Jul 25, 2023 | Fun Historical Facts
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...
Jul 13, 2023 | Fun Historical Facts
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...
Jul 4, 2023 | Random Musings
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) Happy 4th of JulyPowered By the Tweet This PluginTweet This...
Jun 13, 2023 | Fun Historical Facts
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...
Jun 9, 2023 | Fun Historical Facts
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,...
May 17, 2023 | Fun Historical Facts
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,...
May 9, 2023 | Entertainment
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 funniest things. One of them is the hilarious...
May 1, 2023 | Interviews Features and Reviews
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...
Apr 29, 2023 | Entertainment
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...
Apr 11, 2023 | Random Musings
It feels like every day we hear something new about ChatGPT. I’ve been using it to speed up my research and copywriting and it’s been a huge productivity boost for me. It does come with its drawbacks, of course, but used wisely it’s an amazing tool....
Apr 7, 2023 | Fun Historical Facts
Remember Stargate and the cool lance that doubled as a missile launcher? Surprisingly enough, this wasn’t as unheard of as you may assume (well, not the energy weapon but the combo of lance and gun). If you are looking for inspiration for an unusual weapon for...
Apr 1, 2023 | Fun Historical Facts, Quora
April Fools is a custom associated with making jokes (Prima Aprilis) and dates back to Roman times. At that time, or more precisely, on March 25, the Hilaria festival took place, which was celebrated on the occasion of the vernal equinox and the worship of the...
Feb 18, 2023 | Random Musings
I apologize for disappearing once again. I’m currently in the process of moving my website to a new host, so anything I publish here is likely to vanish thanks to the back-and-forth between servers. Which is why I haven’t published yet a wonderful book I...
Jan 21, 2023 | Random Musings
Have you ever thought about how people may learn in the future? What might a school look like? And don’t forget that schools are not just for kids. Perhaps a new kind of learning might also be part of, say, a soldier’s rehabilitation process? If...
Jan 15, 2023 | Interviews Features and Reviews
Novelist Pia Manning is one of the authors who have a short story in the soon-to-be-published anthology The Haunted Train: Creepy Tales from the Railways. Today, she tells us about her childhood memories of trains, creepy experiences, and writing. What fascinates...
Jan 13, 2023 | Interviews Features and Reviews
Gothic short story author R.J. Meldrum is one of the writers featured in the anthology The Haunted Train: Creepy Tales from the Railways. He joins us to talk about train journeys, reading, and writing. What’s the weirdest experience you’ve ever had on a train? The...
