10 Deadliest World Events In Human History by Simon Rickards, January 3, 2013 • • •

Throughout human history, there have been many world events that have seen a multitude of deaths and widespread destruction. The ten entries on this list are ranked according to the number of deaths. While some of the events spanned just a few years, others occurred over centuries. Since these death toll estimates are always highly disputed, I have made it a rule to use the highest respectable estimate in every case. I have also chosen to focus this list on ‘man-made’ events – natural disasters have not been included. 10 Atlantic Slave Trade Death Toll Estimate: 15 Million D

The Atlantic (or Trans-Atlantic) slave trade began roughly in the 16th century, reaching

its peak in the 17th century until finally being all but abolished in the 19th Century. The main driving force behind this trade was the need for European empires to establish themselves in the New World. European and American settlers therefore began to use mainly West African slaves to fill the vast labor needs on plantations. Estimates vary on the amount of slaves who died, but it is said that for every ten slaves taken on a ship, ffour would perish from causes related to mistreatment. 9 Late Yuan Warfare & Transition to Ming Dynasty Death Toll Estimate: 30 Million D

The Yuan dynasty was founded by Kublai Khan, the grandson of Genghis Khan, around 1260. Yuan literally translates as ‘Great is the Heavenly and Primal’, though there proved to be nothing either great or heavenly about it. The dynasty turned out to be one of the shortest-lived in the history of China, covering just a century until it fell in 1368. Chaos reigned during the twilight years of the Yuan Dynasty, and the lands were marked by warring tribes, outlaws, political struggle, famine, and bitterness among the populace. After all this carnage, the Ming Dynasty

took control. Their reign is described by some as “one of the greatest eras of orderly ggovernment and social stability in human history.” 8 An Lushan Rebellion Death Toll Estimate: 36 Million D

Around 500 years before Yuan, the Tang Dynasty was in control of China. An Lushan – a general in the north of China – sought to take control, and declared himself emperor (creating the Yan Dynasty). The An Lushan rebellion lasted from 755 until 763, when the Yan Dynasty was finally defeated by the Tang empire. Medieval warfare was always a bloody affair – and this rebellion was no exception. Millions died and the Tang Dynasty never fully recovered. D 7 Taiping Rebellion Death Toll Estimate: 40 Million

Jump forward a thousand years and the Chinese are at it again – this time with some help from the French, the British, and some American mercenaries. In 1850, the Qing Dynasty is now in charge of China. They had suffered some major problems before the rebellion, with natural and economic disasters causing havoc – not to mention the Europeans bringing opium addiction to China. So up stepped Hong Xiuquan, who amongst other things claimed to be the younger brother of Jesus Christ. Hong D established the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom – and the carnage began. The Taiping Rebellion happened at roughly the same time as the American civil war, though the llatter conflict proved to be far less bloody. 6 Great Chinese Famine Death Toll Estimate: 43 Million

Another century later and we’re now in a Communist-led China. The period 1958 to 1961 is also know as ‘the great leap forward’ – and it’s a sombre lesson in what can happen when a government attempts to change a country too quickly. Although droughts and poor weather conditions led to the famine, the disaster can quite easily be seen as a consequence of the government’s attempts to rapidly transform the country from an agrarian economy into a modern communist society. Chinese peasants describe this period as the ‘three bitter years’, which is something of an understatement. Several decades later the Chinese economy became the largest in the world – but at qquite a price. D 5 Soviet Crimes Death Toll Estimate: 49 Million

Here D is another example of a disaster caused by a country with a vast population trying to change its economic and social landscape in a very short period. Under the Soviet Union, from 1917 to 1953, millions of Russians died at the hands of revolution, civil war, famine, forced resettlement and other crimes. One man can take most of the blame: Joseph Stalin.

His desire to build a new and better country at any cost – and to keep hold of the power he had gained – was a direct cause of the majority of casualties under Soviet rule. It is hhard to fathom how, in 1948, he was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. 4 Mongol Conquests Death Toll Estimate: 60 Million D

If there is one man who could be said to have more blood on his hands than anyone else in history, it is Genghis Khan. Under the leadership of Khan (and successors after his death), the Mongol empire grew into the largest land empire the world has ever seen – at its peak covering 16% of the Earth. The Mongol army swept across Asia, killing its rivals with great ferocity for the best part of two centuries. The death toll would certainly have been much higher if the Mongols had continued to progress west and into Europe. Aside from all the killing, it wasn’t all bad under Mongol rule – with religious tolerance ggiven to most faiths, as well as tax breaks for the poor. 3 World War 1 Death Toll Estimate: 65 Million

Although other wars had come close quite a few times, this was the first truly global war. The causes of the ‘great war’ are varied and rather complicated, but suffice it to say that in 1914 when the various European empires began to get too big for each other, they decided to form two vast alliances and fight it out for dominance. Europe became divided, and dragged the rest of the world into its rapidly widening sinkhole. Outdated warfare tactics were deadly to the soldiers involved: these young men would often be ordered to walk very slowly towards the opponent’s machine-gun fire. When the war finished in 1918, Europe and the world began to count the cost of so many lost lives. Most agreed that this madness could never happen again… m 2D World War 2 Death Toll Estimate: 72 Million

Having taken a break from fighting for a few years, ‘total war’ broke out again in 1939. The two teams divided again into vast forces, and called themselves the Allies and the Axis. During the short break before the war, each country had decided to build some new killing machines – taking to the skies and to the sea, and developing more efficient land-based vehicles as well as automatic weapons their soldiers could now carry. And as if this wasn’t enough, a certain country decided to build a very big bomb. The Allies eventually ‘won’ the war, though 85% of the death toll came from their side, with the Soviet Union and China seeing the greatest casualties. The majority of deaths also came ooutside of the combat zone, and can therefore be attributed to war crimes. 1 European Colonization of the Americas Death Toll Estimate: 100 Million

