Browsing: Nature

A Brief History On November 30 1016, Edmund Ironside, also known as Edmund II or even Ēadmund Isernside (in Old English), was murdered on his “throne,” stabbed to death as he attended to “business.” Digging Deeper Why the quotation marks around “throne” and “business?” Because the poor guy was trying to go to the bathroom at the time of his assassination!  What a “crappy” way to die!  In fact, Edmund had only been king since April 23, 1016, so he barely got to enjoy the benefits of his time as king.  Other chroniclers have claimed the doomed king was done…

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A Brief History On October 18, 1851, the Herman Melville classic, Moby Dick, was first published under its original or alternate title, The Whale.  Not surprisingly, a particular enormous Sperm Whale, that happens to be white in color, is the star of the story, never mind the human drama that interferes with the exciting whale parts!  People have often written books and stories about animals, whether those critters are loved pets, feared predators of humans, or just focusing on the animal as an individual persona.  Some of the stories are scary, some sad, some fictional and some really happened.  These…

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A Brief History On September 13, 2019, we “celebrate” another Friday the 13th, the legendary bad luck spooky day, a day so scary an iconic motion picture franchise is based on its name!  Just a note to make this year’s edition of Friday the 13th a little scarier, tonight we will experience a “Harvest Moon,” an event that has not coincided with a Friday the 13th since the year 2000.  Oh boy, does this mean we have to deal with werewolves and vampires as well as general bad luck?  At least we will be able to see with the light…

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A Brief History On August 27, 1859, oil was discovered in Pennsylvania, an event we used to list “10 Momentous Discoveries.”  In honor of that previous list, we take this opportunity today to list 10 things that people have not yet discovered (or rediscovered as the case may be), but things that would rate as “momentous” discoveries when and if we find them.  No significance is attached to the order listed, nor do we imply these are the most important things left to discover, just ones of particular interest or notoriety. Digging Deeper 1. Atlantis Even Donovan sang a popular…

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A Brief History In 1921, the first industrial station for the transformation of urban organic materials into compost was set up in Wels, Austria.  Today, gardeners generally are pretty enthusiastic about the concept of composting for their soils. Although the concept of breaking down organic materials into something your plants can utilize is an easy enough concept, many find it difficult to get started with the whole composting bin idea. If you are ready to jump into the composting world, it will not be long before you ask yourself why you did not do it sooner, since all you truly need…

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