“Novem figure indorum he sunt 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Cum his itaque novem figuris, et cum hoc signo 0, quod arabice zephirum appellatur, scribitur quilibet numerus, ut inferius demonstratur.” “The nine Indian figures are 9 …
First…HUMP DAY! Next… The days of the week in English are based mostly on Norse Gods. Wednesday comes from “Wodan’s Day.” As mentioned previously, as languages change and morph it is common for letters to drop off due to slight …
This is one of the most stunning images I have ever seen. In college I owned it as a poster. I found two copies of it at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History where I volunteer a couple …
After George Washington died, his family estate passed down through a number of relatives (Washington had no surviving children but did have step-children from Martha’s previous marriage.) In 1848 the current “Washington” who owned Mount Vernon, John Augustine Washington, put the …
Who Owns George Washington’s Home, Mount Vernon? Probably not who you think… Read more »
I do have a date that I hold to, but it is really just a place marker, and not universally agreed. My date: 1492. If you want to cover your butt, you would say the Middle Ages ended circa 1500. …
I have an M.A. in Medieval History, and I Don’t Know When the Middle Ages Ended. Read more »
While I don’t believe in the “Names and Dates” approach to history, (It turns the amazing tapestry of our past into a boring list.) I do believe some dates should be known as important “markers.” Two dates I do feel people …
The Oldest Colonized Settlement in the United States Read more »
Names are funny things. When translated through different languages over very long periods of time they can take very different forms. The great Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses II, as translated through Greek, ended up as Ozymandias. This is not all that …
So I was watching Game of Thrones and am near the end of Season 2. (Yhaa, I know Season 4 just came out…I am playing pop-culture catch up.) In the show and in the books (I am also half way …
The Historical Precedent for “Wildfire” In Game of Thrones Read more »
Do you really own your property? Well, sort of. If you buy a house and pay the entire thing off, you are told you own it completely. But what if you do not pay the home owners taxes on the …
Do You Really Own Your Property? Feudal Ownership vs. Modern Ownership Read more »
About ten years ago, I was lucky enough to have a chance to visit Pompeii. Walking through the ancient city streets is a surreal experience (and one I highly recommend if you ever have the chance). At one street corner …
