Happy Independence Day to everyone

The thistle is the emblem of Scotland as a barefoot viking raider cried out in pain as he stood on one, alerting the Scottish army encampment that the Norse army were sneaking up on.

From the 700s to the 1200s, Baghdad was an Intellectual Center unrivaled in the world. It's House of Wisdom studied mathematics, astronomy, medicine, alchemy and chemistry, zoology, and geography.