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The invention of Chocolate The word chocolate conjures sweet sensations in the minds of young and old. We have never pondered to find out how this confectionery as we know it today had its origin. The word "chocolate" comes from the Classical Nahuatl word chocolātl, and entered the English language from the Spanish language. This is an attempt to unravel the mysteries of this invention and also to look at some of its lesser known facts. History dates its invention to the Mesoamericans. It is believed by the Aztecs that these were given to them by their God of wisdom Quetzalcotyl and were brewed from cocao seeds. Their belief went to the extent that they were considered valuable as to be used as currency. For more info visit: https://www.youtube.com/theopenbook

Operation Flood The name Operation Flood may sound like disaster management but in reality it is nothing but the revolution brought about in the dairy industry. Here we look at theperson behind this revolution and the lesser known facts about it. Dr. Varghese Kurien fondly referred as the milkman of India is the brain behind this. Born in a Syrian Christian family in Kerala he pursued his education in Chennai and then in the Michigan State University. Interestingly he did not pursue dairy engineering but his passion which was metallurgy and physics. For more info visit: https://www.youtube.com/theopenbook

The Industrial Revolution in Europe ushered in an era of machine made goods and scope for markets. In order that the never ending demand for raw materials and also markets where these goods could be sold at cheap prices the European countries started their quest for territorial expansion. Over a period of time this turned out to be a competition as to who could colonize and govern better. For more info visit: https://www.youtube.com/theopenbook

The war that shattered the World The world faced a watershed between the years 1914 and 1918. The war that took place was a war that was unprecedented in size, numbers and also destruction. Popularly known as the First World War this brought along with it the fall of some major empires in Europe. In this video we attempt to recapitulate the events that led to the war and the far reaching consequences it had on the world. What were the reasons of a war of this nature to occur is the first question that needs to be answered. Let us look at the causes of the war. The immediate cause of the war was the killing of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Serbia in July 1914. For more info visit: https://www.youtube.com/theopenbook

The Travels of Marco Polo Born in Venice in 1254 Marco polo travelled with his father and uncle to Asia and chronicled his travels. He jocularly said “I did not write half of what I saw, for I knew I would not be believed” In this video we explore his life as a sailor and bring to light some lesser known facts about this seafarer. He left for Asia when he was hardly seventeen years old probably the youngest to take up a voyage of this magnitude and proportion. For more info visit: https://www.youtube.com/theopenbook

The war that shattered the World The world faced a watershed between the years 1914 and 1918. The war that took place was a war that was unprecedented in size, numbers and also destruction. Popularly known as the First World War this brought along with it the fall of some major empires in Europe. In this video we attempt to recapitulate the events that led to the war and the far reaching consequences it had on the world. What were the reasons of a war of this nature to occur is the first question that needs to be answered. Let us look at the causes of the war. For more info visit: https://www.youtube.com/theopenbook

The tale of the tea party The Boston Tea Party is a well known incident in the annals of American history. All that people know is that crates of tea were thrown out by Americans upset with the British colonial policy of taxing imported goods. That however is only one part of the story. There are some interesting facts attached to this episode. Here we look at the background to the incident and also the lesser known actual course of events. Why did the incident take place is the first question to be answered. It was well known that colonial exploitation was its height at this time and the British reveled in finding ways and means to augment their revenue especially that of the East India Company. For more info visit: https://www.youtube.com/theopenbook