In 1889, the first coin-operated telephone, patented by Hartford, Connecticut inventor William Gray, was installed in the Hartford Bank. Soon, "pay phones" were installed in stores, hotels, saloons, and restaurants, and ...Read More

The hardiest of all the world's insects is the mosquito. It has been found in the coldest regions of northern Canada and Siberia, and can live quite comfortably at the North Pole. It is equally at home in equatorial ...

Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus is a novel by Mary Shelley, first published in London in 1818 but more often read in the revised third edition of 1831. It's a novel infused with some elements of the Gothic and the ...Read More

According to witnesses, film comedian W. C. Fields drank two quarts of martinis a day, even when working on the movie set. In his final years, he suffered from cirrhosis and kidney trouble, and had to wear heavy makeup in ...Read More

The winning term "checkmate" comes from the Arabic phrase shah mat, meaning the king is dead.

As with boot cut hems, the trend began in Europe and spread rapidly around the world. Today both boot cut and flare leg pants remain popular both in denim and higher quality office wear. In menswear straight leg also gave ...Read More