We now start off another floor of items, complete with some new overworld music, new homework and a slightly different background. Let's dig in!
Filament - Menlo Park, 1879
The prolific inventor Thomas Alva Edison, also known as New Jersey's "Wizard of Menlo Park," began his quest to perfect the light blub in 1879, after tiring of the flickering light and funny smells from old, dangerous gas lamps. Learning of a similar invention in Europe, Edison tried over 200 types of material in his seemingly endless quest to find a long-burning filament. Eventually, he discovered that carbonized bamboo was the perfect material.
Although best remembered as the inventor of the incandescent light bulb, Edison also brought us, among other inventions, the photographs, the alkaline battery, and motion pictures. Edison is also credited with owning more patents than anyone else in history, receiving more than 1000 in his lifetime. Later in life he was quoted as saying, "Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration."
Printing Block - Gobi Desert, 1292
When Marco Polo was born in the Italian trading port of Venice, about 1254 A.D., the Western world knew little of the Far East. Marco's father, Niccolo, and uncle, Maffeo, were merchants who happened among the Eastern capital of the Chinese emperor Kublai Khan in 1266. When the Polos set out again for China in 1271, they took 17-year-old Marco with them. A journey of more than 3 years, including a crossing of the Gobi Desert, brought them to Kublai Khan's capital at Cambuluc (now Beijing).
The Khan took a liking to Marco and employed him for 17 years in enterprises all over Asia. Marco discovered wonders unknown in Europe; including paper money, coal, spectacles, and fireworks. The Polos finally returned to Venice in 1295 after escorting a Mongolian princess to the Khan of Persia. Back home, Marco was captured during a war between Venice and Genoa. While imprisoned, he wrote of his travels in "The Book of Marco Polo," which remained Europe's main source of information on Asia for the next 500 years.
Scroll - Athens, 369 B.C.
The methods by which we seek an understanding of our world, our universe, and ourselves are believed to have been created by the great thinkers and teachers of ancient Greece. One of the most noted philosophers was plato. In 387 B.C. he founded what is said to be the first university. Known as "The Academy," this school survived for over 900 years. There Plato taught his students through a "dialogue" of questions and answers. He learned this so called "Socratic" method of instruction from his own teacher, Socrates.
One of Plato's students, Aristotle, became a great philosopher-scientist himself. Plato examined such questions and ideas as "What is wisdom?", "What is truth?," and "What is the best form of government?" The teachings of Plato have influenced Western civilization for 24 centuries. His ideas are found in his many great works, including "The Republic," in which he contended that the best form of government would be a meritocracy of ruling philosophers.
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