WEIRD HISTORY
Venice’s small footprint, dense population, unusual governmental structure, and its devotion to trade was a unique combination that fostered innovation, entrepreneurship, and creativity. – By Meredith F. Small 2020 Dec 06 – When Venetians invented quarantine in 1348, the government proclamation was based …
Archaeologists on the ERC project LASTJOURNEY have discovered spectacular rock pictographs in three separate rock shelters in the Guaviare Department of Colombia. The drawings, made around 12,600 and 11,800 years ago, provide proof the Amazon rainforest’s earliest human inhabitants lived alongside now-extinct Ice …
Why the Gospels disagree over the circumstances of Christ’s birth. A doll representing the infant Jesus in St. Catherine’s, the Franciscan church in the town of Bethlehem. David Silverman/Getty Images – By Rodolfo Galván Estrada III, Adjunct Assistant Professor of the New Testament, Fuller …
A humble Scotsman saw something strange in the water—and daringly set out to catch it—only to have lecherous out-of-towners steal his fame and upend his quest. The Obsessive Life and Mysterious Death of the Fisherman Who Discovered The Loch Ness Monster – Read …
In ancient New Mexico, cold air in cavernous spaces carved out by lava flows preserved blocks of ice. An ice core extracted at El Malpaís National Monument in New Mexico connects water collection to periods of droughts. (jonnyphoto via Flickr under CC BY-NC-ND …
The “Countess of Computing” didn’t just create the world’s first computer program—she foresaw a digital future. The Countess of Computing was the daughter of the Princess of Parallelograms. (Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain) – By Erin Blakemore SmithsonianMag.Com 2016 Oct 11 – It’s Ada Lovelace …
An archaeologist at Chedworth Roman Villa exploring what lies underneath parts of the villa, some of which haven’t ever been explored. Credit: Stephen Haywood/National Trust – Written by Sara Spary, CNN – Archaeologists have uncovered Britain’s first 5th century Roman mosaic — a …
Forever changing the nation, the women who worked in American factories during the war have been collectively awarded the Congressional Gold Medal. Artist J. Howard Miller produced this work-incentive poster for the Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company. Though displayed only briefly in Westinghouse …
Papers sold by Sotheby’s document the British scientist’s research into the ancient Egyptians and the Bible. Newton held unconventional religious beliefs and dabbled in alchemy and the occult. (Sotheby’s) – By Livia Gershon SmithsonianMag.Com 2020 Dec 08 – Messages about a coming apocalypse …
Reviewed: Hitler: Downfall 1939-1945 by Volker Ullrich (Trans. Jefferson Chase, Alfred A. Knopf, 2020) – by James Thornton Harris 2020 Dec 06 – James Thornton Harris is a contributing editor to the History News Network. For more information see www.JamesThorntonHarris.com. – Is there anything new we …
