Mr. Lenz and other German bomb disposal experts said it could be still decades, or even centuries, before nearly all of the tens of thousands of still-unexploded bombs estimated to be buried throughout Germany are discovered.

WSJ: German City to Evacuate as 2-Ton Bomb Is Defused

But centuries before intercontinental carbonation or the rise of the European coffee house filled with intellectuals with brains sharpened by caffeine, the first beverage which marked civilization's improvement upon nature was beer.

NPR: Looking at the World Through Beer Glasses

Heroic voyages in search of profit or Buddhahood were the subjects of legend centuries before the Atlantic and Pacific were crossed.

ECONOMIST: Historical geography

Traders from Europe would turn up centuries ago and introduce an ingredient or dish, but before it got disseminated, the king had to agree.

BBC: The quest for the perfect pad Thai

Everyone was doing it and, just like the tulip bubble centuries before, you needed to get with the program and play the game or be left out.

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