D

When Christopher Columbus, John Cabot and other explorers in the 15th century found a new continent, it must’ve seemed like the dawn of a new age. Here was a new paradise that adventurous Europeans could call their new home. There was, however, one problem: this land already had an indigenous population. Over the following centuries, the seafaring Europeans brought vast death tolls to what is now referred to as North and South America. Although war and invasion can account for a hefty chunk of these casualties, it was the natives’ lack of immunity to European diseases that caused the most deaths. Some estimates state that 80% of the Native American population died as a result of contact with Europeans. D «Sit tibi terra levis» es una locución latina que se puede traducir como «que la tierra te sea ligera». Era utilizada en el mundo romano precristiano como epitafio, frecuentemente abreviada concluyendo las lápidas con sus iniciales: S·T·T·L. Evoca de forma muy poética la angustia que produce el pensar en el peso de la tierra sepulcral oprimiendo el cuerpo que yace bajo ella. Se dirige directamente al difunto, lo que implica una idea de trascendencia. Se documentan variantes como T·L·S («terra levis sit», «que la tierra sea ligera») o S·E·T·L («sit ei terra levis», «que a este le sea ligera la tierra»). Equivale a las locuciones cristianas más modernas «requiescat in pace» (R. I. P.), o, ya en español, «descanse en paz» (D. E. P.) o «que en paz descanse» (Q. E. P. D.).

Esta locución aparece con frecuencia en la literatura latina clásica, en múltiples variaciones, como por ejemplo en Tibulo (Elegías, 2, 4, 50): «et bene discedens dicet placideque quiescas, terraque securae sit super ossa levis» («y marchándose dirá: que descanses bien y con tranquilidad, y que la tierra te sea ligera sobre los huesos, bien resguardada»).

Ten moments that changed history – in pictures Ahead of his new television series, Andrew Marr selects the great turning points, from humans migrating out of Africa 70,000 years ago, to the rise of Genghis Khan, and Hiroshima • Andrew Marr's History of the World starts on Sunday 23 September at 9pm on BBC1 • • • • •

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70,000 years ago Mother steps out According to DNA studies, modern humans left Africa in a single migration, spreading across the planet after just one tribe crossed into today’s Arabia. Indeed, it’s reckoned that every human alive now who is not sub-Saharan African ultimately derives from a single woman. Archaeologists argue, but the 'out of Africa' thesis is the most popular explanation. So from Tokyo to Helsinki, São Paulo to Saffron Walden, we’re all family. I find that curiously moving, in a woozy, Olympics-ceremony kind of way. So – go that girl • •

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From 11,000 years ago The invention of porridge Or, to put it differently, the first of at least five separate moments when farming was discovered – that is, the planting and selection of cereals, alongside the tethering of some animals. It meant that people stopped being nomadic hunters, and human populations grew, trapping farmers with more mouths to feed. It also meant tooth decay, bad backs and a lot of very boring work. But without it there would have been no villages, towns – no empires, no cars, no moon landing, no history, really, at all. And, of course, with GM foods and fish farms, it’s an ancient story that hasn’t stopped • •

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c.2000BC Da Yu and the Great Flood Da Yu is a mythic rather than historical figure. He’s supposed to have united the clans living along China’s Yellow River by persuading them to co-operate in a huge network of channels and canals to end its devastating floods. It turns out that the link between rivers such as the Yellow, the Nile, the Tigris and the Indus, and the growth of early civilisations is very strong. To tame them, or irrigate, people have to be organised and submit to some kind of authority. So rulers and classes emerge. Da Yu symbolises something absolutely real. I like the idea that China’s first hero was a civil engineer •

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c.35AD Saul falls over Why did the creed of Jesus of Nazareth sweep the Mediterranean? The tent maker from Tarsus and persecutor of Christians, Saul, later Paul, was the man who got it all going. After his famous moment on the road to Damascus he decided this creed was for everyone, not just for Jews. His manic missionary journeys began to spread the word even to Rome. Eventually one of the least likely saints, Emperor Constantine (he poisoned his illegitimate son and boiled his wife to death in the bath, it’s said), made Christianity the official Roman religion, and now it’s the world’s most popular

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c.1162 Temujin is born… ... and survives despite being exiled from his tribe and living wild in the forest. He will later rise to power, meld all the Mongol tribes together and take the name Genghis Khan, or world ruler. His devastating invasions of Asia destroyed Muslim civilisations and tilted the balance for the first time in favour of Christian Europe – one unintended consequence of a career that would also change Russia, India and China, making Temujin probably the most influential human in history. 6 / 10

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1532 Pizarro ambushes the Inca emperor Atahualpa The Inca and their emperor, Atahualpa, were no innocents. They were a ruthless bunch, overwhelmed first by Spanish gunpowder and then by microbes. Some 95% of the population disappeared after Europeans arrived in the Americas. Francisco Pizarro’s obsession with gold and silver meant he melted down priceless artworks and sent them home as dreary blocks of bullion. The Spanish blew the wealth on church decorations and unsuccessful wars. Meanwhile, Pizarro’s men missed the really valuable object all around them – the potato • •

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1796 Edward Jenner discovers vaccination People had known for a long time that you could stop someone getting smallpox (one of the world’s great killers, blinders and disfigurers) by infecting them with a tiny amount of pus or scabs. But this was also dangerous. Jenner discovered you could protect them by giving them harmless cowpox. He did it by grabbing a local Gloucestershire boy and trying it. He wouldn’t be allowed to do this now, of course, but he probably saved more lives than any other human who has ever lived. Along with Shakespeare, he deserves to be the best-known Englishman • •

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1921 Margaret Sanger and Katharine Dexter McCormick meet for lunch, New York One was an Irish-American anarchist rebel, the other a fabulously wealthy member of America’s industrial aristocracy. But they shared, by smuggling contraceptives and, much later, by funding research into the Pill, this strange alliance which did more for women than any conventional political movement. Sanger (above) wasn’t exactly an admirable woman – a bully, a eugenicist and at times a liar – but then big historical change-makers, I’ve noticed, are rarely nice • •

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1923 A provincial policeman misses... … and damn! For Hitler had ducked. The marching rebel beside him was shot dead. Thus the Nazis’ Munich “beer-hall revolution” ended in an embarrassing shambles. The following year, Hitler got a relatively light sentence for treason. In prison he dictated a book originally with the stupendously bad title of My Four and a Half Years of Struggle Against Lies, Stupidity and Cowardice. But, in the renamed Mein Kampf, Hitler told the world exactly what he intended to do next – what he thought of the Jews, and Germany’s eastern destiny. But just then, the world wasn’t listening. 10 / 10

