Ancient carved texts from Persepolis, Iran

© George Hall/Alam

Distant-past data. Spreadsheet Day

Whether they're a pivot table pro or an entry-level novice, spreadsheet users worldwide have one person to thank. Dan Bricklin released the first electronic spreadsheet programme on this day in 1979, a date now commemorated as Spreadsheet Day. The day celebrates the sophisticated grids that have reshaped businesses from accounting and engineering to education and project management. Like the spreadsheets that empower modern data handling, ancient civilisations also sought innovative ways to record and track the world around them.

Cuneiform, a script characterised by wedge-shaped symbols, was used in transcribing numerous languages of the Ancient Near East, which region roughly corresponds to today's Middle East area. Its usage spanned from the early Bronze Age to the dawn of the 1st century CE. The publication of Achaemenid royal inscriptions at Persepolis—modern-day Iran—shed light again on cuneiform in the early 17th century. These inscriptions had a mix of languages and were finally deciphered in the 19th century.