In 1700, barely a decade after the invention of the modern newspaper, the first matrimonial service was created. These services ran ads on behalf of single men and women who were desperate to find a good husband or wife. At the time, being single past 21 carried with it a deep stigma and turning to […]
Continue readingPaul of Tarsus Saul of Tarsus, a.k.a. Paul the Apostle, Paul of Tarsus [?-65 c.e.] was a Hellenistic Jew and student of Gamaliel the Elder who served as enforcer for the Pharisaic Sanhedrin against the apostate Christian sect following the crucifixion of Jesus. Around 33 c.e. he experienced a dramatic conversion experience while on the […]
Continue readingImage: Eddie Adams Popular photography as we know it was presented to the public in the 1840s. It was proposed as the ultimate portrayal of reality and the eternal confinement of history – unlike art or prose, photographs are not easily altered. They have been used to depict the terrors and truths of war, to […]
Continue readingPeople around the world have been smoking marijuana for thousands of years while also using the hemp plant for everything from fabric and rope to ethanol fuel. Unfortunately, somewhere along the way, a man with a bit of power and enough determination decided pot was wicked, evil and narcotic. He moved mountains to make it […]
Continue readingAdolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (or National Socialist German Worker’s Party) created in the Third Reich the most extreme and terrifying example of a totalitarian regime the world has ever seen. It is often wondered quite how a sophisticated and highly developed 20th century nation was politically overpowered by the Nazis. One answer, and […]
Continue readingAtheism is generating quite a lot of attention these days. Prominent atheists are getting the word out about their views in increasing numbers and generating lots of public debate on the proper place of religion in governments and societies in the modern world. And now more than ever, atheists have been able to network together […]
Continue reading