Everything I know about Harvard is from stories. Frazier, from Cheers and Frazier, studied there, as did his brother Niles. So did Charles Emerson Winchester III from M.A.S.H. But I think the most fascinating thing about Harvard is the freshman dining hall, which looks almost identical to the main hall at Hogwarts, in the Harry […]
Hogwarts Here on Earth is 378 Today Read More »
552 years ago today, in 1492, Columbus arrived in the Bahamas. Exactly three hundred years later, in 1792, America celebrated the first Columbus Day, in New York City. It’s been a public holiday ever since. However, there’s an interesting anomaly in the dates. Columbus spotted the islands of the Bahamas before the new calendar was
Columbus and His Day Read More »
In 1752, the British Empire adopted the Gregorian calendar. In the British Empire that year, September 2 was immediately followed by September 14. The Gregorian calendar is also known as the Western Calendar or the Christian Calendar. They don’t use it in Russia, for example, so what we call the October revolution actually happened in
The Year September Lost Two Weeks Read More »
Stonehenge is probably the most famous monolith in the western world, although it appears that every culture across the planet stood stones on their ends somewhere in history. There are monoliths even in the deepest parts of the jungle in Brazil! No one knows why Stonehenge in particular was built, nor can they agree on
Stonehenge – More Important Than We Thought Read More »
Historians disagree over what, exactly, is the last day of the Roman Empire. Today, September 4, is one of the two most popular choices. If you think of the Roman Empire with its epicenter as the city of Rome, then on this day in 476 is when the last Western Roman emperor, Romulus Augustulus, was
The Last Day of the Roman Empire…or is it? Read More »
It’s Labour Day here in Canada and also in the US. Normally, I use holidays like this to write all day (one of my personal pleasures). But my mother arrives in Canada on Friday, and my house is still recovering from renovation chaos (we’re still trying to get last minute stuff done). So I know
Leaves, holidays and big ships Read More »
Continuing this month’s (quite accidental) theme of “lasts” associated with historical events, here’s another one. Today marks the 48th anniversary of the Beatles’ last live performance (1966). They appeared at Candlestick Park in San Fransisco. The Beatles broke up as a band in 1970, but all of them went on to enjoy independent career success.
The Last Beatles Live Performance Read More »
It’s a week for a lot of historical events, but this one is one of the more interesting events for me personally. I seem to have grown an interest in volcanoes over the last few years. One of my favourite movies is Dante’s Peak, which was a fictional volcano that blew in much the same
The Death of Pompeii Read More »
Richard III was two Richards on from the Lionhearted one, who ruled over three hundred years before. This Richard, the Third, died on this day, 529 years ago in 1485. He only held the throne for two years, but his death was the marker for a slew of other “lasts”: He was the last Richard
Richard III – A lot of “Lasts” Read More »