Phoenicia was an ancient maritime civilization located along the coastal regions of modern day Lebanon, Syria, Palestinian territories, and Israel. A recent study shows that as many as 1 in 17 men living today on the coasts of North Africa and southern Europe may have a Phoenician direct male-line ancestor.
(This person is kinda upset that I dissed their favorite browser. I actually use Chrome and I like it, but for some reason the layout here is different than on Firefox. And of course, the iPad and IE just plain suck. You tool.)
Friday, October 31, 2008
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Ishi
Ishi was the pseudonym of a member of the Yahi, the last surviving group of the Yana people of California. He is believed to be the last Native American in northern California to have lived most of his life completely outside the European American culture.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Semi-vegetarianism
Pescetarianism is a type of semi-vegetarianism in which a person eats any combination of vegetables, fruit, nuts, beans and fish or invertebrate seafood, but will not eat mammals or birds.
Pollotarianism is when a person only eats vegetables, fruits, and poultry meat (particularly chicken), but does not consume meat from fish or mammals.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Yo-Yo Ma
Yo-Yo Ma is considered by many as the world's greatest living cellist and has won over a dozen Grammy awards.
Now watch him perform this god-awful piece on The Colbert Report.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Elizabeth Hasselbeck
Elizabeth Hasselbeck finished fourth overall on the reality show Survivor: The Australian Outback (2001) before landing a spot on The View.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Horace Mann
Horace Mann is known as "The Father of American Education." As secretary of the newly created board of education of Massachusetts, he established a single school system throughout the state instead of separate local school districts, urged separate classrooms for students at different levels of learning, and discouraged learning by rote and flogging as punishment. He also made sure to implement more and better equipped school houses, longer school years (until 16 years old), higher pay for teachers, and a wider curriculum.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Bill Clinton
While in office, Bill Clinton sent only two emails and one was to test the system.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Mass mobilization
The world record for mass mobilization on a single issue is 116 million people (nearly 2% of the world's population). On October 17-19, 2008, 116 million people in 131 countries took part in “Stand Up and Take Action,” a call to end poverty around the globe.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Beijing
The most economically equal city in the world is Beijing, according to a U.N. report published today. The report also finds that major U.S. cities rival the economic inequality of that in Africa.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Les Vilda
Les Vilda is the 2008 B.E.E.R. party candidate for president of the United States.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Nassim Nicholas Taleb is an author (The Black Swan) who predicted and bet on the current state of the financial crisis and won big. He predicts things will become worse.
Audio here.
Monday, October 20, 2008
Godwin's Law
Godwin's Law states:
"As a Usenet (user network) discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches one."
Just look at the comments under any political video on YouTube for the point to be proven.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Psychometry
Psychometry is a form of extra-sensory perception in which a psychic is said to be able to obtain information about an individual through paranormal means by making physical contact with an object that belongs to them.
DO NOT watch this video if you get freaked out easily. This is a clip that turns out to be FACT from Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
English fecal matter
A study has revealed that men in northern England were more likely to have fecal matter on their hands than people in southern England.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Alfred E. Smith
Alfred E. Smith was elected governor of New York four times and was the Democratic presidential candidate in 1928. He was the first Catholic and Irish-American to run for president as a major party nominee.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
President David Rice Atchison
Atchison was president for only one day. The term of James K. Polk ended at noon on March 4, 1849, but because this was a Sunday, Zachary Taylor refused to be sworn in until the next day. Since Polk's vice president had resigned a few days earlier, by law the president pro tempore of the Senate automatically became president during this vacancy. That was Atchison. He later said, "I slept most of that Sunday." On his gravestone, it says, "President of U.S. one day."
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Safe haven law
Nebraska has a safe haven law in which a parent may choose to cross state lines and abandon a child under 19 years of age at a hospital. Since its inception on July 18, 2008, 18 children have been abandoned in Nebraska including 2 from outside that state.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Michael Donald
Michael Donald was the last black person lynched in the United States (Mobile, Alabama in 1981). In 2006, Mobile renamed one of their avenues Michael Donald Avenue.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Operation Northwoods
Operation Northwoods was a false flag conspiracy plan that was proposed within the United States government in 1962. It called for CIA or other operatives to kill innocent people and commit acts of terrorism in U.S. cities to create public support for a war against the Castro-led Cuba. One plan was to "develop a Communist Cuban terror campaign in the Miami area, in other Florida cities and even in Washington".
