Nov 15, 2019 | Fun Historical Facts
You may remember Erik Kwakkel or Leiden University from earlier posts like A Fantasy Tip From History: Medieval Spam. Erik recently shared the incredible history of St. Albans Bible. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did! A Horror Story In 1964, the New York rare book...
Nov 11, 2019 | Fun Historical Facts
As you may know, today we celebrate Armistice Day. Armistice Day is commemorated every year on 11 November to mark the armistice signed between the Allies of World War I and Germany at Compiègne, France for the cessation of hostilities on the Western Front of World...
Oct 21, 2019 | Fun Historical Facts
What’s that you say, it was an iceberg which sank the Titanic? Sure, but why did the iceberg cut through the ship’s steel like it was hot butter? Senan Molony, Titanic expert and author of Titanic: why she collided, why she sank, why she should never have...
Sep 7, 2019 | Fun Historical Facts
The world has known many languages; some 7,000 are currently spoken. And we use language to inform others. So, are some languages better than others when it comes to how fast we convey information? A group of intrepid linguists set out to find out. How many bits per...
Aug 31, 2019 | Fun Historical Facts, Maps and Infographics
Back in May, I posted an infographic on the Fermi Paradox. Marian Griffith, a visitor to my blog, left a wonderful comment. I was so impressed by it that I thought it deserved to be shared as a proper post. I have updated this to reflect Charles Yallowitz’s...
Aug 27, 2019 | Fun Historical Facts
According to DesignYouTrust, a group of Czech students has recreated weird scenes from Medieval books, thus proving that those Medieval scribes did more than just sell all those beers they were producing. You can see the result in the original post but here’s a...
Aug 21, 2019 | Fun Historical Facts
In my book, A Heaven for Toasters, the main source of protein is insects and lab-grown meat (I only hint at this, so don’t worry if you missed that). As with all things futuristic, I based this on current trends. One of these is using maggots, specifically the...
Aug 19, 2019 | Fun Historical Facts
A lot of my friends have a pretty bleak outlook on life. Gun massacres, polarizing politics, climate change… the list of horrors goes on. Given humanity’s bloody history, one may be excused for wondering why we haven’t figured out what’s good...
Aug 15, 2019 | Fun Historical Facts
The Dormition of the Virgin is the third greatest celebration in Greece (and the Greek Orthodox tradition), after Easter and Christmas. Greeks celebrate it in their usual boisterous way: large family gatherings, public festivals, and loads of lamb eating. Some escape...
Aug 11, 2019 | Fun Historical Facts
In early 19th century rural New England, there was little doubt about how to deal with vampires: you dug up the corpse, took head and limbs, and rearranged them on top of the ribs in the design of a skull and crossbones. That would stop the mischevious spirit from...
