Fun Facts

When the Europeans took over many Africans nations past empires were lost and so was it’s history. But not long ago we found out about some of the toughest African Nations before the colonization. Here are those three.

Usman Dan Fodio, in 1800s, this man was a teacher and preacher, he would dedicate his life to teach others about the Islamic religion. He accused the king of Gobir which is the current Nigeria, of not practicing the true Islamic religion. Eventually his movement spread and he gained enough support to overthrow the King. He put his sons in charge of the lands and ruling, he kept teaching his philosophy about his religion. But severe pressure from the British empire paid off in 1903, when they took every land ruled by Usman.

Shaka, was born in 1787 from a father and mother of two rival tribes. It broke taboo in the lands that they lived in, which is current South Africa. His mother’s tribe persecuted Shaka for his mother’s sin. Shaka decided to join his father’s tribe where he took his place as chief after his death. He was angry at his mother’s tribe for casting him off. Soon he had collected a huge army, which would destroy nearby clans and would take their remaining members, a bit like the Aztecs of North America use to do. Eventually Shaka destroyed all the tribes in South Africa and his mother’s which he didn’t like. He let the Europeans colonize, thinking the South African culture would stay stronger. Soon after the death of his murder he went insane, in 1827. His top officers and two half brothers assassinated him. The Zulu family died off in 1879 to the British Forces.

Samory Toure, a west African reformer, religious leader, military commando, Toure, was a Muslim from the village of Mande, in what today is Guinea. He built a rich kingdom, in which he traded gold, ivory for arms and such. He was afraid of the French who were conquering the lands around his Kingdom, he had numerous conflicts with them. But in 1883 he let them control his kingdom but later in 1891 he attacked them. Eventually they took everything he had, he left to make a kingdom on a coastal land further south but he was captured and exiled in Gabon.

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If you ever been to a vacation into a nice touristic city, you must have spotted some street performers? Like jugglers, fire breathers and many more. Here are three that will just leave you drooling..

1- Sword Swallowing

Sword Swallowing is an ancient art that started long ago in Asia, more specifically in India. In India priests used it to show their invulnerability and their communication with god. Soon it spread all over the continent then it crossed over to Europe. It made it’s debut in America around 1817. It became very popular and was growing really fast. The art of swallowing a sword can be very hard to learn. You have to have complete control over your gag reflex and develop esophageal muscular strength to hold the sword still. The worries for these brave performers is not slicing your inside with the blade, because the blade is made dull so it doesn’t cut with the sides. But the edge can still damage your internal organs if not manipulated carefully. Even though of it’s popularity, currently there are only around 50 performers still remaining.

2- Juggling

Juggling is another amazing art to perform. It is the one where training pays of the most. You can always improve our timing, rhythm and mental state to juggle. It is said that the juggler is affected by all parts of his body, even those he does not use while juggling. The greatest assist a juggler could have is being ambidextrous. Perfect juggling comes alive when both your mind and body work cohesively and perfectly.

3- Mime

Street performers can invoke all kinds of emotions inside of us, they can make us drool, make us laugh or  just look in awe. Mime is the silent art of acting, it has three types French, Oriental and Italian. It began in the 1800s. Oriental mime is present in China and Japan, it’s more of theater drama and not what you would see in the west mime performances. The Italian version went into the circus industry, after years of transformations it became to what we now know as clowns. But the french one is the most known one. It requires great balance, control, strength, flexibility and coordination. All of those in one sweet clean crisp motion to create a physical illusion.

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By kids I mean preschoolers, they are sweet and adorable but sometimes you notice some common behavior in them. Such as doing what you tell them not to do, but there are many more of these psychological behaviors. Here are a few more of these..

1- Object Property

Kids don’t realize some basic stuff but one of the most notable things you might have noticed in small children is..If a child is hungry he will say “cut the pizza in lots of slices, I’m really hungry” or something along the lines. Other one is..if they have a dollar bill they will exchange it to you for nickels. This is because they can only focus on one property at a time. In the pizza example it’s the amount of slices, they could instead ask for just one but a big one, then they would be focusing on size. In the money example they think they have more objects then you so they are the ones benefiting from the exchange.

2- Egocentric

Preschoolers are egocentric, meaning they believe everyone shares their point of view. This can be easily spotted when playing hide n seek with a child. They will close their eyes in front of you and they will think you cannot see, like them. Also this one is a popular trick among psychologists, ask a small girl or a boy if they have a sister or brother (make sure they do), they will answer “Yes!” but if you ask them if their brother or sister has a sister or brother they will be confused. Egocentrism may also be seen when a child is watching TV they will go really close to it, they think if they see it perfectly others will too. You may also notice preschoolers talking to each other, one talks about something then when it’s the others turn they talk about something else. That too may be attributed to Egocentrism.

3- Identification

Imagine a kid’s father is dressed as Santa Clause and kisses his mother. The kid will believe Santa Clause kissed his mother and not his father. By around the age of four or five kids understand these situations and can analyze them properly.

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