The Palermo stone is the largest known fragment of an ancient Egyptian stele containing the earliest extant historic annals. It was engraved around the 25th century BCE and includes a hieroglyphic listing of the kings of ancient Egypt, the years of their reigns, notations of historic events, and information pertaining to the flooding of the […]
Parker was one of the most audacious con men in US history. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Parker sold and resold many of New York's landmarks to unwitting tourists. His most popular sales pitch was for the Brooklyn Bridge, a structure he sold on a regular basis. On a number of occasions, […]
Ayahuasca, or "vine of the soul," is a South American hallucinogenic brew made from the bark and stems of a tropical vine, generally Banisteriopsis caapi, mixed with other psychotropic plants. Many indigenous Amazonian peoples use the brew in their folk medicines and shamanistic rituals. In addition to its hallucinogenic properties, ayahuasca helps protect the body […]
Born Frederick Austerlitz, Astaire was an American dancer, actor, and singer who began his career as a child on a successful Broadway vaudeville team with his sister Adele. After his sister retired, Astaire became a film actor and developed a reputation as a debonair song-and-dance man, particularly in the films he made with Ginger Rogers, […]
Gokhale was an Indian nationalist leader. A moderate, he stressed negotiation and conciliation rather than non-cooperation or violence—views that clashed with the more militant ideas of Bal Gangadhar Tilak. Gokhale was instrumental in founding the Servants of India Society, a nationalist organization whose members, sworn to poverty and obedience, were enlisted to serve as volunteers […]
Canisius was a 16th century Jesuit preacher who fought against the spread of Protestantism in Germany, Austria, Bohemia, and Switzerland. His catechism, Summa Doctrinae Christianae, authorized in 1566, was one of the earliest popular expositions of the faith. The reestablishment of Roman Catholicism in Germany after the Reformation was largely due to his zeal, and […]
Mandela served as the first democratically elected President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. His political activism began after 1948 with an initial commitment to non-violent mass struggle. Later, his anti-apartheid activities led to his imprisonment for nearly 30 years. Released in 1990, he was elected president of the African National Congress and represented […]
The original Sunshine Skyway Bridge over Tampa Bay was completed in 1954. A new southbound span was opened in 1971, but only nine years later, it was destroyed when the freighter Summit Venture collided with a support column during a storm, sending more than 1,200 ft (366 m) of the bridge plummeting into the bay. […]
In response to the US boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, 14 Eastern Bloc countries, including the USSR, Cuba, and East Germany, boycotted the 1984 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles, California. The USSR cited US "chauvinistic sentiments and anti-Soviet hysteria" in its announcement of its decision not to participate. Thanks, in part, […]