4000 year old olive tree in Greece! This tree started growing around 2000 BC, during the Bronze Age, around the time the last wooly mammoth was hunted, the 7th dynasty of Egypt was over and humans discovered the existence of glass. This tree has seen humans go from the Bronze Age to the Atomic Age. It has witnessed our changing world and lived through many wars. It has seen many kings, politicians, warriors, and prophets go from birth to death, and it still continues to produces olives annually!

The Sumerians and the Invention of Time: How a 5,000-Year-Old System Still Shapes Our World Around 5,000 years ago, the Sumerians of Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq) revolutionized how we measure time. They developed the sexagesimal system, a base-60 numerical approach that led to the division of an hour into 60 minutes and a minute into 60 seconds—a structure still used today. The Sumerians’ agricultural society demanded precise timekeeping for planting, harvesting, and religious ceremonies. Their astronomical observations enabled them to create a 12-month lunar calendar, perfectly aligning with seasonal cycles. The division of time into 24 hours, 60 minutes, and 60 seconds was a stroke of mathematical brilliance, allowing for easy calculation and division. Later civilizations, including the Babylonians, Greeks, and Romans, adopted and refined this system, ensuring its survival through millennia. From sundials to modern clocks, the Sumerians’ legacy of timekeeping continues to influ