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1945 Hiroshima The Los Alamos Manhattan Project brought scientists from Europe and America together to create the atom bomb, which devastated Hiroshima and Nagasaki. J Robert Oppenheimer, the man in charge, is one of history’s great enigmas – lefty, humanitarian, immensely cultured, fascinated by eastern religions… and also a man who ended up calculating the precise height for a detonation that would burn to death the most civilians, including children

The 10 best… portraits of queens From Hilliard's iconic Elizabeth I to Warhol's 80s Elizabeth II • • • • •

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‘Two for the price of one’: Catherine II Before the Mirror by Vigilius Erichsen, 176264. Photograph: State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg/Corbis

1 Catherine II Before the Mirror Vigilius Erichsen, 1762-64 Vigilius Erichsen is a name lost to time, but the Danish painter left a deathless portrait of Catherine the Great in a dress so spectacularly panniered she can lean one elbow upon it like a convenient shelf. In fact this is two for the price of one: a reflection in profile as well as a portrait from the front. Technically the two don't match up. But together they give the measure of this enlightened despot, abundantly energetic in her appetites, sexual, social and political, and a colossal presence in 18th-century Europe.

2 Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom Andy Warhol, 1985 Instantly recognisable, entirely remote: Warhol makes a precise point about his royal subject with this portrait. The Queen looks like her own stamp, but also like a Warhol mask, eyes overlaid and lash-extended to get that Jackie and Marilyn look. This portrait is from Warhol's 1985 Reigning Queens series, which includes the queens of Denmark, Swaziland and the Netherlands, all still reigning. It is based on a photograph taken for the silver jubilee in 1977, plus an overlay of what Warhol called arty rectangles. He also produced a royal edition decadently embellished with diamond dust.

3 Queen Christina of Denmark Hans Holbein the Younger, 1538 Holbein's spry young Danish queen, with her quick hands and scintillating face, was painted for Henry VIII when he was scouting for future wives. Christina's lively shadow

against a typical Holbein background of blue-green brings her closer by indicating the narrow space in which she stands. The characterisation feels so acute that it's easy to believe in Christina's celebrated quip that if she had only had two heads then she might have given one to Henry VIII. Happily, she married the Duc de Lorraine instead. Holbein worked from a sitting lasting only three hours while Christina, 16 at the time, was staying in Brussels.

‘Sad, confused, sullen’: Queen Mariana of Austria by Velázquez, c.1656. Copyright: Fundación Colección Thyssen Bornemisza

4 Queen Mariana of Austria Diego Velázquez, c.1656 Velázquez, king of painters and painter of kings, also painted queens, specifically both of the wives of his lifelong patron at the Spanish court, Philip IV. Mariana was Philip's second wife, only 14 years old when she married him; she was also his niece. Sad, confused, sullen, she gets Velázquez's sympathetic insights along with his observations of her jowly Hapsburg features. This intimate close-up is one of several studies for larger portraits, in this case made as an update because the fashion in wigs had recently changed. Mariana is the queen in that glimmering mirror at the back of Las Meninas.

5 Queen Charlotte Sir Thomas Lawrence, 1789-90 The German wife of George III looks the epitome of a snow queen with her icy hair and frost-blue dress, locked in a tower with a collar of black lace for chains. In fact she is desolate, having seen her husband himself locked away only a few months earlier after the diagnosis of madness. The painting is grand in its setting but intimate in its likeness. Lawrence represents a queen full of cares with her hair uncrowned and uncovered. Charlotte only granted one sitting and the picture displeased her so much that Lawrence was never paid for it.

6 Elizabeth II Gerhard Richter, 1966

The German artist's portrait of Elizabeth II is based on a black-and-white news photograph, but the features become almost indiscernible in the delicate miasma of Richter's grey paint. Elizabeth is effectively obliterated and yet one immediately recognises her from this exiguous after-image. The marvel is how little it takes to recognise her; and yet how much. For Richter's balancing of the queen's fame against his iconoclasm is a matter of immense calculation. This subtle and haunting portrait is currently on show in the National Portrait Gallery's excellent jubilee exhibition The Queen: Art and Image.

7 Elizabeth I – the Pelican Portrait Nicholas Hilliard, c.1575 Elizabeth I was queen of her own image as no other monarch. We assume that most portraits are taken from the life, but a draft edict of 1563 shows how her portraits were to be made: "Some special person that shall be by her allowed" will create a "pattern" to be copied by all other artists. Hilliard's pattern is the supreme icon, a flat white mask immediately recognisable by shape alone. The rich costume and the elaborate symbols around it are like the setting for a jewel. The pelican represented on her brooch, feeding her offspring with her own blood, was a symbol of self-sacrifice: Elizabeth as mother of the nation.

8 Queen Victoria and her Great-Grandson Walter Sickert, c.1936 Sickert's sepia portrait of Victoria is a late work for both artist and monarch. Victoria was already dead, but had lived into the 20th century as Britain's longest-surviving monarch, still dressed in her archaic widow's weeds. Sickert paints her from – and as – a fading photograph, leaving the scaling grid visible. Eyes closed, as if bowed down with age and sorrow, Victoria is a figure from some unattainable past. Perhaps this is the monarchy as anachronism. Sickert subtitled some of his later works Echoes, and that's the definition of this picture: the replication of some distant original.

‘An unusually buoyant monarch’: Kamamalu Queen Consort of Hawaii, by John Hayter, 1824. Copyright: Iolani Palace, Honolulu, Hawaii

9 Kamamalu Queen Consort of Hawaii John Hayter, 1824 This portrait hangs in the Iolani Palace in Honolulu and I've chosen it not because it's great or even very good but because it survives as the record of a very brief reign and an unusually buoyant monarch. Kamamalu was daughter and wife to a king. She was over 6ft tall, had a tattooed tongue and a spirited sense of humour, perhaps necessary in a polygamous marriage. She came to London in 1824, inspired a fashion for turbans at the opera, contracted measles and died at 22. This portrait in pearls with an English rose was probably made in London.

