This Week in History: Birth of Napoleon’s Greatest Diplomat

This week, over 250 years ago, Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord was born. Talleyrand (the man in the flowing white wig stood directly behind the table) was a French politician and diplomat who served under, and later conspired against, Napoleon.

Ye Olde Snippets: Age Is Just A Stereotype

The old believe everything; the middle-aged suspect everything; the young know everything.

The Richest Person in History

Names such as Carnegie, Rockefeller or Rothschild are all synonymous with vast fortunes, and rightly so. However when it comes to deciding the individual with the largest ever fortune things get more complicated. A smart guess would be to look at some of the wealthiest people around in the time of the Roman Empire, such […]

This Week in History: The Great Emu War Ends, Emus Win

In this week in history, Australia admitted defeat in its war with thousands of large, flightless birds. Imagine an army, 20,000 strong, that can run at 30 mph – significantly faster than Usain Bolt – take up to five bullets before being felled and tear down metal fencing with just their legs. Major Meredith of […]

The US Presidential Election Special

Today, millions of Americans will go to the polls and vote for the next President of the United States. A lot of people have called this election the craziest in American history, and in some ways they might be right. But unless Clinton dies before the day is up, or Trump loses and gets his revenge by shooting a Cabinet […]

Ye Olde Snippets: Even God’s Work Has Room for Improvement

Had I been present at the Creation, I would have given some useful hints for the better ordering of the universe.

This Week in History: Frederick the Great’s Finest Moment

This week, just over 250 years ago, the battle of Rossbach ended with Frederick the Great’s Prussia crushing the armies of France, the Holy Roman Empire and Austria. A year into the Seven Years’ War, the 18th century’s answer to a World War, and things weren’t looking too good for Prussia. United as a kingdom […]

This Week in History: Chicago World’s Fair Closes

This week saw Chicago’s widely successful World’s Columbian Exposition come to an end in 1893. It sounded like a task handed down to Hercules – transform a city ravaged by fire just two decades before into a home for the most spectacular world fair ever seen. Amidst massive corruption at just about every level and constant […]

This Week in History: The World is Created (According to a 17th century Archbishop)

This week, Archbishop of Armagh James Ussher established the date of creation as October 22nd, 4004 BC. These days, the majority of people believe that the Earth was created a few billion years ago. And so they should – the science is right there. But just a few hundred years ago, there was no such thing […]

How to Rob the Lottery (And Get Away With It)

François-Marie Arouet, better known by his pen name Voltaire, was a famous French philosopher and writer during the 18th century. He wrote everything from poems to essays, novels to serious works of science, and advocated for human rights and freedom of religion and expression in a time where such ideas could get you killed. He inspired […]