BuzzFeed recently uncovered an old video of now-presidential hopeful Ben Carson expressing the belief that ancient Egyptian pyramids were granaries rather than the archeologically accepted explanation of them being tombs. When asked, Carson acknowledged that he still holds this belief. “My own personal theory is that Joseph built the pyramidsContinue Reading
If you’re into dinosaurs. you probably know that the Brontosaurus does not officially exist. At some point in time, it was decided that skeletons labeled brontosaurs were really skeletons of apatosaurs. You likely weren’t told this debacle happened all the way back in 1903 in the wake of the GreatContinue Reading
More than two years after his remains were identified and 530 years after his death, King Richard III of England will be laid to rest (again) on March 26. Historical Significance of Richard III’s Burial This is quite likely the last burial of an English king, as modern monarchs areContinue Reading
“Just in time for Christmas,” ABC reports that archeologists believe they have found where Jesus taught. Then they provide no information at all supporting such a grandiose claim. What they did find was a 2000 year old synagogue, and that’s a notable find in and of itself. They aren’t exactlyContinue Reading
I have had a very hard semester, which is why I’ve been so quiet the last month. That should change in another week once classes end. In the meantime, here’s one of my history-nerd rants: “Duchess Kate” does not exist. As described in this article, “Duchess Kate” is in theContinue Reading
We’ve heard it in the news. First, there was fear of Ebola reaching the US, then two infected doctors were brought to the US under quarantine, then a traveler from Africa developed symptoms after arriving in the US, and now one of his nurses has contracted the disease. Are weContinue Reading
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. – US Constitution, 1st Amendment The first amendment was written in a country full of religious refugees (and descendants of the same) who fled fractured Europe where millions of people had died in warsContinue Reading
Near-equality makes inequality less visible. American women largely have access to the same things as men: education, employment, the vote, etc. They live independently, making their own decisions without society judging them as radical. And when people commit egregious amounts of sexism (I’m looking at you, Rep. “Legitimate-Rape” Akin), societyContinue Reading
There’s three kinds of lies: lies, damn lies, and statistics. Numbers are easy to manipulate. You can fairly easily tell technical truths while obscuring the actual truth, or, at least, over-simplifying complex issues. Pundits and politicians do it all the time. Unless, of course, you’re just lying. Unless you liveContinue Reading
The Chinese government holds such a tight control on the Internet that foreign travelers speak of being trapped behind the Great Firewall of China. There are countless reasons why a website or even a search term might be banned, such as it supporting something considered immoral like pornography. Many, however,Continue Reading