10 Marie Leszczyńska, Queen of France and Navarre Maurice Quentin de la Tour, 1744-48 Marie Leszczyńska was the Polish beauty chosen to marry Louis XV from a list of 99 eligible princesses. She first met him the night before the wedding, when she was 22 and he was 15; they're supposed to have fallen in love at first sight. Marie gave birth to twin girls and one more daughter before retreating from her womanising husband, who later moved Madame de Pompadour into Versailles. La Tour depicts Marie's famous warm-heartedness with a characteristic verve of his own, achieved in the tricky medium of pastel, then more like chalk and apt to blow away.

The 10 best female pioneers An array of trailblazing women, from suffragettes to style icons Emmeline Pankhurst (1858-1928) Pankhurst’s slogan 'Deeds, not words' defined her life. We would have got the vote without her, but her bravery and radicalism shocked society into a new pattern that could not be reversed. Pankhurst and her daughters were jailed repeatedly – and even then they staged hunger strikes to secure better conditions. When war broke out, they encouraged women to support the common cause and work in industrial production. In 1918 the Representation of the People Act granted votes to women over the age of 30Martha Gellhorn (1908-98) Gellhorn’s first reports were on the impact of the Depression on working families in the USA. She went to Spain with Ernest Hemingway to cover the civil war in 1937 and went on to report on wars across the globe. She was among the first journalists to enter Dachau after it was liberated. Gellhorn was passionate about truth and the power of witness, and I saw the effect she had on my friend Marie Colvin. Now I see how Marie’s life is an inspiration to the next generation who risk their safety to bear witness to the human sufferings of warWangari Maathai (1940-2011) The first person from her family – and her village – to get an education, Maathai won a scholarship to the USA. She had seen first hand the environmental degradation caused

by agribusiness and political corruption, and her Green Belt Movement enabled women to replant devasted areas with trees. She endured sexism, political bullying and physical violence but she never gave up her fight. She was the first African woman to receive the Nobel Peace prize, 'for her contribution to sustainable development, democracy and peace' Kathryn Bigelow (1951- ) In 2009, Bigelow became the first woman to receive the best director Oscar (she’s only the fourth woman in history to even be nominated). Her film that year, The Hurt Locker, was also pronounced best picture. This tough, macho war movie saw her become the first woman to win the Bafta for best direction and the Critics’ Choice award for best director. The 60-year-old has never picked easy, 'soft' subjects, and her next project will be no different: as yet untitled, it tells the story of the hunting down of Osama bin Laden by US Navy SealsMary Wollstonecraft (1759-97) Writer, feminist and philosopher Wollstonecraft was the first woman to articulate the gap between the rights of man and rights of women. Despite the beliefs of Thomas Paine et al, she could see that, closer to home, women were abused and there was little or no recourse to law. In 1792 she wrote her book, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, which is still a powerful tract today, with much that is still relevant to women’s lives even in this country. Her daughter, of course, was Mary Shelley, the famous author of FrankensteinRachel Louise Carson (1907-64) Carson was the founder of today’s environmental movement. In the late 1950s she wrote her extraordinary book Silent Spring, which pointed out the direct connection between DDT and the loss of bird life: the the powerful chemical was causing birds to lay eggs with fragile shells. It was met with fierce denial from the chemical industry, which tried to stop the book and made endless attempts to persecute Carson. Despite battling cancer, Carson succeeded in getting congress to impose a nationwide ban on DDT. Sadly, the companies just exported their poison abroadMarie Carmichael Stopes (1880-1958) Today there are Marie Stopes clinics in more than 40 countries, continuing the pioneering work of Stopes to bring sex education and birth control to women regardless of their age, marital status or wealth. Her manual on sex, Married Love – written, she said, when she was still a virgin – was highly controversial because it contained explicit anatomical drawings. Stopes opened the UK’s first family planning centre, the Mothers’ Clinic, in Holloway, north London, in March 1921, and in 1930 helped form the National Birth Control Council, forerunner of the Family Planning Association Coco Chanel (1883-1971) Even those who claim to have no interest in fashion owe a debt to Gabrielle Bonheur 'Coco' Chanel, the only clothing designer to be named on Time’s list of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century. Among her pioneering productions were many fashion choices we now take for granted: the little black dress, suits for women, cashmere cardigans, slacks. She also helped popularise short hair. Chanel allowed women to be fashionable while at the same time wearing comfortable clothes appropriate to the setting. She was a genuine liberatorOctavia Hill (1838-1912) Hill is best known for co-founding the National Trust, but she was also a tireless campaigner on issues ranging from the importance of education to the protection of

green spaces in and around London. She was particularly concerned with the welfare of people in cities and was a driving force behind the creation of social housing, setting up the first ever housing association. The National Trust evolved from her desire to get people in the city out to the country. She has been called 'Britain’s greatest ever social entrepreneur', and has had a huge influence on the way we live today Elizabeth Garrett Anderson (1836-1917) When Garrett Anderson was born, there were no female doctors in Britain. Inspired by American physician Elizabeth Blackwell, she trained as a nurse and applied for her MD, but was turned down by every university she approached. So she moved to France and qualified at the University of Paris instead. She set up in practice as a GP in London as the UK’s first female doctor, and in 1876 helped usher through parliament an act that formally permitted women to be medics. Emmeline Pankhurst often argued that if women could be trusted with lives, surely they could be trusted with the vote

The 10 best mathematicians Alex Bellos selects the maths geniuses whose revolutionary discoveries changed our world • • • • •

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Pythagoras, from a 1920s textbook. Photograph: © Blue Lantern Studio/Corbis

Pythagoras (circa 570-495BC) Vegetarian mystical leader and number-obsessive, he owes his standing as the most famous name in maths due to a theorem about right-angled triangles, although it now appears it probably predated him. He lived in a community where numbers were venerated as much for their spiritual qualities as for their mathematical ones. His elevation of numbers as the essence of the world made him the towering primogenitor of Greek mathematics, essentially the beginning of mathematics as we know it now. And, famously, he didn't eat beans.

