Many of us geek love codes, cyphers and other types of hidden messages, and there are few more famous codes than Morse Code. Developed in the 1800s, Morse Code is simple and easy to learn, it’s also easy to write down once you know the correct sequence of dots and dashes that represent each letter. […]
Continue ReadingOf all the science experiments we’ve done for Hanukkah this year, and last year, this one is probably the easiest to set up and demonstrate. It also turns into a very satisfying toy. The Cartesian Diver (named after René Descartes) is not only easy to build and fun to play with, it also opens the […]
Continue ReadingI’m not even going to pretend I understand the finer details of this – but the fact that I’m not a mathematician doesn’t make this project any less awesome. Andrew Carol is an Apple engineer by day, but in his spare time? He’s busy creating things like an Antikythera Mechanism out of LEGO bricks. Modeled […]
Continue ReadingI’ve tried but I can’t go back far enough in my memory to trace my geek roots. I have memories of thoroughly enjoying the Star Wars spoof on Muppet Babies in ways that my friends didn’t, my first recurring nightmare as a child was Gmork from The Neverending Story, and I was fiercely competitive with […]
Continue ReadingI received a package of books for review several weeks ago, courtesy of Penguin Books. My eighteen-year-old, Brad, immediately picked up The Real State of America Atlas: Mapping the Truths of the United States by Cynthia Enloe and Joni Seager and thumbed through it. “This is going to be a good book,” he announced. Filled […]
Continue ReadingLast weekend the family headed up to Atlanta for some fun sightseeing. We had tickets to an Atlanta Braves baseball game on the Sunday afternoon of that weekend, but otherwise we sought out family-friendly, educational activities that wouldn’t break the bank. What to do…what to do…? Most families staying in downtown Atlanta would have considered […]
Continue ReadingSome time ago, I suddenly realised what would be my dream job: I’d like to be Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. After Voldemort’s fall, if possible. Or before his rise. I intend to keep the charge more than one year. Alas, it seems that few schools (if any) are looking for such a teacher, so […]
Continue ReadingThe week after we celebrate our 235th Independence Day, I give you America’s Facebook wall. Entitled, “Like It or Unfriend It?”, the image was created by author Teddy Wayne, Vanity Fairstaffer Mike Sacks and designer Thomas Ng. Nice little run through history, don’t you think? Another humorous composition about our history: the founding fathers tweeting. Remember […]
Continue ReadingThis year Father’s Day falls on June 19, on this date in 1910 Father’s Day was celebrated for the first time in Spokane, WA. Whilst other towns have claims to prior celebrations, it is from this event in Spokane that we can trace the modern-day holiday. Though Calvin Coolidge was an advocate of the holiday, […]
Continue ReadingWe’ve all heard the theory that aliens built the pyramids of Egypt. Popular arguments range from, “There’s no way humans could build things that big,” to, “Even with modern technology we can’t make things that precise.” So clearly aliens did it. As a historian I scoff at that. You don’t have to agree with me. […]
Continue ReadingEvery summer I run a History through the Creative Arts camp for homeschoolers in my area. It started as a way to do history with my own children that was based on something other than war and politics. I find it easier to relate periods of history to what the classical composers were doing at […]
Continue ReadingRecently my family endured a week of cabin fever brought on by snow, weblessness, and our general proximity to one another. We survived by watching movies together each night after dinner, but were limited to our rental cabin’s movie collection. This included only dusty classics that every adult Homo Sapien has seen at least fourteen […]
Continue ReadingIn celebration of President’s Day, Google Earth offers up an entirely new way to discover a little presidential knowledge. Their Explore Our U.S. Presidents map pinpoints where each President was from and offers an image of the President with links to more information. You can download the file and launch it in Google Earth or […]
Continue ReadingNational Weatherman’s Day is on February 5th, honoring John Jeffries, one of the first Americans to take weather observations.
Continue ReadingWhat carries A Discovery of Witches is the depth of knowledge Ms. Harkness brings to it.
Continue ReadingImage via Wikipedia Since 2000, all fifty states have celebrated Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, which was established in 1986. The third Monday of January, it celebrates the life and work of a Nobel Peace Prize winning activist man who was inspiring to so many, who helped to carry along an important cause that is […]
Continue ReadingI’m saddened to inform all ye who cling to the age-old symbol of feminist power, that your mascot has passed away. Geraldine Hoff Doyle died at age 86 on December 26th in Lansing, Michigan. If you haven’t the foggiest idea who that is, shame on you. OK, not really. I didn’t know who it was […]
Continue ReadingWe talk about sex, grammar, sci-fi, knitting, baby names, and so much more.
Continue ReadingHistory and the formation of a man’s conscience are a compelling read in Devil Dog: The Amazing True Story of the Man Who Saved America.
Continue ReadingAlexander Hamilton is the dude to know in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s “The Hamilton Mixtape” performed at the White House.
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