The plan states:
The desired resultant from the execution of this plan would be to place the United States in the apparent position of suffering defensible grievances from a rash and irresponsible government of Cuba and to develop an international image of a Cuban threat to peace in the Western Hemisphere."
Operation Northwoods was drafted by the Joint Chiefs of Staff and signed by Chairman Lyman Lemnitzer, and sent to the Secretary of Defense. It was never officially accepted or executed.
PDF of the document here.
Friday, October 10, 2008
KIPP
KIPP, the Knowledge Is Power Program, is a nationwide network of free college-prep public schools in low-income communities. They are usually established under state charter school laws. There are currently 66 KIPP public schools enrolling over 16,000 students. Over 90% of students are black or Hispanic, and more than 80% of are eligible for the federal free and reduced-price meals program.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Where did the phrase "OK" come from?
No one knows for sure but the strongest argument for its etymology is explained by Columbia University professor Allen Walker Read.
The letters stand for 'oll korrect' (all correct), the result of a fad that started in Boston newspapers in 1838. It gained national fame when supporters of Martin Van Buren adopted it as the name of their political club in 1840 ('Old Kinderhook,' giving 'OK' a double meaning). Opponents used it against him, saying that it had originated with Van Buren's allegedly illiterate predecessor, Andrew Jackson, and came up with other interpretations: Out of Kash, Out of Kredit, and Out of Klothes.
Soon, newspaper editors and publicists around the country created their own meanings: Oll Killed, Orfully Konfused, Often Kontradicts, etc. By the time the campaign ended, the expression 'OK' had spread nationwide.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
World's most phallic building
The World's Most Phallic Building contest was a contest held in 2003 to find the building which most resembled a human phallus. The Ypsilanti Water Tower was announced as the winner.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Credit default swaps
Michael Greenberger, a law professor at the University of Maryland and a former director of trading and markets for the Commodities Futures Trading Commission, explains what a credit default swap is:
A credit default swap is a contract between two people, one of whom is giving insurance to the other that he will be paid in the event that a financial institution, or a financial instrument, fails.
It is an insurance contract, but they've been very careful not to call it that because if it were insurance, it would be regulated. So they use a magic substitute word called a 'swap,' which by virtue of federal law is deregulated.
Watch CBS Videos Online
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Gay animals
According to one zoologist, about 1,500 animal species are known to practice same-sex coupling. Same-sex relationships are common in the animal kingdom, scientists say, and the same is obviously true for humans. One thing exclusive to humans, however: homophobia.
Read the National Geographic article on it.
List of animals displaying homosexual behavior.
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Christine Chubbuck
Christine Chubbuck was a news anchor in Sarasota, Florida who committed suicide on live TV on the morning of July 15, 1974. She had been suffering from depression for years. These were her last words:
In keeping with Channel 40's policy of bringing you the latest in blood and guts, and in living color, you are going to see another first: an attempted suicide.
Friday, October 3, 2008
Starting off small
Murderers often start off, as young kids, killing small animals. (The kid in this video is said to have had an expressionless face almost the entire time of the rampage.)
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Antikythera mechanism
The Antikythera mechanism is considered the world's first known mechanical computer, discovered off the Greek island of Antikythera in 1901. It contains many gears, and is regarded essentially as an analog computer. The calculator appears to be constructed upon theories of astronomy and mathematics developed by Greek astronomers and it is estimated that it was made around 150 to 100 BC.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Sleep paralysis
Sleep paralysis is a condition characterized by partial or total paralysis of skeletal muscles which occurs upon awakening from sleep or while falling asleep. Possible causes include:
- Sleeping in a face upwards or supine position
- Irregular sleeping schedules; naps, sleeping in, sleep deprivation
- Increased stress
- Sudden environmental/lifestyle changes
- A lucid dream that immediately precedes the episode.