The Lark - A geek blog

Armour in Japan has a history that goes back as far as the 4th century. Japanese armour developed enormously over the centuries since its introduction to the battlefield and warfare. Japanese  armour  is thought to have evolved from the armour used in  ancient China  and  Korea .  Cuirasses  and helmets were manufactured in  Japan  as early as the 4th century. Tankō, worn by foot soldiers and keikō, worn by horsemen were both pre-samurai types of early Japanese cuirass constructed from iron plates connected together by leather thongs. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_armour ------------------------------ Samurai were the military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan . In Japanese, they are usually referred to as bushi. According to translator William Scott Wilson : "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning "to wait upon", "accompany persons" in the upper ranks of s...

Golden Hind was an English galleon best known for her privateering circumnavigation of the globe between 1577 and 1580, captained by Sir Francis Drake . She was originally known as Pelican, but was renamed by Drake mid-voyage in 1578, in honour of his patron, Sir Christopher Hatton , whose crest was a golden 'hind' (a female red deer ). Hatton was one of the principal sponsors of Drake's world voyage. There is one full-size replica in existence in London, on the south bank of the Thames . https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Hind ------------------------------ Sir Francis Drake  ( c.  1540  – 28 January 1596 ) was an English  sea captain ,  slave trader , and  privateer  of the  Elizabethan era . Drake carried out the second  circumnavigation  of the world in a single expedition, from 1577 to 1580, and was the first to complete the voyage as captain while leading the expedition throughout the entire circumnavigation. With his i...

The Brandenburg Gate ( German : Brandenburger Tor) is an 18th-century neoclassical monument in Berlin , and one of the best-known landmarks of Germany . It is built on the site of a former city gate that marked the start of the road from Berlin to the town of Brandenburg an der Havel . It is located in the western part of the city centre of Berlin within Mitte , at the junction of Unter den Linden and Ebertstraße , immediately west of the Pariser Platz . One block to the north stands the Reichstag building , which houses the German parliament ( Bundestag ). The gate is the monumental entry to Unter den Linden, the renowned boulevard of linden trees, which led directly to the royal City Palace of the Prussian monarchs. Throughout its existence, the Brandenburg Gate was often a site for major historical events and is today considered not only as a symbol of the tumultuous history of Europe and Germany, but also of European unity and peace . https://en.wikipedia.org/wik...

RMS Titanic ( /taɪˈtænɪk/ ) was a British passenger liner that sank in the North Atlantic Ocean in the early morning of 15 April 1912, after colliding with an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York City . Of the 2,224 passengers and crew aboard, more than 1,500 died, making it one of the deadliest commercial peacetime maritime disasters in modern history. The largest ship afloat at the time it entered service, the RMS Titanic was the second of three Olympic class ocean liners operated by the White Star Line , and was built by the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast . Thomas Andrews , her architect, died in the disaster. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RMS_Titanic https://www.britannica.com/topic/Titanic

Armour in Japan has a history that goes back as far as the 4th century. Japanese armour developed enormously over the centuries since its introduction to the battlefield and warfare. Japanese armour is thought to have evolved from the armour used in ancient China and Korea . Cuirasses and helmets were manufactured in Japan as early as the 4th century. Tankō, worn by foot soldiers and keikō, worn by horsemen were both pre-samurai types of early Japanese cuirass constructed from iron plates connected together by leather thongs. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_armour ------------------------------ Samurai were the  military   nobility  and  officer   caste  of  medieval  and  early-modern   Japan . In Japanese, they are usually referred to as bushi. According to translator  William Scott Wilson : "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning "to wait upon", "accompany persons" in the uppe...

The development of tanks in World War I was a response to the stalemate that had developed on the Western Front . Although vehicles that incorporated the basic principles of the tank (armour, firepower, and all-terrain mobility) had been projected in the decade or so before the War, it was the heavy casualties sustained in the first few months of hostilities that stimulated development. Research took place in both Great Britain and France, with Germany only belatedly following the Allies' lead. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanks_in_World_War_I -------------------------------- Paper craft  is the collection of  art  forms employing  paper  or  card  as the primary  artistic medium  for the creation of three-dimensional objects. It is the most widely used material in arts and crafts. It lends itself to a wide range of techniques, as it can for instance be folded, cut, glued, molded, stitched, or layered.  Papermaking  by h...

The Colosseum or Coliseum (/kɒləˈsiːəm/ kol-ə-see-əm), also known as the Flavian Amphitheatre (Latin: Amphitheatrum Flavium; Italian: Anfiteatro Flavio [aŋfiteˈaːtro ˈflaːvjo] or Colosseo [kolosˈsɛːo]), is an oval amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy. Built of concrete and sand, it is the largest amphitheatre ever built. The Colosseum is situated just east of the Roman Forum. Construction began under the emperor Vespasian in AD 72, and was completed in AD 80 under his successor and heir Titus. Further modifications were made during the reign of Domitian (81–96). These three emperors are known as the Flavian dynasty, and the amphitheatre was named in Latin for its association with their family name (Flavius). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colosseum -------------------------------- Paper craft  is the collection of  art  forms employing  paper  or  card  as the primary  artistic medium  for the creation of three-dimens...

Bismarck was the first of two Bismarck-class battleships built for Nazi Germany 's Kriegsmarine . Named after Chancellor Otto von Bismarck , the primary force behind the unification of Germany in 1871 , the ship was laid down at the Blohm & Voss shipyard in Hamburg in July 1936 and launched in February 1939. Work was completed in August 1940, when she was commissioned into the German fleet. Bismarck and her sister ship Tirpitz were the largest battleships ever built by Germany, and two of the largest built by any European power. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_battleship_Bismarck -------------------------------- Paper craft  is the collection of  art  forms employing  paper  or  card  as the primary  artistic medium  for the creation of three-dimensional objects. It is the most widely used material in arts and crafts. It lends itself to a wide range of techniques, as it can for instance be folded, cut, glued, molded, s...