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Before the Industrial Revolution, many nations considered energy a high priority only when they were at war. For modest domestic needs, these societies relied upon charcoal, the source of energy [...]

'ET TU, BRUTE? THEN CAESAR FALL!' With these words, William Shakespeare ends the life of the Roman emperor Julius Caesar in his play by the same name. In reality, so [...]

In researching the folklore of Eastern Europe, Irish novelist Bram Stoker 'met' many vampire-type figures. It is thought that the tales of a ruler named Vlad influenced the theme and [...]

Ever since coins made of precious metals were invented, 'bad' money and 'good' money have circulated at the same time. Even worse, bad money--that is, coins that have been clipped, [...]

CAST OF CHARACTERS: XANTHUS, a philosopher AESOP, his slave THEMISTOCLES, friend of Xanthus CHARMIDE$, friend of Xanthus CRATYLO$, friend of Xanthus ION, friend of Xanthus [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Scene 1 Xanthus […]

All of a sudden the hubbub of the crowd ceased. Four knights on horseback had solemnly entered Reims Cathedral. These Guardians of the Holy Vial, as they were known, were [...]

The Carolingians loved communication and, as a result, their world became increasingly globalized. Their leaders did not support local languages and dialects, but rather a unified language. Medieval Latin, that [...]

The birth of some musical forms can be traced to a particular person or group. Take, for example, opera, a powerful and popular musical genre. It was born out of [...]

The date tags on this cross-section of a German tree felled in 1991 mark the rings for many of the years from 1545 to 1991. What do historical events such [...]

There was a Mathematical Student at California Berkeley Who thought 'I have no clue, but the homework is due, I've got to work out a problem or two.' Which is [...]

Did the active, energetic, and dedicated Isabella of Spain ever have any leisure time for herself? We can imagine Isabella, after a long day of traveling through the Spanish territories, [...]

For many visitors to the 1851 Great Exhibition in London, the experience was an extraordinary encounter with the 'Oriental fantasy' that had been sweeping Europe for years: intricate geometric patterns [...]

Prior to the Persian Wars, the Greeks knew little about the Persians and often confused them with the Medes their neighbors. In fact, the Greeks thought the names of these […]

A scene carved into Trajan's Column depicts the emperor meeting with Dacian women. Dominating the composition are the figures of Trajan and the silhouette of a tall woman, thought to [...]

Meteorological conditions play such an important role in our lives that it is not surprising that clouds, winds, thunder and lightning, and even meteors and shooting stars were used in [...]

The news spread quickly through Venice. After 24 years, the Polo family had returned to the city. Everyone had thought they were dead. But now they were back, and they [...]

Working on his masterpieces to the verge of exhaustion, Michelangelo very often became oblivious to the passage of time. He would date his letters in ways that clearly show both [...]

Isabella was convinced that education was equally important for women and men, as well as girls and boys. Throughout her life, she put an emphasis on continuous learning and set [...]

July 1969: The first humans land on the moon. For the first time ever, a human being could look at our planet from a distance of thousands of miles--238,857 to […]

For a young, talented, ambitious medical student an appointment at a gladiator school looked like a dream job. Plenty of material at hand--fresh wounds, broken it bones, twisted ankles, sore [...]

The streets that nestled below the castle of Chinon were unusually crowded s Sunday morning, March 6, 1429, and knights, courtiers, and royal messenger had rushed over the bridges connecting [...]

The ancient Chinese believed that celestial phenomena had a deep impact on all aspects of life, including politics. For example, in one of the 25 official dynastic histories, we read [...]

One day in 499 B.C., Aristagoras, the acting governor of Miletos, received an unusual note from his relative Histiaios, the tyrant of Miletos. Unable to return home because the Persian [...]

My story begins long ago, hundreds of years before I was revered as head Muse, in the days when teams of Egyptian workers labored over the construction of their ruler's [...]

The most complicated mechanism surviving from the ancient Greek and Roman period is an astronomical calculating device known as the Antikythera mechanism. Discovered in 1900 in an ancient shipwreck, it […]

All major and minor scales have seven notes within each octave (series of eight notes). There are other types of scales as well. An example is the pentatonic. The name [...]

The mysterious Avalon--the magic place where Excalibur was forged and Arthur was taken after his last battle--gradually became identified with England's Glastonbury Abbey. By 1191, the monks of Glastonbury were [...]

Here's a way you can experience the principle of the atmospheric engine. 1. Place the mouth of the container over the spout of the kettle and let it fill with [...]

I have not told the half of what I saw --Marco Polo IF YOUR FATHER ASKED YOU to accompany him on a trip that would take two years just to [...]

The best way to illustrate the girih is to construct the simplest unit cell pattern, what is known as Umm al-Girih. You will be making a puzzle whose pieces are [...]

At Delphi, on the very spot where a sacred stone marked the presumed center of the earth, stood the temple of Apollo, the Greek god of the arts and divination. […]

The article highlights the map created by Lewis Carroll, an American author and mentions the bewilderment that most of the map symbols entail for travel navigation with inclusion of his several tales like Alice in Wonderland, Sylvie, and Bruno Concluded.

The article offers information on the book "Bρovτoλόϒιov" (Thunder), by Heraclius which focuses on the formation of the basis of divination from the origin and occurence of thunder.

The article presents the author's views on the wonders of the world including the Pyramids of Egypt.

The article differentiates between living and dead vampires both of which are called the strigoi in Romania.