The History of the Things we Take for Granted- Argument

(This was one of my original “intros” to this blog. The other is labeled “Historical Perceptions-Argument.”  Though the shape of the blog has changed a little since I wrote this (It is now about Both Historical Perceptions and The History of the Things we take for granted.) I like this post and thought it was worth publishing.) I hope to do an individual post on each one of the questions brought up in this post.

The History of the Things we Take for Granted

A blog that answers the burning questions that you did not know you had.

I guess I am just curious. I was always that kid in the front row of the class that always had his hand up with a question. I just wanted to know.

So, I was walking though life and I became struck by all the things around us that we just accept as normal and thought “that is actually weird.”

For example, Why are there seven days to the week and twelve month to a year?

As humans our instinct is to use a base of 10, which is why our number system is base ten. We have ten fingers, and ten toes, and it makes sense. So where does seven and twelve come into the picture?

I honestly don’t know. There is a biblical precedent for seven days, but in English, their modern names have Norse influences (Thursday is Thors-Day). How did that come to be?

I began thinking about other things that seemingly made no logical sense:

What is the practical use of a tie and how did that become fashionable?

What is the practical use of high heels? And connected to that is that only a few hundred years ago men also wore heels as fashionable. When did that stop?

Then more and more things kept coming to me: If pasta is Chinese and tomatoes are from the New World, how did Spaghetti with tomatoes sauce become the stereotypical Italian dish?

Why is a keyboard set up the way it is?

Why is North up on a map?

Why is the leap day every 4 years on the last day of February and not December?

All these questions have answers, and some of you probably instantly know them, but I don’t, and I want to change that.

Who am I to create this blog?

A legitimate question.

I have an inquisitive mind and I ask questions of everything.

Beyond that, my name is Stephen McCoy, I have a Masters Degree in history, a Masters Degree in education and I am a published historian.  I have worked as a teacher, a librarian, and a researcher. I am also a huge fan of the Socratic Method.

My aim is to ask a question (or be given a question) about something around us that we tend to not think about. I will then go and research that topic and I will return and write about my findings, backed up with sources, citations, and links to more reading for the interested.

History is fascinating, almost more fascinating is the hidden history of the things we take for granted.