Monthly Archives: March 2024
HISTORIC DISCOVERY: TERRA COTTA WARRIORS
Image from http://www.clipartlord.com/2014/11/01/free-terracotta-warrior-clip-art/ Fifty years ago tomorrow, peasant farmers digging a well in Lintong, Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, China unearthed some pieces of pottery dating from the Qin Dynasty (211-206 BC) and archaeologists moved in to dig more extensively. This led to the discovery of the tomb of China’s first emperor, Qin Shi Huang Di. A tomb […]
HISTORIC TRADITION: KISSING THE BLARNEY STONE
Happy St. Patrick’s Day! I kissed the Blarney Stone over fifty years ago, but it didn’t seem to make me any more loquacious than I was before. https://www.history.com/news/why-do-people-kiss-the-blarney-stone https://www.ancient-origins.net/ancient-places-europe/blarney-castle-021965
HISTORY SHARE: DUNBLANE MASSACRE
https://www.britannica.com/event/Dunblane-school-massacre https://inews.co.uk/news/uk/dunblane-massacre-what-happened-school-shooting-thomas-hamilton-gunman-victims-25th-anniversary-909028 https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-1996-dunblane-massacre-pushed-uk-enact-stricter-gun-laws-180977221 https://www.npr.org/2022/06/01/1102239642/school-shooting-dunblane-massacre-uvalde-texas-gun-control
TRIVIA TRAIL: TIME MEASUREMENT
Question: In many places, clocks will have been put forward an hour in the early hours of today, but who were the first people to measure time? Answer: The Egyptians, using sundials that indicated time by means of the length and direction of the shadow cast by an upright stick. https://www.encyclopedia.com/science-and-technology/mathematics/mathematics/measurement-time https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/experts-time-division-days-hours-minutes
HISTORIC RECOGNITION: INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY
Today is International Women’s Day. It’s been around since 1911, but only attained UN recognition in 1975. Amongst Christians, it is also Women’s World Day of Prayer. This year’s service was written by Palestinian women, and focusses on Peace. There, and everywhere. https://www.history.com/news/the-surprising-history-of-international-womens-day https://worlddayofprayer.net/index.html https://worlddayofprayer.net/index.html https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8w8RV9N9-9o
Time Travelling With Kids 