Hypatia (cAD360-415)

Hypatia (375415AD), a Greek woman mathematician and philosopher. Photograph: © Bettmann/Corbis Women are under-represented in mathematics, yet the history of the subject is not exclusively male. Hypatia was a scholar at the library in Alexandria in the 4th century CE. Her most valuable scientific legacy was her edited version of Euclid's The Elements, the most important Greek mathematical text, and one of the standard versions for centuries after her particularly horrific death: she was murdered by a Christian mob who stripped her naked, peeled away her flesh with broken pottery and ripped apart her limbs.

Girolamo Cardano (1501 -1576)

Girolamo Cardano (1501-1576), mathematician, astrologer and physician. Photograph: SSPL/Getty Italian polymath for whom the term Renaissance man could have been invented. A doctor by profession, he was the author of 131 books. He was also a compulsive gambler. It was this last habit that led him to the first scientific analysis of probability. He realised he could win more on the dicing table if he expressed the likelihood of chance events using numbers. This was a revolutionary idea, and it led to probability theory, which in turn led to the birth of statistics, marketing, the insurance industry and the weather forecast.

Leonhard Euler (1707- 1783)

Leonhard Euler (1707-1783). Photograph: Science and Society Picture Library The most prolific mathematician of all time, publishing close to 900 books. When he went blind in his late 50s his productivity in many areas increased. His famous formula eiπ + 1 = 0, where e is the mathematical constant sometimes known as Euler's number and i is the square root of minus one, is widely considered the most beautiful in

mathematics. He later took an interest in Latin squares – grids where each row and column contains each member of a set of numbers or objects once. Without this work, we might not have had sudoku.

Carl Friedrich Gauss (1777-1855)

Carl Friedrich Gauss (1777-1855). Photograph: Bettmann/CORBIS Known as the prince of mathematicians, Gauss made significant contributions to most fields of 19th century mathematics. An obsessive perfectionist, he didn't publish much of his work, preferring to rework and improve theorems first. His revolutionary discovery of non-Euclidean space (that it is mathematically consistent that parallel lines may diverge) was found in his notes after his death. During his analysis of astronomical data, he realised that measurement error produced a bell curve – and that shape is now known as a Gaussian distribution.

Georg Cantor (1845-1918)

Georg Ferdinand Cantor (1845-1918), German mathematician. Photograph: © Corbis

Of all the great mathematicians, Cantor most perfectly fulfils the (Hollywood) stereotype that a genius for maths and mental illness are somehow inextricable. Cantor's most brilliant insight was to develop a way to talk about mathematical infinity. His set theory lead to the counter-intuitive discovery that some infinities were larger than others. The result was mind-blowing. Unfortunately he suffered mental breakdowns and was frequently hospitalised. He also became fixated on proving that the works of Shakespeare were in fact written by Francis Bacon.

Paul Erdös (1913-1996)

Paul Erdos (1913-96). Erdös lived a nomadic, possession-less life, moving from university to university, from colleague's spare room to conference hotel. He rarely published alone, preferring to collaborate – writing about 1,500 papers, with 511 collaborators, making him the second-most prolific mathematician after Euler. As a humorous tribute, an "Erdös number" is given to mathematicians according to their collaborative proximity to him: No 1 for those who have authored papers with him; No 2 for those who have authored with mathematicians with an Erdös No 1, and so on.

John Horton Conway (b1937)

John Horton Conway. The Liverpudlian is best known for the serious maths that has come from his analyses of games and puzzles. In 1970, he came up with the rules for the Game of Life, a game in which you see how patterns of cells evolve in a grid. Early computer scientists adored playing Life, earning Conway star status. He has made important contributions to many branches of pure maths, such as group theory, number theory and geometry and, with collaborators, has also come up with wonderful-sounding concepts like surreal numbers, the grand antiprism and monstrous moonshine.

Grigori Perelman (b1966)

Russian mathematician Grigory Perelman. Photograph: © EPA/Corbis Perelman was awarded $1m last month for proving one of the most famous open questions in maths, the Poincaré Conjecture. But the Russian recluse has refused to accept the cash. He had already turned down maths' most prestigious honour, the Fields Medal in 2006. "If the proof is correct then no other recognition is needed," he reportedly said. The Poincaré Conjecture was first stated in 1904 by Henri Poincaré and

concerns the behaviour of shapes in three dimensions. Perelman is currently unemployed and lives a frugal life with his mother in St Petersburg.

Terry Tao (b1975)

Terry Tao. Photograph: Reed Hutchinson/UCLA An Australian of Chinese heritage who lives in the US, Tao also won (and accepted) the Fields Medal in 2006. Together with Ben Green, he proved an amazing result about prime numbers – that you can find sequences of primes of any length in which every number in the sequence is a fixed distance apart. For example, the sequence 3, 7, 11 has three primes spaced 4 apart. The sequence 11, 17, 23, 29 has four primes that are 6 apart. While sequences like this of any length exist, no one has found one of more than 25 primes, since the primes by then are more than 18 digits long. Alex Bellos is the author of Alex's Adventures in Numberland

by FlameHorse | November 28 • • •

Kurt Vonnegut, in an interview on the Daily Show, gave his opinion on human nature. “We are terrible animals,” he said. “I think that the Earth’s immune system is trying to get rid of us, as well it should.” Here are ten reasons why this might be considered an accurate diagnosis of the human condition. For the sake of variety, the well-known cases of wars and genocide have been largely excluded, as most of the major examples have appeared many times on Listverse. 10 Happy Slapping

Happy slapping is one of the most idiotic fads ever devised. It began in 2004, primarily in the United Kingdom, and spread quickly into Europe. It did not catch on very well in America. Happy slapping began about the time the first true smartphones debuted, and involves at least two people, almost always teenage boys, attacking a total stranger with a simple slap to the face. One person films it via smartphone or video camera, and then the group runs away laughing to post it on the Internet. These videos are quite popular oon YouTube. This is how the fad began, but it didn’t take long for gangs of youths to use it as an opportunity to severely beat and rob a stranger. Well over three dozen people have been reported killed around the world as a result of this fad, while one member of the group films the murder, and then uploads it to the Internet. One of its more hideous incarnations presented itself in 2008 in England, when the two boys who intended to happy slap a stranger gave their phone to a teenage girl and said, “Film this.” She promptly did so, and stood by, calling for no one, while the boys punched and kicked a man to death. m Incidents of happy slapping still occur around the world, but they are extremely rare for two major reasons. First, the law enforcement agencies of the nations in which it is most popular, especially Great Britain, have learned to enact harsh penalties for it. The two boys mentioned above received six and seven years in prison; the girl two years. Second, it was only a matter of time before a group of youths happy slapped the wrong person. One of the more well known examples of this involves two men happy slapping a woman walking by with her boyfriend beside her. The boyfriend turned out to be a pprofessional Russian boxer, who promptly floored them. Another incident, much closer to this lister’s home, took place in April 2011, in Raleigh, North Carolina, when three boys attempted to happy slap an old man passing on the sidewalk. That old man was an ex-British SAS Commando, who put all three of them in the hospital. Yet, the fad has not yet died, and it proves that some people still dderive a simple enjoyment out of beating others up. 9 Poaching

