Children's Knowledge Bank (Set Of 4 Books)

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Where was the potter's wheel invented? The potter's wheel has always fascinated people. Many children have not seen a potter working. Do you know how these wheels were invented and where? In the beginning, the pots were shaped by hand out of wet clay. Turning the raw lumps of earth on a wheel was developed later. The potter's wheel was invented in Sumeria, Babylon and also elsewhere in The Near East around 3000 BC. Clay pots had already been made for over 5000 years, but they were crude and broke easily. Making pottery items on a potter's wheel is a craft that requires a lot of skill. The potter needs skill not only in spinning the wheel and shaping the pot with his hands, but also in firing the pot in a kiln to harden it. Potters also learned how to glaze (coat) pots with various substances to make the pots stronger and more decorative and beautiful. The invention of the potter's wheel led to one of the first industries in the world - pottery. In earlier days, a skillful potter could make enough pots to exchange them for food and other goods, or sell them for money. Nowadays, potters make pots from clay to sell them in exchange for money. Pots now come in various shapes and sizes and patterns. Some examples of pottery have been recovered from the ruined cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum that were buried under volcanic ash when the volcano Vesuvius (near Naples, Italy) erupted in 79 AD. Examples of amphorae (big pottery jars) containing remnants of what was once wine, have been salvaged from ancient sunken ships discovered at the bottom of the Aegean Sea. Pottery shards and even some intact examples of pottery have been found at almost all archaeological sites the world over. This proves that knowledge of pottery extended to much of the ancient world. How do spectacles help in clear vision? We often come across people wearing spectacles. Wherever we go, it is possible to spot a person with spectacles within a moment. Anyone with weak eyesight uses spectacles. These days, there are spectacles available which help in viewing both near and far objects. Nowadays, lenses that fit externally over the cornea of the eyes are often used in place of spectacles. These are known as 'contact lenses'. These lenses can be of different colours and are used by those who do not want to wear spectacles, especially the youngsters. The use of spectacles started over 700 years ago. In 1266, Roger Bacon of England used a piece of glass to magnify the words written in a book. This glass piece was cut out of a spherical ball of glass. Salvino D'Armate of Italy is credited with inventing the first wearable eyeglasses, around 1284.