Get smarter with Carrera 7416 eyeglasses

mamabear1 · #1 (**permalink**) 02-09-2009, 10:13 AM

After buying my Carrera #7416 glasses, reading became so enjoyable that I picked up a book about the 7 wonders of the world.

Alexander the Great had seventeen cities named after him. Most of them are no longer around except for Alexandria, Egypt. This city is where the Lighthouse of Alexandria stood. Alexander died in 323 B. C. The city was completed by Ptolemy Soter, the new ruler of Egypt. The city soon became rich. The city needed a symbol and a mechanism to guide the trade ships into its harbor. Ptolemy started building the lighthouse in 290 B.C. It was completed 20 years later and was the first lighthouse of the world. It was also the tallest building with the exception of the Great Pyramid.

A man named Sostrates of Knidos designed the lighthouse. He thought it needed to have his name carved in the foundation. But Ptollemy II, who ruled after his father, refused and wanted his own name carved in. Sostrates, being a clever man, had this inscription put on the lighthouse: SOSTRATES SON OF DEXIPHANES OF KNIDOS ON BEHALF OF ALL MARINERS TO THE SAVIOR GODS. Then he covered it with plaster. Then they put Ptolemy's name into the plaster. As years passed, the plaster chipped away, leaving Sostrates declaration.

The lighthouse was built on the island of Pharos. 'Pharos' became the word 'lighthouse' in French, Italian, Spanish, and Romanian languages.

In the 10th century A.D., the lighthouse stood about 300 cubits high. That means that the lighthouse stood between 450 to 600 feet high. Wow!

This lighthouse was designed differently than modern lighthouses. It was more like a 20th century sky scraper. There were three stages which were piled on top of each other. The lowest level was about 200 feet square and was shaped like a huge box. The blocks on which the lighthouse was built were marble. There was a staircase in the lighthouse that led the keepers to the beacon chamber. In there, was a curved mirror. It was used to project a fire's light into a beam. Ships could detect the beam from the tower at night or the smoke from it could be seen during the day from up to 100 miles away.

I bet you're wondering what happened to the world's first lighthouse. Most accounts say that, like other ancient buildings, it was probably the victim of an earthquake. It stood for 1,500 years but was damaged by tremors in 365 and 1303 A.D. The final collapse came in 1326.

I'm sure these new Carrera's will make me smarter!

Enzo · #2 (**permalink**) 01-17-2012, 10:32 PM

Those are so nice!

Railfan · #3 (**permalink**) 01-18-2012, 10:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mamabear1

After buying my Carrera #7416 glasses, reading became so enjoyable that I picked up a book about the 7 wonders of the world.

Alexander the Great had seventeen cities named after him. Most of them are no longer around except for Alexandria, Egypt. This city is where the Lighthouse of Alexandria stood. Alexander died in 323 B. C. The city was completed by Ptolemy Soter, the new ruler of Egypt. The city soon became rich. The city needed a symbol and a mechanism to guide the trade ships into its harbor. Ptolemy started building the lighthouse in 290 B.C. It was completed 20 years later and was the first lighthouse of the world. It was also the tallest building with the exception of the Great Pyramid.

A man named Sostrates of Knidos designed the lighthouse. He thought it needed to have his name carved in the foundation. But Ptollemy II, who ruled after his father, refused and wanted his own name carved in. Sostrates, being a clever man, had this inscription put on the lighthouse: SOSTRATES SON OF DEXIPHANES OF KNIDOS ON BEHALF OF ALL MARINERS TO THE SAVIOR GODS. Then he covered it with plaster. Then they put Ptolemy's name into the plaster. As years passed, the plaster chipped away, leaving Sostrates declaration.

The lighthouse was built on the island of Pharos. 'Pharos' became the word 'lighthouse' in French, Italian, Spanish, and Romanian languages.

In the 10th century A.D., the lighthouse stood about 300 cubits high. That means that the lighthouse stood between 450 to 600 feet high. Wow!

This lighthouse was designed differently than modern lighthouses. It was more like a 20th century sky scraper. There were three stages which were piled on top of each other. The lowest level was about 200 feet square and was shaped like a huge box. The blocks on which the lighthouse was built were marble. There was a staircase in the lighthouse that led the keepers to the beacon chamber. In there, was a curved mirror. It was used to project a fire's light into a beam. Ships could detect the beam from the tower at night or the smoke from it could be seen during the day from up to 100 miles away.

I bet you're wondering what happened to the world's first lighthouse. Most accounts say that, like other ancient buildings, it was probably the victim of an earthquake. It stood for 1,500 years but was damaged by tremors in 365 and 1303 A.D. The final collapse came in 1326.

I'm sure these new Carrera's will make me smarter!

I don't know why there's a post about lighthouses on Lens 101, but I guess it was interesting. Here's a picture of my favorite. Gibb's Hill lighthouse in Bermuda.