Aztec New Fire Ceremony 52 years

Aztec homes were relit from one new fire

Every 52 years, the Aztecs held a New Fire Ceremony when their 260-day and 365-day calendars realigned. They believed the fifth sun might end that night, so they put out fires across the realm, drilled a new fire over a sacrificial victim, and carried it to communities to relight homes.

A theremin is played without touch

A theremin’s antennas sense how close the player’s hands are. The player’s hand movements control the instrument’s pitch and volume without physical contact.

Fires accidentally preserved records from ancient Greece

Linear B tablets were usually made from clay and used for administrative records in Mycenaean palaces. Many were never intended to survive for thousands of years. When palace buildings burned, however, the heat hardened some tablets and preserved them. Destruction helped save the documents that later revealed an early form of written Greek.

Aztec New Fire Ceremony 52 years

Aztec homes were relit from one new fire

Keep exploring