My Top 5 Articles of 2024
My Top 5 of 2024
Gentle Readers,
Happy End of 2024! Thank you for visiting my blog at billpetro.com.
I publish my articles not only on my blog but also on my email newsletter, Medium, and Substack.
Some readers find syndicated links to my articles on Facebook, Twitter/X, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Mastodon, Tumblr, Bluesky, Threads, Quora, and Reddit.
This year, I added podcasting as a channel for my content. Now, I have welcomed Gentle Listeners as well.
These are the Top 5 articles from my blog this year based on the number of reader views:
1. History of Telemachus: Ending the Roman Gladiatorial Games
This is the oft-told story of the monk who caused the Roman gladiatorial games to be ended upon his martyrdom on January 1, A.D. 404.
I say oft-told because stories have been told about him since the 8th and 9th centuries.
It’s in Foxe’s Book of Martyrs. Alfred Lord Tennyson recounted it during Victorian times, and Ronald Reagan used it at the National Prayer Breakfast in 1984.
The Feast of St. Telemachus is celebrated on New Year’s Day.
2. History of Ethiopian New Year: What is Enkutatash?
This holiday fell on September 11, 2024. The Washington Post interviewed me for an article they published on the subject.
The Washington D.C. area has over 200,000 Ethiopian-Americans who celebrate the holiday.
A group of local Ethiopian activists and businessmen wanted to make the day—known as Enkutatash in Ethiopia—part of the American roster of holidays like other ethnic holidays.
3. History of Waltz Day: 123, 123
Waltz Day was December 31, 2023, or 12/31/23. This day is unique, occurring only once a century.
For many, this will be the only time in their life they see this kind of date.
It is not a prime number, a Friedman number, a Fibonacci number, a Bell number, a palindromic number, a pentagonal number, or a perfect number.
Don’t expect to see this article republished soon.
4. History of Hedy Lamarr: Movie Star and Technology Inventor
Hedy Lamarr, the Austrian-American actress and Hollywood legend known as “the most beautiful woman in the world,” is remembered November 9, on the anniversary of her birthday, for her pioneering work on the technology that would become the basis for today’s WiFi, GPS, and Bluetooth communications systems.
More than a pretty face, she had a genius-level IQ of around 140.
In Hollywood, it was rumored that her striking features inspired Walt Disney to fashion his Snow White character in her image.
5. History of the Sanhedrin
From the Easter story, this article talks about the ancient Jewish “Supreme Court,” the council of the High Priestly family, Elders of the tribes and families, and the Scribes of the Law.
It was the responsibility of this body two millennia ago to identify the Messiah and expose false ones.
Yet the council had lost to the Roman governor Pilate the power of capital punishment–the jus gladii–except for against Gentile trespassers into the Temple.
Please drop by and read ’em all.
Compare with:
Bill Petro, your friendly neighborhood historian
billpetro.com
