Britain and France declared war on Germany. When the Germans attacked Poland, the Russians also attacked the country and it was divided. The Germans went on to invade Denmark, Norway, Belgium, The Netherlands and France in quick succession. They crushed any resistance with overwhelming armoured forces. World War II killed more people than any other war in history. The fighting included nearly 60 nations. The Americans entered the war in 1941 after being attacked by Japan at Pearl Harbor.

During World War II the allied nations referred to themselves as the ‘United Nations’. In 1942 they agreed that they would not make any separate peace agreements with Germany. It was the Potsdam Conference in 1945 that really laid the ground for the foundation of the United Nations to prevent future conflict and also set out procedures for the prosecution of Nazi war criminals. 27 countries signed this first agreement and in 1945, after the war, the United Nations formally came into existence with an initial membership of 50 countries. Today the UN is also involved in many economic aid programmes around the world.

Dinosaurs lived for an enormously long time, some 150 million years, before the eventually died out about 64 million years ago. During their time on earth they dominated the land, while other reptile relatives were the dominant forms of life in the sea and in the air. Before the dinosaurs finally disappeared there were two mass extinctions when a large number of species died out. The dinosaurs survived, however, until the end of Cretaceous Period. Many people believe that dinosaurs became extinct as a result of climate change after a huge meteorite or asteroid struck the earth 64 million years ago.

Fossils show that the first fish occurred in the Ordovician Period which began about 460,000,000 years ago. The first fish were jawless, the most primitive of all. Their mouths were a simple opening, suited to feeding on the tiny animals that lay hidden in mud. Next came fish with jaws. Jaws allowed fish to explore various food sources and to feed more efficiently. Early fish with jaws are called placoderms. The jaws actually evolved from a set of gill arches that were present in the jawless fish. From these placoderms came our present-day fish, the sharks and bony fish.