But why?
1. The Hundred Years war is the name given to the series of on and off warfare fought between the kings of England and France, from 1337 to 1453. The war consisted of sieges, raids, sea and land battles, and long periods truce. The war shaped the way the time period ended and the way western Europe looks today.
2. Despite its name, the famous "Panama hat" did not originate in Panama at all, but in Ecuador, where a thriving hat-weaving industry utilizes the leaves of Carludovica palmata. It takes six young leaves from C. palmata, commonly referred to as the "Panama hat palm," to make one hat. Panama hats are also manufactured in Mexico and other areas of tropical America where C. palmata grows.
3. Catgut, the name applied to cord of great toughness and tenacity prepared from the intestines of sheep, or occasionally from those of the horse, mule and ass. Those of the cat are not employed, and therefore it is supposed that the word is properly kitgut, a mistranslation of the German "kitgut" meaning a small fiddle, and it's use of such strings.
4. The October Revolution, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was the second phase of the Russian Revolution, the first having been instigated by the events around the February Revolution. This began on October 25, 1917 by the Julian calendar still in use in Russia at the time; November 7 by the current Gregorian calendar.
5. Camel's-hair brushes are not made of camel's hair, but are named after the inventor, Mr. Camel.
6. The Canary Islands are an archipelago of seven islands of volcanic origin in the Atlantic Ocean, off the northwestern coast of Africa. The name comes from the Latin Insularia Canaria meaning Island of the Dogs.
7. George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George Windsor, formerly Wettin) was born on 14 December 1895 at York Cottage, on the Sandringham Estate, Norfolk. His father was Prince George, Duke of York (later King George V). His mother was Her Royal Highness The Duchess of York (later Queen Mary). Albert chose to take the name George to become King George VI. His decision not to rule as King Albert was partly to follow King Edward VII precedent of not taking the name Albert, and also to follow his father's name and restore confidence in the monarchy.
8. Purple Finches are named for the raspberry-red color of the males. The raspberry color is deepest on the head, nape, face, throat, breast, flanks, and rump. The hindneck, back, and scapular feathers are deep red streaked with brown. Wings and tail are brown and the belly and undertail coverts are white.
Females are quite different, lacking any red color. The head is pale brown, with fine dark streaks, and a dark ear patch separating a broad white uprecilium and a white moustache stripe.
9. Chinese Gooseberries are more commonly known as Kiwifruit. The kiwifruit 'Actinidia Deliciosa' belongs to the berry family of fruits and is descended from a wild Chinese vine, ZESPRI™ GREEN Kiwifruit, or the Hayward variety, was nurtured in New Zealand in the early 20th century. Many kiwifruit varieties grow wild in China, but the Hayward variety proved superior in hardiness, with a notably long shelf life, attributes that have made it the most commercially grown kiwifruit variety in the world. When first marketed in the early 1960s, green kiwis were known as Chinese Gooseberries. However as kiwifruit exports grew, the fruit was renamed "kiwifruit" after New Zealand's national bird, the brown flightless kiwi.
10. The flight data recorder (FDR) refers generically to a class of recorders used to record specific aircraft peformance parameters. The term is also sometimes used to include the Cockpit voice recorder (CVR). Although popularly known to be used for aircraft mishap analysis, the FDR is also used to study air safety issues, material degradation, and jet engine performance. An FDR is often referred to as a "black box". The term "black box" is borrowed from engineering, and refers to a device whose inputs can be manipulated, and whose outputs can be observed, but whose internal mechanisms are unknown.
