Murali Duggineni

Murali Duggineni

What’s in a month? How July got its name

The month of July is named after Julius Caesar. In the original Roman calendar, it was called Quintilis, meaning the fifth month, since the year began in March. In 44 BCE, after Caesar’s assassination, the Roman Senate officially renamed Quintilis…

Why nobles were called “blue bloods”

The term “blue blood” refers to someone of noble birth or aristocratic lineage and has a well-documented origin. Although commonly associated with British royalty, it first emerged in medieval Spain, where it was used to describe the pure-blooded nobility, especially…

Panchaganga Ghat – A riverfront of devotion and struggle

Panchaganga Ghat in Varanasi holds a unique place among the city’s revered riverfronts. Its name derives from the belief that five holy rivers—Ganga, Yamuna, Saraswati, Kirana, and Dhutapapa—once converged here, sanctifying it as a spiritual confluence even though only the Ganga flows physically through Varanasi…

How a wallpaper idea popped into Bubble Wrap

In 1957, Swiss inventor Marc Chavannes and American engineer Alfred Fielding tried to revolutionize interior décor with a new kind of textured plastic wallpaper. They used a heat-sealing technique to trap air between two plastic shower curtains, producing sheets of…