You indeed didn't know this. Yes, you didn't know this. Or did you?

1 - When did they start naming streets?
Depending on where you are from, one thing we now take for granted is the fact that our
streets, roads and avenues have names. But how far back in the past would we have to go to
find the first instance of such a practice? The early modern period? Maybe the Middle Ages?
The first attestations of proper names given to streets are from the Akkadian context, dating
back to the 2nd millennium BC.
In the tablets of the Sippar archive, various documents of a public and private nature report
the names of the city's streets. An account that mentions the taxes owed by an individual
named Sin-Remenni describes him as a resident of Akitum Street, "New Year's Feast Street,"
which, from its name, could have been the processional street that connected the temple of
Shamash with the sanctuary outside the walls.
Some streets in the city were named after gods, perhaps due to the presence of a sacred
building dedicated to the god. In Sippar, a Nimin Street, an Ishtar Street, and a Lamashtu
Street are attested.
Other streets seemed to take their name based on a specific resident, who could be
responsible for the maintenance of the street or simply the most prominent person who owned
properties there. In a property location document, a house building is described as adjacent to
the house of Su-Ninsun, and also to "Su-Ninsun Street."
Who invented the first ship/boat?
Images to use (canoe 1, canoe museum, expert testing the canoe 1, expert testing the canoe 2,
reconstructino of WHG 2, reconstructino of WHG, reconstructino of WHG 3, )
The first archaeologically documented watercraft is the Pesse canoe, a small boat found in the
Netherlands and dated to the Mesolithic period, roughly between 8040 and 7510 BC.
Considering the chronological period and the place of discovery, the creators of the Pesse
canoe must have belonged to the genetic group called WHG (Western Hunter-Gatherer),
which populated Western, Central, and Southern Europe during the Mesolithic era. The
WHG belonged to a phenotype that is no longer present today, characterized by light eyes,
dark hair, and dark complexion (we don't know HOW dark the complexion was, probably it
varied greatly
The Pesse canoe must have been made with horn and flint tools, carved from a single Scots
pine trunk, and for this reason, it is defined as a monoxylon vessel (from the Greek
mono/single + xylon/tree). The dimensions of the boat are 2 meters and 98 centimeters in
length and 44 centimeters in width.
Although doubts have been raised about the actual functionality of the Pesse canoe, a
reproduction made by archaeologist Jaap Beuker and tested by professional canoeist Mark
Jan Dielemans has proven to be capable of navigating in a river environment.
When was the first bank opened?
Images to use (tablet from the temple of Shamash in Sippar, Babylonia at the time of
Hammurabi)
the Knights Templar operated a primitive form of banking in the 12th and 13th centuries.
Some key points about Templar banking:
• The Templars accumulated significant wealth through donations, bequests, and their
own economic activities. This allowed them to develop financial services.
• Pilgrims traveling to the Holy Land could deposit funds at a Templar commandery in
their home country and withdraw the equivalent sum upon arrival in the Levant,
avoiding the need to carry money on the dangerous journey. This was an early form of
traveler's check.
• The Templars made loans, although the Catholic Church's ban on usury meant they
could not openly charge interest. Instead, fees and rent on mortgaged properties
provided a form of disguised interest.
• Templar commanderies operated independently but were linked through messengers
and a primitive system of letters of credit, forming a loose network of financial
institutions across Christendom.
• Templars acted as treasurers for some European monarchs and nobles, administering
royal finances and arranging international transfers of funds.
So while not "banks" in the modern sense, the Templars innovated important early banking
functions like traveler's checks, mortgages, letters of credit, and depository services that
supported economic activity and mobility in medieval Europe up until the order's suppression
in 1312. Their financial legacy was an important step in the evolution of modern banking.
The first structures that combine the activity of deposit and lending, the two characteristic
elements of the banking system, are the temples that emerged in the ancient Near East within
the Sumerian culture.

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