Vikings

Battle-Axe
Although early Viking battle-axes were simply axes used to chop wood,
this tool was modified over the years and became a battle-axe unique among
medieval warriors. The blade became larger and broader. A hook was added
to the lower end of the blade. In battle, the hook could be used to catch an
enemy by the foot or the rim of his shield. The axe handle became longer,
allowing Vikings to strike their foes from a greater distance.

Well-balanced weapons, the battle-axes were easy to use and effective in

inflicting wounds or causing deaths. Although some Viking stories include scenes
in which the axes are used as throwing weapons, such a tactic was seldom, if
ever, used in battle. However, it might be employed in retaliation for injury.

Shield

The Viking shield was like no other medieval buckler. In size, it was 75–90
centimeters (30–35 in). Used as a defense in combat, the shield also protected
the Vikings from winds and waves during their sea voyages.

The flat face, or board, of the shield was made of seven or eight planks from firs,
alders, or poplars. These woods were light and flexible. Rather than directly joined
to one another, the planks were probably anchored together by other attached
parts like the handle and leather cover. It is also possible that the Vikings glued
the planks together.

The shield’s thin, flexible wood made it less likely to be split by the blows of an
enemy’s weapons. The wood’s thinness absorbed the force of impact, while the
supple wood’s fibers bound around the blades of a sword as it got stuck in the
wooden shield. This helped to block blows.

Viking warriors formed lines and overlapped their shields to form a defensive
“shield wall” that deflected enemy missiles and resisted penetration of their ranks.

Tent
The Viking tent was plain, practical, and brilliant. Tent frames were discovered on
a buried, ninth-century Viking ship in Gokstad in Sandar, Sandefjord,
Vestfold, Norway.
The bottoms of a pair of crossed beams were inserted in each of two ends of a
square wooden platform. Then, a pole was run through each pair of beams near
their tops. Next, a rectangular piece of material 5 meters (17 ft) long by 4 meters
(14 ft) wide was draped across the pole and its ends were secured to the other
two sides of the platform.
The 3-meter-tall (11 ft) tent could be set up in minutes, and it provided its users
with a dry shelter with a wooden floor. There was even a decorative element in
the four dragons’ heads carved into the tops of the support beams, two of which
looked one way while their companions gazed in the opposite direction.
Comb

Most Viking inventions and innovations were related to the hit-and-

run military campaigns conducted during their raids and involved shipbuilding,
camping, combat, and other related practical enterprises. Despite their
penchant for waging guerrilla warfare, it seems that the Vikings were vain about
their appearance. When they sailed off in search of plunder, they took with them
the combs they created from deer antlers.

“You might expect these to be throwaway objects, but in some cases, they were
superbly decorated, and all were massively overengineered,” archaeologist
Steve Ashby said. He added that the combs were made of the same material as
specialized tools like polishers, saws, and rasps.

For Vikings, appearance was an important aspect of their identity. “They took a
great deal of care with their grooming and often carried combs with their swords
and knives on their belts. They frequently even took combs to the grave,” Ashby
explained.[2]

After the Norman Conquest in the 11th century, comb-making died out in
England. This may have been the result of the Forest Law, or perhaps antlers
became prohibitively expensive. But, in Sweden, combs imported from Norway
continued to be purchased and used.

Greeks

Water mill

Not so long ago, water mills were a revolutionary invention used all over the world
for the purpose of shaping metal, agriculture, and most importantly, milling. To
mill meant to grind, and that invariably meant to grind grain. This in turn led to
the production of edible staples like beaten rice, cereals, pulses, flour and so on.
Ever since its origination, the water mill has seen a number of subsequent
variations. These mills are still used in many parts of the rural world to serve similar
purposes.

According to the contemporary Greek engineer Philo of Byzantium, this useful

invention originates from the earliest known Perachora wheel, created in Greece
in the 3rd century BCE. Earlier, the portions of the mechanical treatise on this
particular water mill, described by Philo, were regarded to have Arab origination.
But recent research by British historian M.J.T. Lewis proved that the water mill is an
authentic ancient Greek invention.

Olympics

The modern Olympics are one of the greatest spectacles of sport. But when Pierre
de Coubertin, the founder of the international Olympic committee started the
first modern Olympics in 1896, he was extensively inspired by the ancient
Olympics that used to be held in ancient Greece more than 2700 years ago.
According to historical records, the first ancient Olympic Games can be traced
back to 776 BCE. They were dedicated to the Olympian gods and were staged
on the ancient plains of Olympia. The Isthmian Games were staged every two
years at the Isthmus of Corinth. The Pythian Games took place every four years
near Delphi. The most famous games were held at Olympia, South-West of
Greece, and took place every four years. People from all over the Greek world
came to witness the spectacle. The victors were given olive leaf wreaths or
crowns as a prize.

Basis of Geometry

Geometry is without a doubt one of the oldest branches of mathematics,

perhaps even older than arithmetics itself. Its practical necessity demanded use
of various geometric techniques long before recorded history. Indeed, the
Egyptians, Babylonians and the Indus Valley Civilization were among the first to
incorporate and use such techniques, but they were never interested in finding
out the rules and axioms governing geometry. The Babylonians assumed the
value of Pi to be 3 and never challenged its accuracy.

However, the age of Greek geometry changed everyone’s perception of it. The
Greeks insisted that geometric facts must be established by deductive reasoning,
much like how it is done these days. Thales of Miletus, regarded as Father of
Geometry, set up a number of axioms and rules that were based on reasoning
(called mathematical truths) in the 6th century BCE. Then there was Pythagoras,
Euclid, and Archimedes, whose geometrical axioms and rules are still taught in
schools today. There were many more Greek mathematicians and geometers
who contributed to the history of geometry, but these names are the true giants,
the ones that developed geometry as we know it today.