Greetings, my brave reader.
One of the greatest minds ever to have walked on the face of the Earth, Leonardo da Vinci will never seize to amaze us. Painter, inventor, engineer, sculptor, architect, musician, mathematician, anatomist, cartographer, botanist and prolific writer, Da Vinci is probably the single most multitalented person of such a calibre in recorded history. Truth is, Leo’s accomplishments are far too many to be put in a short list.
What I can do for you, though, my brave reader, is offer you a snapshot of Da Vinci’s genius. Here are some things you might not know about him.
1. Leonardo da Vinci was the first to explain why the sky is blue.
In his notebook, under ‘the colour of the atmosphere‘, Leonardo wrote: “The blue which is seen in the atmosphere is not its own colour, but it is caused by the heated moisture having evaporated into the most minute imperceptible particles, which the beams of solar rays attract and cause to seem luminous against the deep intense darkness”.
2. Contact lenses were first proposed by Leonardo da Vinci in 1508.
He has drawn sketches that suggest that the optics of the human eye can be altered by placing the cornea (Merriam-Webster definition: the transparent part of the coat of the eyeball that covers the iris and pupil and admits light to the interior) directly in contact with water.
3. Leonardo da Vinci’s studies of river erosion convinced him that Earth is much older than the Bible implies.
When most people believed in the “Biblical” age of the planet [4,000 years old] as late as the 19th century, Da Vinci had already outthought them 300 years earlier. His geological achievements were one of the most complete ones, as far as science was concerned. Da Vinci’s insatiable curiosity led him to explore the exposed rocks and his observations convinced him that valleys are curved by rivers, the sea level can fall to reveal mountains and that all this couldn’t have happened in just 4,000 years but rather in an enormous period of time.
4. Leonardo da Vinci was homeschooled and lacked a formal education in Greek and Latin.
Other than basic skills in reading, writing, and math, Leo had little formal education, probably due to the fact that he was born out of wedlock -his father was a lawyer and his mother a peasant girl.
5. Leo da Vinci used to buy caged animals at the market just to set them free.
Now, how cool is that?
6. Leonardo da Vinci’s last words were: “I have offended god and mankind. My work did not reach the quality it should have”.
On the contrary, dear Leo. Mankind will always be indebted to you for letting us share your genius.
The Vitruvian Man
by Julia Horeftari
Source: Art Sheep
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