A History Of Just About Everything 180 Events, People And Inventions That Changed The World

To Sarah, Robin, Scott, Beth, Ben, Bon, Hannah and Mia and the spirit of adventure in them all — E.M. To my wonderful writing partner, Liz, and in memory of Aunt Helen, who made the world a better place — F.W. Acknowledgments With warmest thanks to our wise editor, Val Wyatt. We couldn’t have navigated the twists and turns of history without you! Big thanks to Qin Leng for her detailed and delightful illustrations. Many thanks to designer Julia Naimska for making the words and images look great together. Thanks to copy editor Kathy Vanderlinden, for her skillful copy editing, and the staff at Kids Can Press. Thanks to the many experts who helped answer our questions, including Jude Isabella. Special thanks to Elena Zanetti and Michael Steeves for their help and support. And with gratitude, as always, to Bill and Paul, who know just about everything! ISBN 978-1-77138-195-6 (PDF) Text © 2013 Elizabeth MacLeod and Frieda Wishinsky Illustrations © 2013 Qin Leng All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of Kids Can Press Ltd. or, in case of photocopying or other reprographic copying, a license from The Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency (Access Copyright). For an Access Copyright license, visit www.accesscopyright.ca or call toll free to 1-800-893-5777. Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book and Kids Can Press Ltd. was aware of a trademark claim, the designations have been printed in initial capital letters (e.g., Mercedes-Benz). Kids Can Press acknowledges the financial support of the Government of Ontario, through the Ontario Media Development Corporation’s Ontario Book Initiative; the Ontario Arts Council; the Canada Council for the Arts; and the Government of Canada, through the CBF, for our publishing activity. Published in Canada by Kids Can Press Ltd. 25 Dockside Drive Toronto, ON M5A 0B5 Published in the U.S. by Kids Can Press Ltd. 2250 Military Road Tonawanda, NY 14150 www.kidscanpress.com The artwork in this book was rendered in pen and watercolor. Edited by Valerie Wyatt Designed by Julia Naimska Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication MacLeod, Elizabeth A history of just about everything : 180 events, people and inventions that changed the world / written by Elizabeth MacLeod and Frieda Wishinsky ; illustrated by Qin Leng. Includes index. ISBN 978-1-55453-775-4 1. World history — Miscellanea — Juvenile literature. 2. Civilization — Juvenile literature. 3. Inventions — History — Juvenile literature. I. Wishinsky, Frieda II. Leng, Qin III. Title. D20.M32 2013 j909 C2012-907765-8 Contents A walk through history ...................................... 7 ca 6 000 000 BCE First humans appear .............. 8 ca 400 000 BCE Fire discovered.......................... 9 ca 50 000 BCE Language developed ..................10 ca 40 000 BCE First cave paintings ....................10 ca 8000 BCE Humans begin farming .................11 ca 8000 BCE Last big Ice Age ends ....................12 ca 7000 BCE First cities appear ..........................12 ca 3500 BCE Horses first ridden.........................13 ca 3500 BCE Wheel invented .............................14 ca 3500 BCE Plow invented................................14 ca 3500 BCE Sail invented .................................15 ca 3200 BCE