Of all the world’s democracies, Switzerland has the most extensive elements of direct democracy. The historical roots of this political structure lie in the country’s relatively well-developed educational system, and the rural uprisings of the 19th century.

The Swiss artist Karl Bodmer took part in the North American expedition of Prince Maximilian zu Wied-Neuwied in 1832. Bodmer recorded his impressions in some 400 drawings and watercolours, which are still considered today to be the best and most important depictions of the vanished Native American culture along the Missouri.

‘A sturdy, high-performance assistant for all four types of calculation, right there in your pocket’, promised the sales brochure. The world’s smallest handheld mechanical calculator was made in Liechtenstein.

Due to the new lockdown of the museums, Hibou Pèlerin has been forced to take a compulsory break. He is using this time to read some new publications on cultural history. A brand new world history of the museum by Krzysztof Pomian has him riveted.

About 100 years ago, Carl Zweifel designed a wooden construction kit for children. The toy became a massive bestseller, and was also a valuable educational tool.

With the advent of printing, from the late 15th century onwards printed news reports could be produced and circulated for the masses. In many cases, these reports were composed in the style of today’s tabloid media.

Onanism makes you infertile and sick. This idea expounded by a doctor from Lausanne spread rapidly in the 18th century, and persisted well into the 20th century.

For a long time, we were very reluctant in our part of the world to accept the Hindu-Arabic numeral system. Even the mathematician Fibonacci had trouble convincing people to change their attitude. But the economic benefits were so great that all resistance was abandoned.