Fast Facts

Use the facts below as a starting point for your own research!


    Dinosaurs
  • If you want to discover dinosaurs, Canada is one of the best countries in which to start your search. Alberta's Dinosaur Provincial Park is the single richest fossil site in the world. Over 500 skeletons of 36 different kinds of dinosaurs have been discovered there!
  • For this fact and more, check out Breakout Dinosaurs by Hugh Brewster!
    The Stone Age
  • Did you know people in the Stone Age cleaned their teeth? The skeleton of a Paleolithic man found in England showed he cleaned his teeth regularly!
  • For this fact and more, check out Savage Stone Age by Terry Deary!
    The Aztec and Maya
  • Did you know Aztec writing is made up of pictograms? Aztecs told stories using pictures instead of words! The writing has survived in books written on bark known as codices.
  • For this fact and more, check out Ancient History by Joe Fullman!
    Ancient Africa
  • Did you know Zimbabwe means "house of stone" in the Shona language? Great Zimbabwe, an ancient city built around raising cattle and trading gold, contained many giant stone structures. The most impressive was the Great Enclosure, which may have been home to the city's royal family.
  • For this fact and more, check out Ancient History by Joe Fullman!
    Ancient Egypt
  • The Great Pyramid is a stone computer. If you take the lengths of the sides, and their heights and angles, you can calculate many different things. The Egyptians could use the Great Pyramid to work out the distance the Earth travels around the sun, and the speed of light. The Great Pyramid is also an observatory for watching and recording the movements of the stars, a calendar, and a sundial.
  • For these facts and more, check out Awesome Egyptians by Terry Deary!
    Ancient Greece
  • The ancient Greeks invented plays, the camera, the Olympic Games, and even history! There were also doctors and banks in ancient Greece but they were very different from those we have today.
  • For these facts and more, check out Groovy Greeks by Terry Deary!
    The Roman Empire
  • Did you know ancient Romans used to predict the future by feeding chickens? They would feed sacred chickens cake covered in seeds. It's a favourable omen if the chickens eat the cake, but a bad one if they refuse.
  • For these facts and more, check out Ruthless Romans by Terry Deary!
    Norse Mythology and the Vikings
  • The Vikings were great sailors who travelled the seas by longboat. They visited England, Ireland, Iceland, Greenland and even North America. In fact, Leif Erikson was the first European to visit North America, which he called Vinland.
  • For these facts and more, check out Vicious Vikings by Terry Deary!
    Medieval Times, Castles and Knights
  • Books in the medieval ages were written on dried sheepskin or dried calfskin. They were individually written using quill and ink, and then decorated with silver or gold. They were rare and valuable, sometimes even chained to their cases in libraries!
  • For these facts and more, check out Adventures in the Middle Ages by Linda Bailey!
    Pirates
  • Did you know that the familiar black-and-white skull and crossbones flag is called the Jolly Roger? The pirate flag was meant to inspire fear when it was sighted on the horizon. While the Jolly Roger is the most famous, many captains designed their own flags and they were often red.
  • For these and other interesting facts check out Pirates by John Matthews!