Archive for the ‘From the web’ Category
Great Pyramid likely built with internal ramp
All of the theories about how the Great Pyramid was built had problems with them. Until Jean-Pierre Houdin, a French architect, came up with his internal ramp theory. He suggests that blocks were hauled up a ramp that was — and still is — inside the pyramid. It makes perfect sense, and it’s also consistent […]
Carpool Karaoke with Paul McCartney
“Carpool Karaoke” is a segment on “The Late Late Show with James Corden.” In it Corden drives around with a singer and they sing some of his or her songs together. Corden has a good voice and always knows all the words. In this episode he drives around Liverpool with Paul McCartney. McCartney visits the […]
It’s time to get rid of nuclear weapons
One of the most important things we need to do in the 21st century is get rid of nuclear weapons. The 2017 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN). Here is the text of the speech given when that award was handed out: International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear […]
An alternate history of movies since 1977
What if George Lucas had never made Star Wars in 1977? That’s the intriguing premise of this article by Kevin Lincoln on Polygon: What if Star Wars never happened? A few tidbits: George Lucas would have filmed Apocalypse Now, Harrison Ford wouldn’t have become an actor, Jack Nicholson would have starred in Blade Runner, and […]
Stopping Doug Ford from doing terrible things
We need to stop Doug Ford from doing the most terrible of the terrible things he has planned. Martin Lukacs in The Guardian points out we’ve done it before, under Mike Harris. People who care will need to focus on what’s important and make their voices heard. Doug Ford’s disastrous agenda can be derailed by […]
The library at Alexandria
I’ve always been fascinated by the library at Alexandra. Here’s a video that tells you a few things about it — like when it was built, and the scientific breakthroughs made there. The one thing everybody knows about it is that it was destroyed in a fire — except that’s probably not true. The video […]
Try sanctioning Trump instead of the US
Governments around the world dealing with the current US administration need to think outside the box. This is not a normal administration. Scott Gilmore in Maclean’s has come up with a brilliant idea. Pointing out that Trump failed to divest himself of his business interests, contrary to all other presidents before him, Gilmore suggests these […]
Oldest wooden sculpture is 11 500 years old
The wooden sculpture known as the Shigir Idol has been carbon dated, giving us a better idea of how old it is — and it turns out it’s twice as old as the Egyptian Pyramids. It was discovered by gold miners in 1894 and it’s amazing it’s survived as much as it has. More details, including […]
War was outlawed in 1928
In this article from Scientific American, Michael Shermer points out that war was outlawed in 1928. I was pretty surprised — I’d never heard of this. But it’s true — it’s called the General Pact for the Renunciation of War, also known as the Kellogg–Briand Pact, and was originally signed by France, Germany, and the […]
The case against Donald Trump
Here’s a sobering interview with journalist Sarah Kendzior in which she points out that things people are surprised about now were actually known months or years ago and the problem is that no one did anything about them. She has plenty of blame to throw around. “The Mafia White House”: My no-holds-barred interview on The […]