The colour of a street's lighting can totally change how that street looks and feels.

But that's only one example of how the smallest details influence architecture and urban design.

So, from sidewalks to chimneys, here are some more... To heat our homes we use air conditioning or central heating — rather than fires — now.

An obvious but easily missed consequence of this change is that houses no longer have chimneys.

This is one reason new houses so often look strange; they just seem to be missing something.

"Decem" means 10 in Latin — so why is December the 12th month of the year?

It's a story involving Julius Caesar, a lost month called "Intercalaris", and the longest year in history.

But it begins three thousand years ago with Romulus, the mythical founder of Rome... Romulus was the mythical founder of Rome, supposedly descended from Aeneas, who fled from Troy centuries before.

He and his twin brother Remus were raised by a wolf and, eventually, they fought over the founding of a new city.

Romulus killed Remus — and Rome was born.

Over 2,000 years ago there was a philosopher who believed in atoms, speculated about aliens, created a theory of evolution — and even said religion was just superstition.

Here's a brief introduction to Epicureanism, the strangest (and most controversial) ancient philosophy... Epicurus was a philosopher who lived in Athens in the 3rd century BC.

He refined and expanded on existing beliefs until he had created a definitive philosophy of his own: Epicureanism.

Epicurus also set up a school in Athens, where he taught these ideas, known as "the Garden".

The Notre-Dame is France's most famous cathedral, but it isn't the biggest or even the best.

So here are some of France's other (and less well known) Gothic wonders... There's plenty of great Gothic Architecture in Britain, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, and other countries.

But France is the true home of the Gothic — just look at Tours Cathedral, say.

And after all, France is where the Gothic first emerged in the 12th century.

Which or That, explained: If it even matters, one of the subtlest (and most misunderstood) nuances of the English language is the difference between "which" and "that".

They are similar — both are used to introduce additional information in a sentence — but serve different purposes.

The most beautiful paintings of Winter:

1. Full Moon by Louis Douzette (1869) 2. Snow in Mukojima by Hasui Kawase (1931)

A brief guide to the Nine Circles of Hell according to Dante's Inferno...

From the things that land people in each circle (including astrology and political corruption) to how they're punished — and who else is already there: It begins in a dark forest at midnight on Maundy Thursday, the day before Good Friday, in the year 1300.

Exactly halfway through Dante's life.

He is pursued by three beasts — a lion, leopard, and wolf — before the ghost of the ancient Roman poet Virgil saves him.

Why does The Lord of the Rings still look so good?

Many reasons, but here's one: Minas Tirith wasn't CGI. They built a miniature version of the city and filmed that. It looks realistic — because it was real.

And this wasn't even the biggest model they made... Peter Jackson, director of The Lord of the Rings, loves "miniatures".

What's a miniature? You build a model of what is impossible, or difficult, to build for real.

They can be digitally enhanced, but miniatures give a texture and sense of realism that CGI can't replicate alone.

This painting is nearly 500 years old.

It was made by Giuseppe Arcimboldo, one of the strangest (and funniest) artists who ever lived... Giuseppe Arcimboldo was born in Milan in the year 1526, and he spent his life working in the court of the Holy Roman Emperors.

His unusual career — during which he painted things like Four Seasons in One Face, below — came just after the High Renaissance:

The Colosseum wasn't the biggest stadium in Ancient Rome — it was the Circus Maximus, where chariot races took place.

It once held 250,000 spectators.

Why so big? Because chariot racing — not gladiatorial combat — was the most popular Roman sport... The Ancient Romans were serious about mass entertainment.

They built hundreds of arenas and theatres all over their empire, and most of them would be major venues even by today's standards.

Many had capacities of more than 30,000.

A short introduction to Gothic Architecture: When talking about Gothic Architecture — the architecture of Medieval Europe between the 12th and 16th centuries — people tend to focus on the outward appearance of buildings.

We say Gothic Architecture is about things like pointed arches, flying buttresses, and gargoyles.

The First World War ended 106 years ago today.

Here are some ways it has been remembered since, in art and architecture — beginning with this simple but moving memorial in Hungary... It's almost impossible to understand the scale of the First World War, which lasted from 1914 to 1918, until you've seen the cemeteries that had to be created after it ended.

At the Douaumont Ossuary in France, for example, 146,000 soldiers are buried.

The Museum of Modern Art in New York opened 95 years ago today.

So, from Vincent van Gogh to Minecraft, here's a brief tour through MoMA... New York's Museum of Modern Art — opened on 7th November 1929 — was founded by Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, Lillie P. Bliss, and Mary Quinn Sullivan.

First based in the Crown Building, MoMA changed location several times and quickly grew in scale, popularity, and influence.

A short history of purple: The best place to begin is with the word itself.

The English word purple descends from the Latin "purpura", which also meant "purple-dyed" rather than just referring to the colour.

Purpura came from the older Greek word "porphyra", which had the same meaning.

Some of the strangest and most frightening paintings ever made:

1. The Dog by Francisco Goya (1823) 2. Stormtroopers Advancing Under Gas by Otto Dix (1924)

The First World War was filled with horrors previously unknown, and few artists captured them more vividly than Otto Dix.

These, and his other portrayals of warfare in the trenches, are nightmarish.

555 years ago today Erasmus was born.

You've probably heard his name before — but who was Erasmus and why does he matter?

This is the story of history's greatest educator... The first thing to know about Erasmus is that he was born in 1469 and died in 1536.

So his life coincided with one of the most turbulent and influential periods in history: the Renaissance, the Reformation, the rise of the printing press...

And Erasmus was involved in it all.

This is Borobudur in Indonesia, one of the world's most important and mysterious buildings.

Why? Because it's the largest Buddhist temple ever built — and it was also abandoned for nearly one thousand years... First, who built Borobudur?

It was constructed in the 9th century AD under the relatively mysterious Shailendra Dynasty, which ruled the island of Java at that time.

The Shailendras built dozens of Buddhist temples in central Java, and Borobudur was their grandest.

A short guide to Neoclassical Architecture... The story begins over two thousand years ago with the architecture of Greece and (later) Rome.

The Ancient Greeks had first built their temples with wood, and — influenced by the Egyptians and Mycenaeans — slowly developed a codified way of building.

Classical Architecture.

This window is over 400 years old.

It's the perfect example of a "jali", an intricately carved stone window common in Indian Architecture.

And it's just one of the many things that make Indian Architecture so special... The term "Indian Architecture" is impossibly broad — it covers thousands of years, dozens of styles, and countless wonders, from the Hawa Mahal to Kirti Stambha.

But, as a basic introduction, there are certain design methods and types of building that can be mentioned.

John Atkinson Grimshaw is one of the best painters you've never heard of.

He was wildly popular in the 19th century, and for one very specific reason — Grimshaw was a master of painting the night... John Atkinson Grimshaw was born to an ordinary family in northern England in 1836.

At first he worked for the local railway company, but at the age of 24 he made the bold decision to quit his job and become a painter.

Grimshaw had no artistic training — he taught himself.

In the year 1582 something strange happened.

Thursday 4th October was followed immediately by Friday 15th October.

This is the story of history's 10 missing days... And it begins with Julius Caesar.

The year was 46 BC and he had just become "Dictator for Life" — Caesar was the sole ruler of Rome.

Among the many problems he needed to solve was the Roman Calendar, which had fallen into total chaos.