H

There is nothing wrong with humans hunting animals for the purpose of eating meat, even if high-powered, scoped rifles do eliminate the skill factor. But poaching refers to the illegal killing of animals for any reason. Almost all the most notorious examples stem from Africa, which harbors a breathtaking percentage of the world’s most magnificent animals. m Poachers rarely kill for the fun of killing. They kill for the money in the carcasses. Silverback gorillas are still poached for their hands, which are cut off and used as ashtrays. Elephants are killed for their ivory tusks, despite the nearly global ban on ivory sales. Anyone carrying ivory, who is caught in an airport attempting to enter or P exit a country, is immediately arrested and tried. The ivory is confiscated and burned to ash. Yet poaching persists, because ivory is enjoyed by the rich, primarily in Asia, as jewelry. A single tusk will sell for $50,000. Elephants are also killed for their lower llegs, which are hollowed out into wastebaskets. Rhinoceros horns are still used in traditional Chinese “medicine,” even though all modern medical establishments in the world have denounced rhino horns as having zero medical value. They are made of keratin, which is what human hair and fingernails are made of. Some Chinese insist that they cure fever and muscle spasms. A single horn can sell for $250,000. Poachers are 100% indifferent toward the rarity of these species, and should they hunt one to extinction, they move on to another. Wildlife conservationists have started tranquilizing rhinoceroses and sawing off their horns to protect the animals.

The most disgusting example of poaching is the annual slaughter of 50 tigers for the purpose of eating the penis. There are only 3,000 to 4,000 tigers left in the wild. It is stubbornly believed, throughout Asia, to cure impotence. It does not. And even with Viagra on the market, some rich Chinese men refuse to stop paying up to $6,000 to have a tiger killed in the wild so the penis can be eaten in a soup. At their present rate, ppoachers are due to extinguish all tiger species in the wild by the 2050s. 8 R Racism

This topic has been discussed in depth several times on Listverse, so let us examine one specific example, the dragging death of James Byrd, Jr. On 7 June 1998, in Jasper, Texas, Byrd – a black man – accepted a ride from three white men, Lawrence Brewer, John King, and Shawn Berry. Berry and Byrd had passed each other many times in town. Instead of taking Byrd home, they took him to a wooded country road and beat him nearly to death, breaking 4 ribs, his jaw, his left shin, his left orbital bone, knocking out almost all of his teeth, and rupturing both his testicles by smashing them with a w wrench. Then they chained him by the ankles to Berry’s trailer hitch and dragged him for 3 miles down the road. They had pulled his pants down so it would hurt more. They testified to this much. He survived until his body swung out from behind the truck at a turn and struck a cement drainage culvert, ripping off his head and right arm. The three men then ddeliberately scattered his body all over town, dumping most of it in a black cemetery. They were arrested when police found in the middle of the highway the wrench, with Berry’s name on it, that they used on Byrd. They found a Zippo lighter inscribed with “Possum,” which was King’s nickname. The crime is sufficiently despicable to make it onto such a list as this, but its most odious aspect is the fact that none of the three men has ever apologized. Brewer was executed on 21 September 2011, smiling as they strapped him to the table. He deliberately ordered a prodigious last meal, and then scattered it all over his cell. He spat in the priest’s face, and had this to say, “He was a g__damn n____r and I hope his family never recovers. As far as any regrets, no. I have nno regrets. No, I’d do it all over again, to tell you the truth.” King, who is awaiting execution, wrote Brewer letters attesting to the same absence of remorse and refusal to repent, and answered a prison psychiatrist, in response to the qquestion, “Why did you do it?”

“Go f__k yourself. I’m not afraid to be murdered for doing what’s right. That son of a bitch was a f__king black bastard, and he’s burning the “f__k in Hell right now. God is w white.” The online white supremacist community cheered the crime and called it a great day for whites, America, and God. They staged freedom marches around the courthouse during the trial. Berry has wisely never publicly shared his partners’ sentiment, and his silence sspared him the death penalty. He will be in 23-hour lockdown until at least 2038. 7 The Gleiwitz Incident T

Rather than bore you with another exploration of war, especially WWII, or the Holocaust, let us take a look at Hitler’s official casus belli, or “case of war,” for invading Poland. He had spent decades scientifically brainwashing the German populace with vitriol against the Jews as hoarders of land and wealth, ripe for the righteous plunder. But Hitler was no fool, and Mein Kampf alone was insufficient to ggain the near-absolute support of Germany. So, on 31 August 1939, the day before WWII officially began, a group of some 15 armed Poles attacked the German Gleiwitz radio station for the purpose of broadcasting anti-German propaganda. The message hit the airwaves, and one person died. Hitler ppromptly used this as an official pretext for invading Poland. Except that the Poles were really Gestapo stormtroopers in Polish uniforms. They were under direct orders from Reinhard Heydrich himself to attack the radio station and send the communique. Heydrich thought up the attack per Hitler’s general wish to contrive a

reason for war that would seem legitimate to the German people. During the attack, they murdered a captured German named Franciszek Honiok, an outspoken Polish sympathizer, by injecting chloroform directly into his heart. They then shot his corpse sseveral times and left him at the scene. Thus, we may fairly say that not only was Hitler a megalomaniacal, mass-murdering despot, but that he even initiated WWII for flagrantly dishonest reasons; he was a monster and a liar. He wanted more land for Germany, especially if it meant taking that land from Jews. He wanted them dead. He loved the idea. Germany’s official explanation of what happened at Gleiwitz radio station did not convince any of the major Allied powers. The dishonesty is no real surprise, but it offers a strong argument against whether Hitler or most of the Nazis felt any genuine remorse on their deathbeds. 6 Kenneth Pinyan K

