stackyFACTSThere is no profound reasoning behind the 'X' we use for math. An early researcher literally just took the standard cross symbol used for addition and rotated it diagonally because he ran out of neat geometric shapes to use in his algebraic notebook.
Keep exploring facts in this topic.
History →STACKY FOR IPHONEKeep discovering with Stacky. Interesting facts in an app that is always within reach.
Navigating a probe across the entire solar system apparently does not require supercomputers. The initial gravity-assist trajectories that slung these famous…
Discover more
Doing taxes in the seventeenth century required serious arm strength. Pascal invented a gear-driven box that could add and subtract via a complex series of…
Discover more
The greatest technological leap in mankind's history was double-checked with a fancy ruler. Engineers lacked sufficient computer terminals, so they physically…
Discover more
Leonhard Euler viewed losing his eyesight as nothing more than a minor logistical annoyance. When cataracts left him entirely blind, the legendary…
Discover more
Before anyone figured out how to scribble digits on parchment, they were violently sliding wooden beads on rods. The abacus was the original high-speed…
Discover more
Because simply counting days is for amateurs, Mayan timekeepers decided their year needed a little apocalyptic spice. The Haab calendar featured 18 months of…
Discover more