But first, we need to finish two thousand nineteen.
Doesn’t it give you the chills? We’re only 19 years into the the 21st century – we’re such babies!
In less than a year we will be in the 20s again. Just like some people back in 1919 thought, and in 1819, and in 1719, and so on. What do you think will be achieved in the 2020s – personally and globally? Personally, I want the flapper style to come back. Not likely, but at least flares and bell bottoms have made a comeback! When it comes to global goals, there is so much I’m hoping we can all achieve together: stricter gun laws, more effort to be sustainable in the home and in businesses, and maybe, just maybe, we can land on Mars.
But let’s turn back time and sneak a peek into the past. Even though we continue to encounter a lot of hurdles, we still have come a long way. I thought it would be fun to discover highlights and achievements throughout history (in the 20s of course) . If you’re curious, sources are from Wikipedia that I’ve posted at the end of the post.
Let’s begin…
1020s: Laws are codified in England. Getting organized. In Asia, we created the first paper-printed money. Lastly, the “Book of Healing” was published. And get this:
It wasn’t about medicine at all, but it contributed to geology and paleontology with ideas that would still be considered radical 800 years later.
1120s: The son and heir of Henry I (the absolute first!) died while trying to save his illegitimate half sister. I’d like to more about this. Also, latitude and longitude were created to measure the Earth. I’m actually surprised it was this early. Didn’t think they the Earth was still flat?
1220: Okay, so I didn’t even know this was a thing but Trial by Ordeal is abolished in England. What is it you say?
Trial by ordeal was an ancient judicial practice by which the guilt or innocence of the accused was determined by subjecting them to a painful, or at least an unpleasant, usually dangerous experience. The test was one of life or death, and the proof of innocence was survival.
Genghis Khan also conquered an empire. Get a little bit Genghis Khan here.
1320s: A Count married an 8 year old. Scandalous. Speaking of romance, Petrarch wrote a series of sonnets that influenced the Renaissance. All because he saw a pretty lady in a church!
I just realized we aren’t in the Americas yet.
1420s: Remember the paper currency in China? Apparently it’s only worth 0.025% of what it was worth back then, so now they are using silver. In Switzerland, this is where the first witch hunts begin, and in France, Joan of Arc kicks some butt.
1520s: Magellan set sail, Luther starts burning papers and was summoned to the Diet of Worms. Wait, what?
The Diet of Worms was an imperial diet (assembly) of the Holy Roman Empire called by King Charles V.
Oh no! The books of Avicenna (the author that wrote the “Book of Healing”) had his books burned by some jerk!
1620s: The first merry-go-round was built in Turkey and a sign alphabet for the deaf was created. The Dutch discovered the Laws of Refraction, and the Mayflower sets sail for England and reaches Cape Cod. Hello New World!
1720s: Jonathan Swift starts writing Gulliver’s Travels, Isaac Newton gloats about how he discovered the theory of gravity, the Comet of 1729 is seen (the largest comet ever seen), and Europe has its last major plague killing 10,000. But at least it was the last!
Also, a lot more history was recorded because these pages are getting very long…
1820s: Antarctica is discovered. Hello penguins! Coffee is no longer banned in Sweden – how did they even function?! The friction match was invented – guess what they called it? Lucifer! The hieroglyphic code was was cracked. Lastly, this decade gave us the oldest taken photograph:
Instagram wouldn’t be here without you.
1920s: Women can vote in the US now! A mere 300 years after colonizing the new world. Here come the Flappers! This decade also brought us the first television, movie soundtracks, the electric razor, and penicillin was discovered.
Oh, there is so much more. But I’ll end it here: we were introduced to Walt Disney’s, Mickey Mouse, in their first short film.
2020s: What will the 2020s bring for us?
Now that we got social media out of the way in the 2010s, I think the 2020s will be the decade of smart home devices and other robotics – but that is just technology! Many new inventions and discoveries are happening every single minute of the day and it’s impossible to keep up at this momentum. All I can say at this point is, I’m excited. I’m excited to see what the world brings us, and more importantly, what I can bring to the world.
Sources
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The “Book of Healing”:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Book_of_Healing
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Trial by Ordeal: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trial_by_ordeal
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Diet of Worms: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diet_of_Worms
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Oldest photograph: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1820s#/media/File:View_from_the_Window_at_Le_Gras,_Joseph_Nicéphore_Niépce.jpg
Simply Kayla 
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