Science
History of Daylight Saving Time: Why do we Spring forward?
Reading Time: 3 minutesHISTORY OF DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME Podcast version t seems like only yesterday that we discussed the ending of Daylight Saving Time, or DST, a brilliant campaign to convince people that we’re getting more daylight each day when, in reality, they’ve simply changed their clocks and then forgotten about it within two weeks. It was only…
Read MoreHistory of March: Why in like a Lion and out like a Lamb?
Reading Time: 3 minutesHISTORY OF MARCH Podcast version he month that can come “in like a lion and out like a lamb” is named after Mars, the Roman god of war (and agriculture). Indeed, in French, the month is called Mars. It shares the name with the fourth planet in the Solar System, the blood-colored “Red Planet,”…
Read MoreHistory of New Year’s Eve
Reading Time: 4 minutesHISTORY OF NEW YEAR’S EVE Podcast version ew Year’s Eve, according to the Gregorian Calendar, is the last day of the year, known as Old Year’s Day or St. Sylvester’s Day. You may remember reading that Emperor Constantine was considered the first “Christian” Roman Emperor. St. Sylvester, the Bishop of Rome, baptized Constantine in…
Read MoreHistory of the Santa Tracker: How a Typo began Christmas tracking at NORAD
Reading Time: 3 minutesHistory of the NORAD Santa Tracker: How a typo began Christmas tracking at NORAD
Read MoreScience of the Winter Solstice
Reading Time: 2 minutesScience of the Winter Solstice: what does it mean, how it ushers in Winter
Read MoreHistory of the Christmas Star: Natural or supernatural?
Reading Time: 3 minutesHISTORY OF THE CHRISTMAS STAR: NATURAL OR SUPERNATURAL? he Star of Bethlehem has long intrigued scholars, sparking debates and diverse interpretations of the phenomenon. While some skeptics dismiss it as a myth or a literary tool designed to emphasize the significance of the Nativity, others view it as a miraculous event beyond natural explanation, placed…
Read MoreHistory of the Poinsettia: Why is it the Christmas Flower?
Reading Time: 2 minutesHistory of the Poinsettia: the history of the “Christmas flower” from its origin in Mexico to its popularity in the US. #HistoryOfTheHolidays
Read MoreHistory of Mistletoe: Why is it the Kissing plant?
Reading Time: 3 minutesHISTORY OF MISTLETOE Podcast istletoe was prominent in the traditions of the Druids and the lore of Northern Europe, as I’ve mentioned previously in my article on Christmas Traditions. The Druids used the mistletoe of their sacred oak as part of their ritual five days after the new moon following the Winter Solstice. In…
Read MoreHistory of Hedy Lamarr: Movie Star and Technology Inventor
Reading Time: 3 minutesHedy Lamarr, the Austrian-American actress and Hollywood legend known as “the most beautiful woman in the world,” is remembered today, 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.
Read MoreInformation Reformation: How the Web Was Like the Reformation
Reading Time: 3 minutesInformation Reformation: 5 Ways Martin Luther and the Gutenberg movable type printing press presaged the Internet explosion of information.
Read MoreHistory of Daylight Saving Time – Fall Back
Reading Time: 3 minutesHISTORY OF DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME – ENDING Daylight Saving Time, or DST, is a clever campaign to convince us that we’re getting more daylight each day when, in reality, we’ve simply changed our clocks and then forgotten about it within two weeks. DST begins each year at 2:00 a.m. on the second Sunday in March…
Read MoreHistory of the Internet: Over 50 Years Ago
Reading Time: 7 minutesHISTORY OF THE INTERNET: OVER 50 YEARS AGO On October 29, 1969, at 10:30 PM, a computer grad student at UCLA named Charley Kline sent a message to SRI. (Stanford Research Institute.) It was the first connection between computer networks. The Internet began! We set up a telephone connection between us and the guys…
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