The Great Fire of London 1666 Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Great Fire of London 1666 - Research Paper Example There are a number of factors that came into play and that worked together to turn a small, simple fire into the greatest conflagration in the history of England. Samuel Pepys, the famous diarist of Stuart England, experienced the Great Fire first-hand, and was instrumental in the successful efforts to halt the inferno. Pepyss diary entry of September 2, 1666, states that one of the household maid-servants, on her arrival at the Pepys household that morning, told of a great fire that was at that moment raging in the city. The entry further relates what Pepys himself found when he went personally to investigate the situation in his duty as Clerk to the Royal Navy. Much of what is known about the Great Fire comes from Pepyss own account and subsequent investigations undertaken after the event. The fire itself was ignited in the premises of Thomas Farynor (or Farriner), the Kings Baker (perhaps an appropriate name for a baker or one who works with flour, taken from the old French word for flour, farine). It is believed that cinders or sparks were ejected from one of the bakers ovens earlier in the evening, at about 10:00pm, and started a small fire in the bakery. In the investigation Farynor swore that this fire had been extinguished. This may in fact have been the fire that Lord Mayor Bludworth was thinking of when he described the Great Fire as being so small that â€Å"a woman might piss it out†, perhaps unaware of the magnitude of the actual conflagration that had by then taken hold. In any event, the bakers home was an inferno by 1:00am, and the Great Fire grew from there. The fire spread from Farynors residence in Pudding Lane east towards the Tower of London, south towards the Barbican, west towards Temple Bar and north toward the Thames River and London Bridge. Pushed forward by strong easterly winds, it progressed

The Internet Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Internet - Essay Example The same letter now takes just the click of a mouse to bridge that distance over the Internet. With the advent of VoIP, it is now possible to engage in ‘face-to-face’ video chats with persons in any corner of the globe with tools such as Skype. Moreover, this is accomplished at a miniscule price, in comparison with the cost of airmail postage or telephone tariffs. The speed of communication the Internet offers is particularly appreciated at times of emergencies, and natural disasters, when warning signals can be instantly transmitted across the globe. The life-saving benefits of this speed of communication cannot be denied. Social life has undergone a sea-change with the advent of the Internet. As the Internet has demolished â€Å"the traditional communications constraints of cost, geography, and time,† it has opened up a whole new world of social interaction (Glassman, 2010). Before the Internet, socialization was defined by the limited boundaries of face-to-face interaction. E mail, social networks, online chatting, files sharing, gaming, and discussion groups have made social horizons infinite. The Internet provides opportunities for the development and improvement of social ties. Long-lost friends from school and college days, who faded irrevocably out of lives in the past, are now rediscovered, and friendships are renewed, on social networking sites, such as Facebook and MySpace. News and photographs are exchanged easily. The Internet remains unrivalled in â€Å"creating, cultivating, and continuing social relationships† (Glassman, 2010). It is now possible to maintain twenty-hour social connectivity and frequent updates through sites such as Twitter. The Internet creates opportunities for social interaction between... Social life has undergone a sea-change with the advent of the Internet. As the Internet has demolished â€Å"the traditional communications constraints of cost, geography, and time,† it has opened up a whole new world of social interaction (Glassman, 2010). Before the Internet, socialization was defined by the limited boundaries of face-to-face interaction. E mail, social networks, online chatting, files sharing, gaming, and discussion groups have made social horizons infinite. The Internet provides opportunities for the development and improvement of social ties. Long-lost friends from school and college days, who faded irrevocably out of lives in the past, are now rediscovered, and friendships are renewed, on social networking sites, such as Facebook and MySpace. News and photographs are exchanged easily. The Internet remains unrivaled in â€Å"creating, cultivating, and continuing social relationships† (Glassman, 2010). It is now possible to maintain twenty-hour soci al connectivity and frequent updates through sites such as Twitter. The Internet creates opportunities for social interaction between people of like-minded interests and tastes, regardless of their place of residence. Voluntary organizations, religious, civic and social groups harness the power of the Internet to encourage participation, organize activities, raise funds, and recruit members through tools such as Facebook, Twitter, blogs, and texting. The Internet has remade the business world. Shopping no longer requires a visit to the mall or the corner supermarket.