The place to learn about the past and present,
The fraudster and swindler who almost talked his way into becoming king of a tiny mountain realm, armed with a catalogue of lies and a manifesto for modernisation To be a vocational swindler, fraudster, conman, trickster, scam artist, is to be someone typically unconscionable; someone who is successful in one’s lies by telling them with... Continue Reading →
The lowdown on the ten most important Greek cities in the ancient world, their statuses today, and what remains of their archealogical wonders Antioch Antioch may have been a small Greek trading colony before Seleucus I Nicator founded the city shortly after 300 BC. Seleucus was a general of Alexander the Great’s - the Macedonian... Continue Reading →
Four countries that didn't have a dog in the fight but, unknown to most, battled in the 2nd World War World War Two wasn’t called a ‘world war’ for nothing; a whole heap of nations got sucked into it. There was the ‘Big Six’ of course; there were the exiled governments of occupied countries like... Continue Reading →
The time one disregarded European state forgot to end the 'Great War' For its main belligerents, World War One lasted from 1914 until 1918, yet bizarrely Germany remained technically at war with one country for another 39 years. Modern Andorra is a European minnow state of 468 km (181 sq mi) and just 76,000 call... Continue Reading →
The oceans have always proved bountiful for coastal communities, providing not only sustenance but valuables lost in the sand or washed ashore from shipwrecks. For the people of the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad in 2015, however, the sea gifted a hoard of 'Baltic Gold'. Amber is hard, transparent fossilised tree resin, the sort famous for... Continue Reading →
It baffles people now as it did then, when hundreds of people around 16th Century Strasbourg danced and danced till they could dance no more. Read about its potential cause and the remedies phycisians came up with One Summer’s day in 1518 down a narrow street in Strasbourg, France an odd thing occurred; people turned... Continue Reading →
The Voynich Manuscript has professional code breakers trying to decipher its meaning, filled as it is with exquisite illustrations and an unknown language. A book was once written that’s had everyone from cryptographers to professional code breakers scratching their heads in bemusement. Who wrote it, What does it mean, or even, what language is it... Continue Reading →
Some towns are so closely linked to some of the world’s most popular foods and drinks they gave them their name. Here we take a look and find out why these places are such meccas for foodies and connoisseurs. Cheddar, UK West Country Farmhouse Cheddar (coombecastle.com) If you like any cheese at all it will... Continue Reading →
History and Things 