Cipolla’s Basic Laws of Human Foolishness
I read today about the theory of human foolishness developed by Italian historian Carlo M. Cipolla, mentioned by Elena Gold on Quora. Cipolla was born in 1922 and died in 2000. He grew up during a turbulent period in Italy, that of classic fascism. Somehow, he managed...
The Amazing True Story of Sir John Chandos
Henrey Bradley recently shared on Quora the remarkable tale of Sir John Chandos who rose from obscurity to become a hero of the Hundred Years War and a knight distinct from all others. Born to a family of small nobility in Derbyshire, Chandos, from a young age, honed...
Henry VIII’s Surprising Prayer Book Markings
Henry VIII is often remembered for his cruelty: a harsh and irritable monarch with a foul temperament. And yet, a more vulnerable figure emerges from the notes in his personal prayer books according to an Artnet article by Richard Whiddington. After a jousting mishap...
Happy 4th of July
To those of you in the States, I hope you're having an awesome Independence Day! (for those in the UK, ignore those ungrateful colonials and carry on with your day)
Ancient Greek Sea Monsters
Everyone knows of mermaids, and some are even aware of their Greek origins: as a seafaring culture, the ancient Greeks had several sea creatures that fit the bill, from sirens to nereids and naiads. Not many are familiar with the wide range of sea monsters that...
The Unlikely Origins of Beatrix Potter’s Tales
Everyone loves Beatrix Potter and her charming character, Peter Rabbit, which first appeared in 1902 and has since sold over 45 million copies worldwide. The inception of the tales is traced back to 1893, when Potter began writing to a friend's sick child,...
10 Phrases that Originated in the Middle Ages
Some of our most popular phrases have a long history, including some that go back to the Middle Ages. Here are 10 medieval phrases from the Dictionary of Idioms and their Origins, as reported by Medievalists. 1. “You are the apple of my eye” In early medieval England,...
Salsa Cookies and Gopher Tuna
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQEfxhvAy0c Breaking news: An octopus wearing boots was sent to North Korea. Intelligence says the octopus has gonorrhea. This is spy news signing off. One of the perks of having a young child is that you get to watch with her the...
Baby Names That Mean Sword
Does your story ask for some cool baby names that mean sword? Moms who think have got you covered, with a collection of boy names that mean sword, girl names that mean sword, and, for good measure, baby names that mean warrior (I suspect this is the kind of moms who...
Ancient Writing and the History of the Alphabet
Happy May 1st! I've written extensively in the past about modern May 1st celebrations in Greece, Anthesteria and Thergelia, and the International Workers’ Day of May and the Haymarket Affair. So, instead of writing about May 1st, I thought I'd share today an...
Which Is the Most Beautiful Language?
Do some languages sound better than others? This is the question researchers from Lund University in Sweden and the Russian Academy of Sciences set out to answer, as reported by Big Think. So, does French sound silky, German brutish, Italian sexy, and Japanese angry...
The Intriguing Math of Punctuation
When you think of punctuation, do you think of math? You probably should, as scientists from the Institute of Nuclear Physics of the Polish Academy of Sciences (IFJ PAN) in Cracow explain in a study reported by Phys.org. The study compared punctuation between seven,...