Showing results by author "iMinds" in All Categories

Learn about the Twelve Days of Christmas with iMindsJNR audio-learning series for younger minds.

For many, Christmas is not just a time of year but a whole period of festivities. You may have heard someone say that there are twelve days of Christmas. But did you know that they refer to the days after Christmas and not the days leading up to it?

Learn the history of the Magna Carta with iMinds insightful audio knowledge series. Magna Carta: the great document has become synonymous with the power of the people. A medieval English charter of 63 clauses, it has become one of the most famous legal documents in history. Those who wrote the American Declaration of Independence claimed to have been inspired by it.

Learn about the development of photography with iMindsJNR audio-learning series for younger minds. Before the photograph was invented, the best way to capture an image was by painting it. You can imagine how long that would take! In 1990, Kodak unveiled the first widely available digital camera. These days, through many advances in technology, we can store hundreds of images on a single camera, ready to print or upload onto a computer whenever we like. But how did we get from paintings to digital photography?

Uluru is the indigenous Australian name for an enormous rock formation found in central Australia. Made from sandstone, Uluru is a rock monolith or an ‘island mountain’, a formation that geologists refer to as a monadnock. It stands 318 m (986 ft) high and has a circumference of 8 km (5 miles). It is located 335 km (208 mi) south west of the nearest rural centre, the large town of Alice Springs.

The French Revolution came about because of a long-held displeasure at how the rich lived. While the rich lived comfortably, the common people were forced to pay taxes too high for them to pay. And there was not enough food produced for them to eat. French peasants became so impoverished that visitors to France said many of them were as skinny as skeletons.

Learn about the history of the British Houses of Parliament in London with iMinds Travel's insightful audio knowledge series. They are one of the most iconic sights in London. Situated on the shore of the River Thames, they have become an international symbol of Britain and national systems of government. The Houses of Parliament are both a captivating building to behold and an important historical monument.

Learn about the life and times of John F. Kennedy with iMindsJNR audio-learning series for younger minds. John Fitzgerald Kennedy, or JFK, was president of the United States of America from 1961 to 1963. From his unlikely rise to power at the age of 43 to his dramatic death at the hand of an assassin, his presidency marked a transformative and tumultuous period in American history.

Kennedy was America's first Catholic president.

Easter Island lies 3,700 km, or 2,299 from the nearest continent and is one of the most isolated places on the planet. Though it is so far removed from the rest of the world, Easter Island has more than its fair share of local history. Also commonly known as Rapa Nui, the island is probably most famous for the giant statues called Moai that populate the island, mainly near the shores. Mystery surrounds these enormous monoliths and they continue to baffle archaeologists trying to piece together the story of the Island.

Learn about the mystery of the Lost Dutchman’s Gold Mine with iMinds insightful knowledge series. The lost Dutchman’s gold mine is said to exist in the Superstitious Mountains in central Arizona in the southwest of the United States. Whether this mine actually exists or not is another question. Stories that tell of its discovery have taken on mythic proportion. According to legend, it is the largest gold mine in the world. To find it would beget an untold fortune. So who wouldn’t give it a try!

Learn about short selling with iMinds Money's insightful fast knowledge series. Short selling is the practice of selling borrowed stock at a high price and then buying back the stock at a lower price. A short seller expects to profit from the fall in a stock's price. The more common investment practice is to “go long”, that is, to buy stock with the expectation of the price rising in the future. Simply, a short transaction sells high and buys low, while a long transaction buys low and sells high.

Learn about Carbon Trading with iMinds Money's insightful fast knowledge series. Carbon trading is a scheme designed to curb the amount of greenhouse gas emissions companies produce. This is due to the widely-held view that such emissions negatively impact the planet. Carbon trading forms part of the carbon market, which can be divided into two main categories. The first of these is project-based transactions.

Learn about the history of the Dalai Lama with iMinds insightful knowledge series. The term ‘Dalai Lama’ refers to a lineage of religious leaders in Tibetan Buddhism in the region of Tibet. ‘Lama’ is a word which refers to a Tibetan Buddhist teacher; while ‘Dalai’ comes from the Tibetan word for ocean. So the term Dalai Lama can be interrupted as “ocean of wisdom”; which shows the confidence Tibetan Buddhists have in their leader.

Learn about the history of the amazing Eiffel Tower in Paris with iMinds Travel's insightful audio-knowledge series. It was once the tallest building in the world. Each year it attracts millions of visitors making it the worlds most visited paid monument. It is both a global icon and the symbol of an entire nation. Yet, it was actually intended to be taken down and sold as scrap metal just a few decades after its erection. We are talking about the Eiffel Tower; the postcard image of France and a modern engineering masterpiece.

Learn about the development of the Electric Car with iMinds insightful knowledge series. Imagine never having to go to the service station to fill up your car. And imagine owning a car that doesn’t pollute the planet. Such notions may seem fanciful, but to eco-conscious manufacturers they are goals to strive for!Electric vehicles, or EVs, are those which are powered by an electric motor that receives its current either from rechargeable storage batteries or other sources of electrical energy.

Home to the giant tortoises that gave them their name, the Galapagos Islands lie one thousand kilometres off the coast of mainland Ecuador. The famous group of islands remained untouched by humanity for thousands of years, being only charted in the seventeenth century. Two hundred years later the stunning wildlife provided Charles Darwin with the perfect place to work on his theory of evolution. Darwin’s book ‘The Origin of the Species’ was partially inspired by his trip to the Galapagos.

Learn about the Cold War with iMinds' JNR audio-learning series for younger minds. For nearly half of the 20th century, the two most powerful countries in the world were also two great enemies.The Cold War was a time of great tension between the United States and the Soviet Union, led by Russia. It lasted from the end of World War II in 1945 until about 1991. Russia was a communist country, and the U.S. was the largest capitalist country in the world. Their different ideas of government caused them to be extreme enemies.

Central Park is a haven for New Yorkers and a tourist’s paradise. Nestled among some of the tallest buildings in one of the most densely populated cities in the world, Central Park stretches out, taking up 840 acres of prime real estate. It is first and foremost an escape from the hustle and bustle of city life. Some may think the city was built around the park, but it is entirely man-made, a tribute to modern architecture and landscaping. And it might not exist today had the people of New York not fought for it for over 150 years.

Times Square stands proudly in the centre of New York City. Broadway meets Seventh Avenue in a place where tourists meet and fall in love with New York. The bright lights and billboards that seem to stretch on forever are just part of what makes Times Square so famous and so attractive. It is also the centre of New York’s famous Broadway theatre district and is the place where millions of people come together to bring in the New Year.

A compilation of diverse topics across our 12 categories. You will learn about the Seven Wonders of the World, the invention of the Internet, the history of the Boston Tea Party, the story of the Hollywood blacklist, the cultural phenomenon that is culture jamming, the exciting sport of Parkour, the natural beauty of the aurora borealis, the theory of behavioural economics, the history of the seven archangels, the story behind the Loch Ness monster, and more.

Imagine a sea of sparkling, clear blue water speckled with multicoloured coral. Imagine crabs, turtles, dugongs, sea snakes and hundreds of species of fish swimming among this coral. Now imagine this scene stretching out for more than two thousand kilometres, or 1240 miles! This is the Great Barrier Reef, which is so expansive it is said that if you dived along it every day of your life you would not see it all.