Who Invented Chocolate?

Who Invented Chocolate?

ByFabien

It’s December! Soon, it will be Christmas. For me, it’s a good excuse to eat more chocolate—because I don’t consume much of it during the rest of the year! I don’t know why. Probably some guilt connected to my weight. Anyway, this led to my article of the day as I asked myself:

Who Created Chocolate?

When we are talking about chocolate and its invention, we are not simply talking about the culture of cacao beans. Here is the definition of chocolate by the NCA (National Confectioners Association):

The cocoa “beans” that form the basis of chocolate are actually seeds from the fruit of the cacao tree, which primarily grows in tropical areas near the Equator. The seeds grow inside a pod-like fruit and are covered with a juicy white pulp. How is it made? To make chocolate, cocoa farmers crack open the pods, scoop out the seeds, ferment them and dry them. The beans are shipped to factories all over the world, where manufacturers inspect and clean them, then roast and grind them into a dense liquid called chocolate liquor. More pressing, rolling, mixing with sugar and other ingredients, and heating and cooling finally yields this delicious treat.

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Who Created the Addams Family?

Who Created the Addams Family?

ByFabien

It’s Thanksgiving this week, so I thought I would make a not-too-long article, in the sense of “not too much research reading to do before writing,” and there’s a new Addams Family show on Netflix. The “Addams Family Values” movie being a favorite of mine and a perfect watch for Thanksgiving, everything led me to write about:

Who Is The Creator of The Addams Family?

The answer to this question is quite simple. It was Charles Addams who created the Addams Family! The thing with this particular creation is that it evolved through time with the help of the TV adaptation first, then the movies. Each new exploration added something to the myth.

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Who Invented Solar Panels?

Who Invented Solar Panels?

ByFabien

Nowadays, people talk about renewable energies like they will fix everything. They will not, but I’m still interested in the subject, as my house is being renovated (I talked about that in the article about the invention of adhesive tape) and I got rid of the Gas heater. Instead, I will only use electricity and I’m thinking about installing solar panels to help with that. This led me to search for:

Who Created Solar Panels?

First of all, a solar panel is “a device that changes energy from the sun into electricity” (the simple definition given to us by the Cambridge Dictionary). But a solar panel is primarily a battery of solar cells.

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Who Invented Time Travel?

Who Invented Time Travel?

ByFabien

Recently, I finished another sci-fi book with time travel elements in its story (I won’t tell the title, it would be a bit spoiler). It kind of became a theme for me this year as I read “Time and Again” by Jack Finney, “Doomsday Book” by Connie Willis, “Wanderers of Time” (short stories) by John Wyndham, and a few more.

Time Travel stories are pretty common. In fact, there really are a lot of them. It clearly fascinates writers and readers alike. Naturally, researching the topic, it led me to explore an obvious question:

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What Was The First Social Media?

What Was The First Social Media?

ByFabien

Lately, Twitter has been in the discussion a lot. Some think it’s already dead, others are waiting for it to burn, and some try to move on to another social media app—the rest just do like nothing has changed, of course. Whatever how everything ends, there were other social media sites before, and there will be more after. But this led me to realize that I don’t even know what the first was!

When was the First Social Media Launched?

Launched on August 1, 2003, MySpace is, for some people, the first social networking service. It’s certainly the first one to get that big, but it was not even the second one. In fact, even LinkedIn is older (by just three months!)… And do you remember Friendster?

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Who Invented The Zombie?

Who Invented The Zombie?

ByFabien

It’s spooktober! Halloween month is as good an excuse as any other for watching horror films. I watch them all year round, but more so during the month of October. That’s why I rewatched one of my favorites, George Romero’s Dawn of the Dead. In France, the title of the movie is just “Zombie.” Anyways, this made me curious about something I should already know:

Who Created the Zombie?

First of all, what are we talking about when speaking about zombies? Merriam-Webster’s definition of the word goes as follows:

1. a will-less and speechless human (as in voodoo belief and in fictional stories) held to have died and been supernaturally reanimated.

2. the supernatural power that according to voodoo belief may enter into and reanimate a dead body.

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Who Invented The Robot?

Who Invented The Robot?

ByFabien

I recently read “I, Robot” by Isaac Asimov. At the beginning of the book, there is an essay by Asimov about science in science-fiction and the place of the robot in it—basically. It’s a short but interesting text and I dug a little deeper to learn more about robots.

Who Created the Robot?

First, what are we talking about when it comes to robots? According to Merriam-Webster, a robot is:

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Who Invented the Dishwasher?

Who Invented the Dishwasher?

ByFabien

I’m working on my new kitchen lately, trying to decide what to put in it, and where to cut to save money. This led me to look into dishwashers. Living alone, I’m not sure I need one, but it may be useful one day. So, I quickly learned that the technology behind the dishwasher didn’t really change since its invention. But…

Who Created the Dishwasher?

Of course, when I’m talking about “dishwasher,” I’m not referencing the worker employed to wash dishes. As the dictionary puts it, a dishwasher is a machine for washing dishes—not sure that there was someone in particular who invented the idea of having someone do the dishes.

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The Origins of Halloween, a modern American holiday

The Origins of Halloween, a modern American holiday

ByFabien

Fall is here and my Instagram feed is full of people celebrating it and counting the days until Halloween. It tells you a little about the kind of content I seek on this platform, but the truth is I mostly use it for cats.

Anyhow, this led me to realize that I don’t really know anything about that night of horror, except that the kids in America like to hunt for candy and it’s a good time to watch scary movies. I needed to dig a little and here is what I found.

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Who Invented the Strawberry?

Who Invented the Strawberry?

ByFabien

Being the new owner of a house with a garden (like I was saying two weeks ago), I started to look at what I could grow in that garden. It’s a bit late for this year, but I want to be ready for the spring.

Anyway, that led me to read some articles and I was “shocked” (it’s clearly too strong a word) to learn that someone created the strawberry.

Who Created the Strawberry?

First of all, when I’m talking about the strawberry, I’m talking about the one we eat nowadays. Turns out, wild strawberries have been used for decorative purposes since at least Ancient Rome.

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Who Invented Styrofoam? (and other forms of Polystyrene)

Who Invented Styrofoam? (and other forms of Polystyrene)

ByFabien

As I was saying in my last article, the one about the invention of adhesive tape, I recently bought a house and it’s in need of renovation (more and more as I realized, sadly).

This week, I tore up Styrofoam from the kitchen ceiling—apparently put here for insulation, even if it’s a serious fire hazard the way it was installed. It was not clean work, the glue used mostly ruined the ceiling. But it’s not the subject of the day. This experience led me to the usual question:

Who Created Styrofoam?

First of all, before even going into the definition of “Styrofoam,” it is necessary to say that this is not the name of the product, but the name of a brand of polystyrene foam. So, what is polystyrene foam?

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Who Invented Adhesive Tape?

Who Invented Adhesive Tape?

ByFabien

I recently bought a house and, in my price range, it’s the kind of place that is not immediately livable. The hardest part will be swallowing the electrician’s bill. For the rest of it, I’ll need to do it myself (with some help!). I went to the hardware store recently to cry about the price of materials. I was looking at the adhesive tape section and that led me to the usual question:

Who Invented Adhesive Tape?

First, what is adhesive tape? Well, Merrian-Webster described it as:

  1. It is tape coated on one side with an adhesive mixture.
  2. A narrow strip of material that is sticky on one side and is used to stick one thing to another.

Seems like a simple thing to think about. In fact, some types of glue combined with bonding materials were used throughout history to build and fixed things … and people (you know, for surgical use).

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