Within one of history’s darkest eras, a figure emerged whose name would become synonymous with cruelty, efficiency, and death: Vasily Blokhin, the chief executioner of the Soviet Union. Blokhin is widely acknowledged and infamous for the title of the most prolific executioner in recorded world history. And for good reason. Amidst the shadowy corridors of […]
Who Was Vasily Blokhin? The Prolific Soviet Executioner Read More »
During a time when slavery had been abolished in most of the world, human zoos remained a popular attraction for millions of Europeans and Americans. They flocked to exhibits showing groups of dark-skinned people from Africa, Asia, and North America surrounded by trappings that were supposed to represent their “natural environment.” Most of these cruel
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Long before the European Union, there was the Kalmar Union. It was a grand experiment in middle-age Scandinavian diplomacy. For over a century, three kingdoms – Denmark, Norway, and Sweden – were united under the same king, bound together by promises of peace and prosperity. It was an era of both great potential and great
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Have you ever been curious about what famous people looked like before they were famous? In this article, we go back in time to see old pictures of famous people when they were younger. We will show you their old school pictures and the first pictures of them when they started acting or singing. It’s
Pictures of 38 celebrities when they were kids Read More »
The incredible life of Robert Smalls is a story of courage and daring. Smalls was born into slavery in the South in the 1800s. He rose from humble beginnings to become a naval hero, a political pioneer, and a champion for civil rights. But it was his incredible escape from the chains of enslavement that
The Miraculous Escape of Robert Smalls: From Slave to Hero Read More »
Evaluating generalship is often a practice of choosing arbitrary values to rank. Military historians will argue infinitely over the relative merits of one leader over another. Ranking Roman generals is not immune to this kind of controversy. Sun Tzu provides us with some guidance: “Therefore the skillful leader subdues the enemy’s troops without any fighting;
Who were the 10 greatest Roman generals? Read More »
In 2008, some of the unfinished manuscripts of Cuban anthropologist, historian, and musicologist, Fernando Ortiz were published posthumously as La Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre. Historia y etnografía. This work, which deals with Cuba’s patron saint, was devoured by readers all over the island. The book flew off the shelves of bookstores – a
Life of Fernando Ortiz: Cuban Anthropologist and Writer Read More »
In the long and storied history of France, the year 1789 is a demarcation line between the Old Order and what we now know as the modern country. It was a year marked by widespread hunger, protests, violence, and change. It was a year in which centuries-old concepts of social and political institutions were destroyed
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Part myth, part legend, the African warrior-chief known as Shaka Zulu transformed the Zulu people. This was a relatively small and insignificant tribe. And he turned them into one of the most savage and well-trained war machines in African history. To some, Shaka was a nation-builder. He was a uniter of Black people. A bringer
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Social scientists and philosophers have long argued that “god” is nothing more than a construct of the primitive human mind. A result of the fundamental need to explain the unexplainable. But could it be that a specific area of the brain is responsible for triggering spiritual and religious thoughts? Could humankind’s relationship with “god” be
Are Humans Hard-Wired for Religion? The “God Module” Read More »
