A Brief History On April 20, 2022, marijuana users celebrate a day that is commonly acknowledged as “Marijuana Day,” an unofficial holiday in which marijuana aficionados rally around their herb of choice and advocate for the legalization of recreational marijuana use and the associated decriminalization of the growing, possession, and use of the leaves of Cannabis sativa and its closely related kin, Cannabis indica, the scientific name of the plant we usually refer to as marijuana, weed, pot, or other euphemistic names. So, what could be the problem? Digging Deeper To date, according to US News, 18 states as well…
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A Brief History On January 31, 2022, we take a look at one of many persistent conspiracy theory type allegations that seem to permeate our society at the present time, this time going back to the ancient origins of the Olmec civilization of what is now modern Mexico. Despite ample evidence to support the conventional academic view of Olmec origins, as well as other Native American peoples’ origins, these wild theories include Nordic, African, Chinese, and Jaredite sources of the population that became the Olmecs. Digging Deeper Current serious academic scientists date the Olmec civilization from about 1500 BC and…
A Brief History On October 7, 1988, a native Alaskan hunter found three Gray Whales trapped by the sea ice near Point Barrow, Alaska in the Beaufort Sea, initiating a chain of events that culminated in a massive international rescue effort of the giant cetaceans. The rescue effort, named Operation Breakthrough, failed to save the youngest whale, which died before being freed, and the fate of the other 2 whales that were ultimately freed is unknown. Digging Deeper Whales and their kin have been hunted by humans ever since humans took to the sea in any sort of boat. Prior…
A Brief History On October 1, 2009, paleontologists formally announced the discovery of the relatively complete Ardipithecus ramidus fossil skeleton first unearthed in 1994. An incredibly important find in the search for the origins of human beings, the fossil is of a creature that is both bipedal and arboreal, and not real good at either form of existence! When walking upright, Ardipithecus ramidus was less efficient than humans, and life in the trees left him less than as adept as arboreal primates. Still, Ardi is an example of the species that is recognized as the earliest member of the family…
A Brief History On July 12, 1776, famous explorer English Captain James Cook set sail from Plymouth on what was to be his final voyage. The premier English explorer of the Pacific, Cook had taken voyages from 1768-1771 and 1772-1775, greatly expanding British knowledge of the Pacific, its islands, aits people. Cook’s third voyage would take the route around Africa to the Indian Ocean and on to the Pacific. Digging Deeper Captain Cook was given the task of returning a young man named Omai (Mai in his native language) to his homeland of the island of Raiatea, one of the…