History Fun Facts, Gutenberg and Occam’s Razor

History fun facts for the 14th century. Can history really amuse? Thismight be the first of many such pages, perhaps, maybe, possibly. At anyrate, Kathleen was bored, and jingles make learning dates and factsmore entertaining, not that anyone should EVER be required to memorizeANYTHING. Let us see how this type of doggerel goes over in the pub.

1328CE William of Occam, Friar and Logician, Postulates“Occam’s Razor” Or The “Law OfParsimony."

William Occam, logician,could see
The need to usesimplicity
When making assumptions
Those extra presumptions
Glut the spare Law ofParsimony.

1340CE And The Madrigal, A Form Of Vocal Chamber Music, Originates In TheNorth Of Italy.

Madrigals were a secularkind
Of singing, theRenaissance mind
Adored it. The flow
For the word "smile,""riso"
Sped the music up justto remind.

History fun facts are squirreled away here for a book later. Are we having fun yet? Here in the study room of the pub, two students agonize over laptops, attempting to find information for a history paper. They have pulled together four tables upon which are stacked piles of texts, and are darting from one source to another chasing down obscure facts about European history in the Middle Ages and the role the Church played in the politics of the time.

Well, I feel their pain, and the wheelbarrow with the rest of their library books is blocking the room and creating a fire hazard. Let me hasten over to with this wonderful DVD containing about 10,000 books on every academic topic under the sun, fully searchable, and for quotations, "cut and pastable" for they are in plain text. I myself used Richard Seltzer's Samizdat materials to find nuggets of wisdom for a master's thesis, replacing daily trips to the library with this small, thin, silver wafer containing the wisdom of the world. How nice, maybe we can get our room back?

History Fun Facts

You have a conundrum or two
You're paper on history's due?
You're sifting through books
But sadly, it looks
Like you'll have grown old when you're through.

1384 CE John Wycliffe Dies after Having the Bible Translated Into English.

Antagonist of papal power
John Wycliffe, refusing to cower,
Translated the bible
To common tongue. Scribal
Work caused Protestantism to flower.

1399 CE Johannes Gutenberg Was Born. Bless Him And His Printing Press!

Alleluia! John Gutenberg's born
Hand-copying tasks are foresworn
Together with Caxton
Brought books we had lacked when
The modern world pitched the inkhorn.