Cricket History

Did you know Benjamin Franklin served as America's first postmaster? For Colonial America, Franklin contributioned to the development of a modern and efficient postal service, finding more direct routes and establishing standard mail rates.

This funny story investigates the mystery of the step pyramid of Djoser in Egypt. But beware: a pharaoh's tomb built in the desert millennia ago can still trap a clumsy explorer! If you were stuck in the dark with scorpions and snakes for company, what would you do?

Thomas Edison first developed direct current for New York City, but was challenged by Nikola Tesla, who believed his alternating current was a better solution.

For thousands of years, people have been using the engineering design process.

No one knows for sure just how the ancient Egyptians built the Great Pyramid of Giza, which is taller than the Statue of Liberty. How could an ancient civilization have achieved this engineering feat? Perhaps the solution to this mystery can be answered with simple machines!

In 1953, Boy Scouts aboard a passenger train in New Zealand face death when a bridge over a river is washed out. This true story depicts the Tangiwai disaster and how one boy’s quick thinking helps to save friends and passengers. The tragedy resulted in early warning systems on Mount Rauapehu to alert travelers to potential danger.

How did forgetting to wash a jar make cars safer? A scientist named Édouard Bénédictus accidentally dropped a plastic-coated flask that did not break. This invention was tested and engineered to help today's windshields protect drivers better.

When Thomas Edison was a boy, he loved performing experiments and coming up with new inventions. His curiosity sometimes got him in trouble, though, like when he accidentally burned down his dad’s barn! By the time he turned 12, he had found ways to make a living by learning how to print newspapers and send telegraphs in Detroit, Michigan. Imagine what he did as an adult!

On a chilly day in 1947, a Japanese inventor named Momofuku Ando observed people waiting out in the cold for a hot meal. He dreamed of bringing fast-cooking noodles to the whole world. And he did—with ramen noodles! Sometimes the simplest inventions are the best!

It was once common for children to work at jobs with little pay. Then a photographer named Lewis Hine urged this dangerous practice stop to with the power of his camera and the assistance of lawmakers. Learn more about the history of child labor in the United States and how it became outlawed.

Did you know that in the late nineteenth century, the United States military used bikes to travel from one place to another? They were a new invention and a quicker way to travel than walking. Lieutenant James Moss and twenty soldiers tested the durability of bikes by traveling through six states from the West to the Midwest to prove its usability in the military.

Aluminum was once more valuable than gold. A breakthrough in refining aluminum from rock transformed it from rare matter to sandwich wrapper. In this science story, you'll learn how two chemists, Charles Hall and Paul Héroult, solved the problem.

Native Americans like Squanto provided good fortune for the Pilgrims of colonial America. During this period, tensions were high between Europeans and the Native Americans in present-day Massachusetts. Squanto, Samoset, and Hobbamock served as interpreters and ambassadors, establishing peaceful alliances between these two groups.

Philadelphia was a noisy and lively city in Colonial America. In this story, you can just imagine being surrounded by the influence of various cultures, the smells of food in the city and the sounds of craftsmen hard at work.

In Colonial America, the port city of Philadelphia offered more opportunities for women like Rebecca Jones, a Quaker spinster and schoolteacher.

Union Colonel Thomas E. Rose was captured in a Civil War battle and thrown in the brutal and secure Libby Prison. He quickly realizes that tunneling out is the only way to escape and joins forces with Major A. G. Hamilton to begin digging to freedom.

Do you know the Confederacy had a navy during the Civil War? The CSS Shenandoah plundered Union ships in order to disrupt their commerce. Because they were out at sea, though, they never heard that the Confederates had surrendered, and they continued to fight! Learn about how these sailors were the last Confederate force to surrender.

Injured by a cannonball, James Edward Hanger was the first amputee of the Civil War. Determined to find a better solution than a peg leg, he worked to develop his own artificial limb company. He even continued working past retirement, providing Hanger Limbs for victims of World War I.

America's path to revolution was paved by the great discussions of the Continental Congress, which gathered to address grievances against Great Britain. Adamant that the Colonies remain under British rule, King George III fueled the flames of American independence.

Many immigrants of various cultures have passed through the port city of Philadelphia before they adapted to the New World. William Penn guaranteed religious freedom to newcomers, which brought many persecuted peoples, such as Quakers, Mennonites, and refugees to the area, and that's only a smart part of the story of Philadelphia.