It is a staple of many a Cold War thriller: as bomber aircraft scramble in the air, missile silo doors slide open and the superpowers hurtle towards all-out nuclear war, the U.S. President reaches for an object of last resort: the bright red telephone receiver on his desk. At the other end, the Soviet Premier… Read More »
Imagine enjoying a picnic as a friend suddenly informed you that there was a spider on your north shoulder. Would you know which shoulder to check? This might sound bizarre to an uninitiated English speaker, but to a speaker of Gugu Yimithirr, it would be perfectly natural. Speakers of this Australian language (and several others… Read More »
Mithridates VI, also known as Mithridates the Great, was the ruler of the Kingdom of Pontus, a region of northern Anatolia in what is now modern-day Turkey, from 120 to 63 BC. In 120 BC Mithridates’ father, Mithridates V, was assassinated by poison, allegedly as part of a conspiracy lead by his wife, Queen Laodice… Read More »
It is a classic action-movie scenario. At the climax of the story, our hero must infiltrate the villain’s lair, which is guarded by a small army of gun-wielding henchmen. But despite being gifted with the obligatory perfect aim and bottomless magazines, for one reason or another our hero can’t simply charge in guns blazing. Perhaps… Read More »
At 10:25 A.M. on September 9, 1949, Canadian Pacific Air Lines Flight 108 took off from L’Ancienne Lorette airport outside Quebec City and headed northeast along the St. Lawrence River. The Douglas DC-3, with 23 passengers and crew aboard, was on a scheduled run between Montreal and the pulp-and-paper hub of Baie-Comeau in the northeastern… Read More »
In 1847 at the tender age of 16, seaman Hanson Gregory looked at some frying dough and said, “Everything is better with holes”… except his ship hull probably… and created the staple of breakfasts the diabetes lovin’ world over- the doughnut! Or so the story goes anyway. In truth, Captain Gregory’s account of how and… Read More »
June 26, 1995 is a day the residents of Golf Manor, Michigan will never forget. On that day, hazmat-suited agents of the Environmental Protection Agency descended upon the quiet suburb and began systematically dismantling the garden potting shed of one Patty Hahn. When interviewed about the incident, most residents believed there had been some kind… Read More »
“I, Simon Whistler, in the presence of these my betters and my equals in my Calling, bind myself upon my Honour and Cold Iron, that, of the best of my knowledge and power, I will not henceforward suffer or pass, or be privy to the passing of, Bad Workmanship or Faulty Material in aught that… Read More »
Looking back at the long and storied history of literature, film, and other narrative art forms, one trend becomes abundantly clear: writers love mental illness. From depression to bipolar disorder to schizophrenia, psychiatric disorders have been used by artists for hundreds of years to heighten drama, make heroes more heroic, villains more villainous, and allow… Read More »
Jean D. asks: Why do we need oxygen to live? Take a deep breath. Now repeat. Do this about 16 times per minute and you usually get all the oxygen your body needs. Every wonder why you need oxygen to survive in the first place? All life as we know it occurs because of how… Read More »
Laura A. asks: What exactly do Scientologists believe? Oh boy, we can already tell that the comment section for this one is going to be a ton of fun, so let’s just get straight to it. The Church of Scientology has a reputation as an infamously secretive and litigious organisation that hides its inner workings far… Read More »