"Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it." - George Santayana

Body of Female Gladiator Discovered

By sarajean on 7/21/10 4:38am
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“Are you not entertained?” She roars to the crowd. She is fierce, mighty, unstoppable. She will bring death—and Rome will love her for it.

I won’t profess to be a fan of gladiators, fighting, or violent, death-inducing sports of any kind; I certainly am not. But knowing that the strong, muscular body of a female gladiator has been found is somehow cool to me.

The woman, said to be “massive and muscular,” was discovered buried in Herefordshire, Britain, in a coffin made of wood, iron, and brass. This burial case is considered to be an elaborate one, reserved for someone important or who was honored. Researchers thought immediately that she was a man, since she was so big and strong—until they examined her head and pelvis, which prove that she was likely female.

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AT&T 1993 Commercials

By lisala on 6/30/10 8:53pm
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New York World's Fair 1939: The World of Tomorrow

By lisala on 6/30/10 8:37pm
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These two GM promotional videos were what the creative filmmakers thought might be what life was like in 1960. After you watch both of them, you might want to compare them to these AT&T commercials from 1993 about what the near future would hold. Notice the repeated emphasis on speed, efficiency, and convenience. Also notice that everything is "new," and "rebuilt"; the cities of the past are gone.

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Document from 1792 Found in Classroom

By lisala on 6/10/10 11:30am
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Fourth-grade teacher Michelle Eugenio was cleaning up a classroom in Peabody, Massachusetts when she discovered a small aged document from 1792 that once belonged to one Jonathan Bates. Bates was a Vermonter who served in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. The paper is a receipt indicting Bates paid off a debt. You can about it here, and watch the video.

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Cinco de Mayo: NOT Mexican Independence Day

By Lipps on 5/4/10 2:41pm
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Battle of Puebla, 1862: afternoon rain made a French retreat slow.Battle of Puebla, 1862: afternoon rain made a French retreat slow.This week, Mexicans and other people who just need a reason to drink, will celebrate Cinco de Mayo, which, contrary to popular belief is not Mexican Independence Day. Cinco de Mayo celebrates the victory of Mexican forces over French troops at the 1862 Battle of Puebla. In a strange little twist of history, France was after Mexico for debt, which the Mexican president Benito Juarez had stopped making payment on. In an attempt to occupy Mexico, France sent an invasion fleet to Mexico. Although the Battle of Puebla went well for the Mexican army, it was one of few victories as the French army had taken Mexico City within a year. Mexican Emperor Maximillian I was installed.

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History Spots: Major Oak

By Lipps on 5/1/10 12:45pm
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Major Oak, illustration ca. 1790Major Oak, illustration ca. 1790Robin Hood, England's most famous outlaw who robbed from the rich and gave to the poor, is forever linked to a tree known as the Major Oak. Located near the village of Edwinstowe, about 110 miles North of London, the huge oak tree is said to have been the home base of Mr. Hood and his famed Merry Men, including Little John. Although there are no major historical links that definitively link the tree to the man, it is the right age. The tree is estimated to be between 800 and 1,000 yearss old. The first historical references to a 'Robin Hood' occur in 1228 on the roles of an English justice. The ungainly tree is supported by what appear to be wooden posts as its massive limbs would snap without the buttress.

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San Jose's Rosicrucian Museum

By Lipps on 4/20/10 4:46pm
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Rosicrucian Museum: San Jose, CARosicrucian Museum: San Jose, CAI visited the Rosicrucian Museum in San Jose, CA today. It is a small museum dedicated to Egyptian artifacts. Founded by a fraternal organization that puts Egyptian philosophy at the center of its organization, the collection includes some interesting pieces and nice replicas. Among the replicas are the inner sarcophigus of Tutankhamun and the stone of the Code of Hamurrabi, although technically Babylonian. The museum sits on a block of San Jose that is dedicated to Egyptian architecture and gardens. All the buildings are in the Egyptian style and a walk around the grounds is like being transported away from the mundane neighborhood around it.

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Brooklyn Bridge

By lisala on 4/9/10 4:48pm
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Brooklyn Bridge 2009 Tiago FiorezeBrooklyn Bridge 2009 Tiago Fioreze

When the Brooklyn Bridge opened in for traffic the first time in May of 1883, it was the longest suspension bridge in the world, half again as large as the next largest bridge, as well as the first steel-wire suspension bridge. It was also, for a while anyway, (by virtue of its towers) the tallest structure in the world. The Brooklyn Bridge it connects the New York City boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn by crossing the East River. At the time of its completion, the bridge was the only land-based way to travel between the two boroughs. The construction took eleven years.

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"The Scarlet and the Black" (part 1)

By MichaelP03 on 4/6/10 5:09pm
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Television films often have a bad rep for being low-budget, unremarkable, and possibly even boring, endeavors. Jerry London's 1983 The Scarlet and the Black (based on J.P. Gallagher's novel The Scarlet Pimpernel of the Vatican) shatters that mold, and then some. When you've got actors like Gregory Peck, Christopher Plummer and Sir John Gielgud sharing the screen, you know you're onto something special. The Scarlet and the Black probably won't be ranked highly among their respective resumes, but it will definitely be remembered for their powerful portrayals of real-life people, battling out good and evil in the shadow of the Vatican.

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"The Scarlet and the Black" (part 2)

By MichaelP03 on 4/6/10 5:08pm
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The supporting cast of The Scarlet and the Black - Sir John Gielgud as Pius XII, Walter Gotell as General Max Helm, Raf Vallone as Father Vittorio and Olga Karlatos as Francesca Lombardo - ensure that Plummer and Peck don't carry the movie alone. Gielgud stands out, offering cautious encouragement to O'Flaherty's rescue efforts, while engaging in brinkmanship with Kappler over his priests' diplomatic immunity.

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