A windmill is a machine that converts

the energy of wind into rotational energy

by means of vanes called sails or blades.

The windmill was invented in 634 for a

Persian caliph.

Initially was used to grind corn and

draw up water for irrigation.

In the vast deserts of Arabia, when the

seasonal streams ran dry, the only source

of power was the wind which blew steadily

from one direction for months.

Mills had six or 12 sails covered in fabric

or palm leaves.

It was 500 years before the first windmill

was seen in Europe.

The majority of modern windmills take the

form of wind turbines used to generate

electricity, or windpumps used to pump

water, either for land drainage or to

extract groundwater.

The technique of inoculation was not

invented by Jenner and Pasteur.

It is believed likely that some form of

inoculation was developed in India or

China before the 16th century.

The earliest documented examples of

vaccination are from India and China in

the 17th century, where vaccination with

powdered scabs from people infected with

smallpox was used to protect against the

disease.

Smallpox used to be a common disease

throughout the world and 20% to 30% of

infected persons died from the disease.

Smallpox was responsible for 8% to 20%

of all deaths in several European

countries in the 18th century.

But was devised in the Muslim world and

brought to Europe from Turkey by the wife

of the English ambassador to Istanbul in

1724.

Children in Turkey were vaccinated with

cowpox to fight the deadly smallpox at

least 50 years before the West discovered

it.

A fountain pen is a nib pen that, unlike its

predecessor the dip pen, contains an

internal reservoir of water-based liquid ink.

The pen draws ink from the reservoir

through a feed to the nib and deposits it

on paper via a combination of gravity and

capillary action.

The earliest historical record of a reservoir

pen dates to the 10th century.

In 973, Ma'ād al-Mu'izz, the caliph of the

Maghreb, demanded a pen that would not

stain his hands or clothes, and was

provided with a pen that held ink in a

reservoir and delivered it to the nib,

which could be held upside-down without

leaking, as recorded in Kitab al-Majalis wa

'l-musayarat, by Qadi al-Nu'man al-

Tamimi.

No details of the construction or

mechanism of operation of this pen are

known, and no examples have survived.

During the 1940s and 1950s, fountain pens

retained their dominance: early ballpoint

pens were expensive, were prone to leaks

and had irregular inkflow, while the fountain

pen continued to benefit from the

combination of mass production and

craftsmanship.

This period saw the launch of innovative

models such as the Parker 51, the Sheaffer

Snorkel, and the Eversharp Skyline and

(later) Skyliner, while the Esterbrook J

series of lever-fill models with

interchangeable steel nibs offered

inexpensive reliability to the masses.

By the 1960s, refinements in ballpoint pen

production gradually ensured its dominance

over the fountain pen for casual use.

Fountain pens dating from the first half of

the 20th century are more likely to have

flexible nibs, suited to the favored

handwriting styles of the period.

Other styles of fountain pen nibs include

Hooded Nibs (Examples of hooded nibs are

Parker 51, Parker 61, or the current (2007)

Parker 100, Hero 329), Inlaid Nibs (e.g.,

Sheaffer Targa or Sheaffer P.F.M) or

Integral Nib (Parker T-1 and Falcon, Pilot

Myu 701), which may also be ground to

have different writing characteristics.

France, Germany, Austria, India, and the

United Kingdom, and are widely used by

young students in most private schools in

England and at least one private school in

Scotland.

Parker Duofold Senior in black hard rubber,

ca. 1924

Hooded nib of a Hero Pen

Gama Supreme Flat Top handmade

ebonite eyedropper

modern fountain pen writing in cursive script.

Soup is a primarily liquid food, generally

served warm (but may be cool or cold),

that is made by combining ingredients

such as meat and vegetables with stock,

juice, water, or another liquid.

The word soup comes from French soupe

("soup", "broth"), which comes through

Vulgar Latin suppa ("bread soaked in

broth") from a Germanic source, from

which also comes the word "sop", a piece

of bread used to soak up soup or a thick

stew.

Ali ibn Nafi, known by his nickname of

Ziryab (Blackbird)

Came from Iraq to Cordoba in the 9th

century

And brought with him the concept of the

three-course meal – soup.

Ziryab started a vogue by changing

clothes according to the weather and

season.

He suggested different clothing for

mornings, afternoons and evenings.

by introducing the three-course meal

served on leathern tablecloths,

insisting that meals should be served in

three separate courses consisting of

soup, the main course, and dessert.

He also introduced the use of crystal

as a container for drinks, which was

more effective than metal.

A cheque (or check in American English) is

a document that orders a bank to pay

money from an account.

The modern cheque comes from the Arabic

saqq, a written vow to pay for goods when

they were delivered, to avoid money having

to be transported across dangerous terrain.

Muslim traders are known to have used the

cheque or ṣakk system since the time of

Harun al-Rashid (9th century) of the

Abbasid Caliphate.

In the 9th century, a Muslim businessman

could cash a cheque in China drawn on his

bank in Baghdad.

In the 13th century in Venice the bill of

exchange was developed as a legal device

to allow international trade without the need

to carry large amounts of gold and silver.

By the 17th century, bills of exchange

were being used for domestic payments in

England.

In 1717, the Bank of England pioneered

the first use of a pre-printed form. These

forms were printed on "cheque paper" to

prevent fraud.

A cheque with Thomas Jefferson as payee and payor from 1809

A cheque from 1905

A cheque from 1933

A cheque sample from Canada 2006

A rocket is a missile, spacecraft, aircraft or

other vehicle that obtains thrust from a

rocket engine. Rocket engine exhaust is

formed entirely from propellants carried

within the rocket before use.

Chinese invented salt-petre gunpowder,

and used it in their fireworks.

A problem for dating the first rocket flight

is that Chinese fire arrows can be either

arrows with explosives attached, or

arrows propelled by gunpowder.

By the 15th century they had invented

both a rocket.

Rocket technology was first known to

Europeans following its use by the

Mongols Genghis Khan and Ögedei Khan

when they conquered parts of Russia,

Eastern, and Central Europe.

Between 1270 and 1280, Hasan al-

Rammah wrote al-furusiyyah wa al-

manasib al-harbiyya (The Book of Military

Horsemanship and Ingenious War

Devices), which included 107 gunpowder

recipes, 22 of which are for rockets.

According to Ahmad Y Hassan, al-

Rammah's recipes were more explosive

than rockets used in China at the time.

In 1865 the British Colonel Edward

Mounier Boxer built an improved versione

of the Congreve rocket placing two

rockets in one tube, one behind the other.