Showing posts with label Where. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Where. Show all posts

Sunday, October 21, 2007

Where was the first roller coaster set up?

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The earliest roller coaster was the Russian winter sled ride, set up in specially constructed hills of ice around Petersburg. It was built in the 17th century. The slides were built to a height of 70 to 80 feet and consisted of a 50-degree drop duly reinforced by wooden supports. The first roller coaster per se was created in Paris in 1804 which was named ‘The Russian Mountains’.

Where was the first spa?

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The word spa originates from the Belgian town of Spa, where since mediaeval times, those with iron deficiency illnesses were given iron-rich spring water. This was perhaps the world’s first spa. The concept of medicinal bathing later made its way to England, most notably to the town of Bath. An Englishman William Slingsby discovered a spring in Yorkshire, in which he created an enclosed well. It came to known as Harrogate, which was the UK’s first resort for medicinal water. Later, another Englishman named Timothy Bright called his resort ‘The English Spaw’ (after the Belgian town), which was when the word became synonymous with a place for medicinal treatments and relaxation.

When and where was the first newspaper published?

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Acta Diurna’ was the first newspaper published in Rome, around 59 BC. In 1605, the first printed weekly newspaper to be published in Antwerp was called Relation. Johann Carolus (1575-1634) was the publisher of the Relation aller Furnemmen und gedenckwurdigen Historien (Collection of all Distinguished and Commemorable News). The `Relation’ is recognised by the World Association of Newspapers, as well as many authors, as the world’s first newspaper. The German Relation was published in Strasbourg, which had the status of an imperial free city in the holy Roman empire of the German nation.