Grant Piper

San Francisco

Art Director and Creative Director at Freelance

Art Director | Designer | Human

Featured in: Favicon

medium.com (+2) Favicon

flipboard.com Favicon

towardsdatascience.com Favicon

thebolditalic.com Favicon

catster.com Favicon

newsbreak.com Favicon

hepper.com Favicon

dogster.com

Articles

The Oldest Suspension Railway In The World

1 week ago | grantpiperwriting.medium.com | Grant Piper

You can still ride it todayThe Wuppertal Schwebebahn is the world’s oldest and most famous suspension monorail, located in Wuppertal, Germany. It’s a unique form of urban transit where trains hang from a single elevated rail, gliding above the Wupper River and city streets. The idea for a suspended monorail was a novel one in the 19th century, and remains novel today. The idea was conceived in order to create a mass transit system that would not disrupt Wuppertal’s narrow winding streets.
Why Didn’t Japan Coordinate An Attack On The USSR With Germany?

2 weeks ago | grantpiperwriting.medium.com | Grant Piper

A second front in Stalin’s rear could have saved the war effortFrom nearly the moment that German tanks rolled over the border into the Soviet Union, Stalin began pressuring Great Britain and the West to open a second front in Western Europe to relieve pressure on Soviet armies in the east. It took years for that second front to truly develop, but when it did, the war raced to a bloody conclusion. But this idea of a second front raises an interesting question.
The Smallest Parks In The World

2 weeks ago | grantpiperwriting.medium.com | Grant Piper

And the battle to obtain and retain the crownIn a world where things continue to grow larger and grander in scale, one race is seeing things get smaller and smaller. There has been a competition, a race to the bottom, to create the smallest park in the world. For many years, the world’s smallest park was located in Portland, Oregon, at the intersection of SW Naito Parkway and Taylor Street. The Portland park is known as Mill Ends Park (pictured above).
The Rise and Fall of the People’s Crusade

2 weeks ago | grantpiperwriting.medium.com | Grant Piper

The real First CrusadeWhen Pope Urban II gave his fateful speech in 1095 calling the forces of Christianity to rise up and liberate Jerusalem from the hands of foreign powers, he imagined a grand effort orchestrated by the papacy. The motivation for the calling of the First Crusade was numerous and layered. Pope Urban II was hoping to strengthen and legitimize the Reform Papacy movement.
Where Did The “A” and “B” Batteries Go?

2 weeks ago | grantpiperwriting.medium.com | Grant Piper

AA to AAA and C batteries, but no single A and no B. What gives? Disposable batteries are a staple of modern life and can be a bane for parents and hobbyists alike. From remote controls to flashing toys and critical flashlights, batteries are used in all manner of applications today. The most common batteries are AA, AAA, C, and D. In fact, most of you likely have all of these jammed in a drawer somewhere, waiting to be needed. But what about B batteries? Or A batteries? Did they ever exist?
The Most Active Decade For US Hurricane Landfalls

2 weeks ago | grantpiperwriting.medium.com | Grant Piper

And which decades were the quietestThere has been a lot of buzz about active hurricane seasons in recent years. It feels like every year, experts ramp up their claims for bigger and more destructive seasons. More storms. Bigger storms. More landfalls. Given all of the hype, it is safe to assume that the most active years for hurricane strikes in the United States are now. But that is not the case. In fact, some of the most active decades for hurricanes in North America were a long, long time ago.
Why Was The Abbasid Caliphate’s Flag Solid Black?

2 weeks ago | grantpiperwriting.medium.com | Grant Piper

An eerie standard to bearThe blag flag is a symbol most commonly associated with pirates. However, there was a large and powerful Islamic Caliphate that used a solid black banner as its official standard. Today, it seems odd to have a flag without any adornments, of any color, but that is what was chosen by the Abbasid Caliphate as their official display. Banners of solid black were flown over Abbasid armies and from Abbasid cities. But why? There is a long Islamic tradition of flying black flags.
Will The Universe End in the “Big Rip”?

2 weeks ago | grantpiperwriting.medium.com | Grant Piper

Why an expanding universe might ultimately spell its demiseEveryone is familiar with the Big Bang, and some people are even familiar with the Big Crunch. But what about the Big Rip? The Big Crunch says that eventually the universe will reach the end of its expansion and snap back into a period of retraction, like a rubber band. The Big Rip says something much different and more violent than the Big Crunch.
Why Many People Thought The World Was Ending In 1030 CE

3 weeks ago | grantpiperwriting.medium.com | Grant Piper

And how it ended up influencing the CrusadesThe early eleventh century was rife with Apocalypticism. Multiple people, including the pope, spread the word that the end of the world was nigh. There were three dates proposed within a 33-year period in which many believed the world was coming to an end. These rumors fueled a resurgence in religious piety, extremism, and repentance, which, in part, fueled the rise of the Crusades at the end of the same century.
The Allied Ghost Army That Fooled Hitler and Saved D-Day

3 weeks ago | grantpiperwriting.medium.com | Grant Piper

The elaborate deception campaign aimed at the GermansIn the lead up to the D-Day landings in Normandy, France, the Allies knew that they had to do something to divide the German forces waiting for them on the other side of the English Channel. If Germany were allowed to concentrate its forces, the invasion could end in a disastrous failure. Stalin had been begging for years for the Allies to open a second front on the continent to divert German strength to the West.