You may not remember the name, but it’s most likely you remember his humiliating and disgusting cause of death. On 2 July 2005, he died of acute peritonitis, which is inflammation of the inner lining of the abdomen, after he allowed a full-grown Arabian stallion to engage in anal intercourse with him. The stallion tore a hole through his colon, and in addition to horse semen, his intestinal contents, including stomach acid, lleaked into his abdominal cavity. This is a surgical emergency, but Pinyan, who was with two accomplices who also engaged in equine bestiality, repeatedly refused medical treatment, since his activity would be discovered. He finally consented to go to the hospital when the agony became

intolerable, but by then he could not have been saved. One of his friends told a nurse that he was seriously injured in the colon, and then disappeared before paramedics eentered the emergency room. Pinyan was dead on the floor. It’s a ridiculous moment in our history, worthy of the most wounding, hard-edged humor. So why does it make the list? Because there were three men involved, all standing naked around stallions, filming each other having sexual intercourse with them, waiting their turns, and most importantly, the 40-acre farm on which this took place did not belong to any of them. They were trespassing for this purpose. They distributed their home movies to friends, acquaintances, and total strangers who communicated via the Internet their involvement in zoophilia. Pinyan’s film alias was “Mr. Hands.” Thus, the question is repugnantly answered: yes, there are lot of people aaround the world who do this, and who try their best not to get caught. 5 Animal Blood Sports A

The single most despicable crime humanity has ever perpetrated on other animal species is forcing two animals to hate each other and fight to the death. The title refers, here, to dogfighting, cockfighting, horse fighting, and so on. And why do we do it? Money and bloodlust. It is a gambling enterprise, foremost, and only one for degenerate gamblers. Gambling on a horse race is not criminal, not even sinful by most estimations. G But gambling on two roosters fighting to the death indicates a lack of care for the wellbeing of a dumb animal that does not understand why it suddenly hates the animal facing it. These blood sports are crimes against the very minds of the animals. Horse fighting is very popular in Japan, and it’s just what you’d imagine: two horses biting

each other’s faces and necks, rearing onto their hind legs and striking each other in the hheads with their fore-hooves, all while spectators exchange cash and banter. Among the most well known incidents of this crime is that of Michael Vick, the American professional football player who was caught and imprisoned for running a dogfighting ring. The losing animals of these enterprises, regardless of the species, are almost always executed out of the owner’s hatred at having lost a bet. Vick personally ddrowned, shot, and electrocuted over two dozen pitbulls and bull dogs. 4 T Torture

Torture has been covered in many ways on Listverse, but consider it from a somewhat more existential standpoint. The concept of torture is uniquely human; no other species has ever been known to engage in this behavior. Perhaps the closest any animal would come to it is a cat when it plays with a mouse before killing it. But does the cat do this because it enjoys causing pain? Humans do, and the most infamous torturers throughout hhistory have very rarely expressed a regret for anything except being caught. Serial killer Dean Corll raped and killed teen and preteen boys, never girls, and he never killed them until after he had had his fill of torturing them. What reason can be given except an enjoyment in hurting other people? Feel free to peruse the old lists of torture equipment invented through the ages. Wonderfully imaginative instrumentation, wouldn’t you say? The simplest methods always seem to work the best: Attila the Hun’s army would castrate its prisoners of war, then boil them to death in oil. Why castrate

them if you’re going to kill them anyway? It cannot be for the purpose of demoralization. The only purpose left is delight. When a family member is murdered, the word on the family’s mind is “revenge.” Some take it, some do not, but it is always at least briefly thought of. King Aella of Northumbria, in England, killed a Viking king named Ragnar. Ragnar’s sons caught Aella later and are recorded in some Norse literature as having “cut the blood eagle” on him. This entails tying the victim face first to a stump, cutting open his back, breaking his ribs out of the way, all the while sprinkling salt in the wounds, then pulling out his lungs and laying them across his back llike bloody wings. If Ragnar’s sons did it, they did it purely for the satisfaction. 3 The Consecration of Templo Mayor VI T

In 1487, the sixth temple to top the Great Pyramid of Tenochtitlan was consecrated under Ahuizotl, the eighth Aztec emperor. The ruins of the Pyramid complex are a tourist attraction in Mexico City. In order to appease the gods, especially Tezcatlipoca, the god of war, Ahuizotl ordered the sacrifice of over 84,000 prisoners from surrounding cultures. They were all executed in only 4 days. That’s 21,000 per day, or 875 per hour, or about 14 per minute. They were not killed humanely, if there is such a thing; their hearts were carved out of their chests, and then they were decapitated. If you’ve seen the Mel Gibson film Apocalypto, you’ve seen an accurate depiction of this fform of sacrifice. George Carlin referred to this event as “theater.” By the time the farce was over, the spectators walked in blood up to their ankles. It ran like a thin red waterfall down the Pyramid’s steps and is said in the Aztecan literature to have reached all sides of the plaza’s stone pavement by the fourth day. The corpses, along with their hearts and hheads, were sowed into the fields of a 6-mile radius as fertilizer for crops.

