I am an unabashed lover of everything Roman, for all they have done that still influences the modern world, but while we may have months named after Roman Emperors, we do not celebrate any of the great Roman feasts. It …
It seems odd on that surface that in the United States, with its cultural roots in England, coffee is preferred over tea. This was not always the case, and perhaps is also no longer as distinctly the case as it …
I was interested in the idea of “universal values” and began looking at examples around the world that show this special connection. One thing that to me seems fairly universal is the special bond formed between humans and dogs. I …
When we say we are going to “pull out all the stops,” we are saying we are going to go to the greatest degree we can to make the thing we are doing the most impressive we can make it. …
It is Now Time to “Pull out all the Stops!”- The Cool Story Behind a Common Phrase. Read more »
I was reading a respected news site today and they had an article talking about a correlation between height and heart disease. The article’s headline was “Short People More Prone to Heart Disease” The image that accompanied the article was …
Historian mini-rant: NAPOLEON DID NOT HAVE A NAPOLEON COMPLEX! Read more »
As should be pretty clear, I love the history of words and the stories they tell. I think it is amazing that a history can be gleaned from an assortment of letters that created a word. In the Middle Ages, …
Fun Fact of the Day: The Neat Story Behind the Word “Sheriff” Read more »
The etymology of Christmas is not that hard to see. It is the Christ-Mass. That works. Easter is etymologically weird. The fact that Easter, ostensibly celebrating the resurrection of the Christ, is associated with bunnies and eggs is weirder. As is …
Where did April Fools’ Day come from? In a previous post I spoke about how January was added to the calendar because of the Romans, and how the new year moved from March (coinciding with the coming of spring) to …
The Smithsonian is a wonderful, amazing place (well…19 places). It is America’s national museum(s). The only other museum I can think of like the Smithsonian is the British Museum. Both have incredible collections, both are State funded and both are …
My Father, A Marylander through and through, sent the following email to the family this morning. He gave me his permission to put it in the blog. Just for some extra context, my father grew up on a farm …
