The Mafia. The name alone conjures shadowy images of underworld activity – debts and allegiances, honor and respect, family, power, and death. Add to that the popular cinematic exploits of Hollywood Mafioso as portrayed by Brando, De Niro, Pacino et al, and there is a romanticism associated with ‘the men of honor’ that is difficult […]
Continue readingEveryone thinks they’re too smart to fall for a scam until it happens to them. No matter how sure you are that you can spot a con, sometimes it just takes you by surprise. It doesn’t have to be a flashy stock market swindle; it can happen when you’re just walking down the street. Street […]
Continue readingIn 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 readingThe world is out to get you. That’s how I ended up feeling after compiling this list of horrifying, permanently scarring, eternally terrifying rare diseases. Genetic, infectious, parasitic and everything in-between, these 15 diseases scar their victims for life and scar us mentally having looked at them. 15. Blaschko’s Lines So, it turns out we […]
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…For answer Holmes clapped the hat upon his head. It came right over the forehead and settled upon the bridge of his nose. "It is a question of cubic capacity, " said he; "a man with so large a brain must have something in it. " … Sherlock Holmes – The Adventure of the Blue […]
Continue readingEver since the term ‘subliminal advertising’ was coined in the 1950s, the idea of advertisements with hidden messages that can influence us without our conscious understanding has captivated the popular imagination. If adverts can steer us toward a particular product through surreptitiously placed words or images designed to be absorbed at a subconscious level, how […]
Continue readingHave you ever missed your favorite television show one week and wanted to watch it before the next week’s new episode aired so that you wouldn’t be completely lost (Fans of “24” and “Lost” can certainly relate to this). Have you parked yourself in front of your television to watch a football, basketball, or soccer […]
Continue readingI’ve been reading up on the history of Marijuana. I smoked weed for years without having much knowledge about it. Now that I have more knowledge I have little to no desire to smoke it. But on occassion it’s nice to hit the pipe and relax. I’ve compiled a list of the 10 best marijuana […]
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 […]
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