2 Suicide Bombings S

The popular conception of the suicide bomber is of a lone male Muslim who decides of his own volition to kill himself along with as many infidels as possible in order to enter Paradise and receive his 71 virgins. The truth is much more complex. It is, understandably, very difficult to talk most people into killing themselves, and the Muslim extremists seek out the manic depressive for this reason. Anyone found to have few friends, or no love life, or any other reason to feel dejected is a prime target, and the standard procedure according to investigative journalists primarily in the Middle East is tto bribe the potential bomber with money for his family. The most nefarious examples of suicide bombings, however, involves formal training camps for the youth in places like Iraq and Afghanistan. The youths are given free food and shelter, and treated very well. In the meantime, they are masterfully indoctrinated into a seething hatred for all things Jewish, American, and Western. “The Great Satan” must be destroyed, they tell these boys and girls, and “the blood of the martyrs” is the oonly thing that can effect its destruction. In the end, most suicide bombers are teens, male and female, who have been systematically taught to believe in things like 71 virgins, or rivers of wine in a world of no hangovers, or any other description of Paradise. They are taught that Mohammed demands suicide bombings to rid the world of all things not Islam. Mohammed did not write anything of the sort in the Q’uran. w 1 Chante Jawan Mallard

There can be no more depraved act in the theater of human history than the crime Mallard committed on 26 October 2001, in Fort Worth, Texas. She drank heavily and did drugs at a party, then struck a homeless man, Gregory Biggs, on her drive home. She was traveling at least 50 miles per hour and ran into him with such force that he flipped over the hood and crashed headfirst halfway through her windshield. Mallard proceeded to drive home in this state, park in her garage, then go inside and go to sleep. She called no one. Biggs survived the impact for about 5 hours, though unconscious, aand died in the early morning still stuck in Malard’s windshield. When Mallard, who had worked as a nurse’s assistant, woke and went to the car, she called her friends and bragged about having killed a homeless man, then requested help with the body. Mallard and two friends drove the car, with Biggs’s body hanging out of the windshield, to a wooded park near a landfill and set it on fire to conceal the evidence. The crime scene was discovered, but with insufficient evidence on a culprit, and the case went cold for 4 months – until Mallard began laughing with her friends about having killed a white man. One of her friends turned her in. Mallard was handed a 50 year sentence, and will be eligible for parole in 2027. During at least two psychiatric interviews in prison, she has indicated a regret at having not tried to save Biggs’s life, but has always added “because I went to jail.” On the subject of an apology, she has rremained notably evasive. How could a single murder make the #1 spot? Wars are among the most depraved acts of mankind. But we reluctantly justify most of them: Hitler had to be stopped; bin Laden got what he deserved. This entry cannot compete with the volume of #3, but it expresses the definition of depravity in possibly the simplest terms ever witnessed in recorded history: indifference toward the sanctity of human life, impudent joy in extinguishing it, and a petulant refusal of remorse.

C

La sabiduría se ha posado sobre tres cosas: el cerebro de los francos, las manos de los chinos y la lengua de los árabes. Antiguo proverbio egipcio (árabe).

Top 10 Surprising Archaeological Finds by LordZB | November 20, 2012 • • •

“The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there.” The past can be both shocking and familiar. It’s common to say that human nature never changes – but it’s still possible for archaeology to surprise us, by pulling things from the ground which transform our conception of the past. Here are ten of the most gamechanging archaeological discoveries of recent history: 10 Tintinnabula

For centuries, the Roman Empire was held up as the pinnacle of civilization. Roman ruins were among the grandest buildings still standing, and majestic statues – finer than

any until the Renaissance – were constantly being pulled from the ground. But for a long time, the shocking truth of everyday Roman life was completely hidden from the public. The discovery of Pompeii changed all this: it showed us that there was a constant presence of sexuality in Roman life. The Romans apparently had no shame associated with the male member in particular. The tintinnabula, or wind chimes – found in many of the houses – depict enormous winged phalluses surrounded by bells. To the Romans, the phallus symbolized masculine health, and was thought to ward off bad luck. 9 Antikythera Mechanism

In 1901 an ancient shipwreck was discovered by sponge divers off the coast of the Greek island of Antikythera. Amongst the finds of typical trade goods such as statues and flasks was found a fused mass of metal. For almost a hundred years after its discovery, the mechanism was regarded as a simple curiosity. It is now regarded as an early precursor to the computer. The various cogs and wheels of the mechanism are able to calculate where stars and planets should appear in the night sky. This discovery shows not only a keen understanding of the motion of the heavens but also the ability to replicate those movements on an artificial structure. It suggests a mechanistic understanding of the universe which points to the development of science as the best way to deal with the world around us. 8 Stone spears

At the Southern tip of South Africa, sharp stone fragments – perfectly suited for spear tips – were discovered. They were 200,000 years old – and suggested that humans were hunting for their food much longer ago than had been thought possible. Some evidence suggests that humans may have been hunters even earlier than this: remnants of cooking fires have been found dating up to one million years old. 7 Ancient antibiotics

Scientific antibiotics are about seventy years old. But bones have been found in Nubia – dating from 550AD – which show traces of tetracycline, an antibiotic still used today. How did people use an antibiotic more than a thousand years before it was discovered? Tetracycline is produced by yeast – and yeast can be used to produce beer. It seems that the ancient Nubians – including their infant children – drank beer as a medicine. 6 Mother goddesses

One of the oldest statues ever discovered depicts an obese woman with swollen breasts. The Willendorf Venus was discovered in Austria, and is 26,000 years old. It is highly unlikely that any member of an ancient society would be so overfed as to be obese, and so the statues are symbolic rather than representative. These figures were most likely carved to represent motherhood. The presence of rotund figurines in many ancient sites suggests that the earliest-known religious practices were related to the worship of femininity. 5 Visby lenses

The Visby lenses are a collection of rock crystals found in Viking graves in Sweden. All are polished into very specific vision-enhancing shapes. They are able to magnify things, and would have allowed detailed artisan work – but like modern magnifying

glasses, they could also focus light. They could therefore have been used to light fires, or even to cauterize wounds. 4 Roman dodecahedra

Sometimes archaeologists discover an artifact whose purpose is a complete mystery – but it is rare for a whole class of artifacts to remain unknown. All over the Roman world, small metal dodecahedra with circles cut in their faces have been discovered – yet we have no idea what they were originally used for. Some suggest they were used as candle holders (unlikely in an age where oil lamps were the norm), while others think they might have been aids for judging distance. 3 Baghdad batteries

In the ruins of Mesopotamia, jars were found containing iron cylinders and copper spikes. They are still a mystery, but speculation has brought some interesting theories. We know that if these jars were filled with acidic grape juice, voltage may have been

produced. Modern reconstructions of the jars have shown that enough voltage would have been produced to allow electrical use – but at this stage, more evidence is needed. 2 Ancient flutes

In a cave in Germany, mammoth bones were found with carved holes, making them resemble modern recorders. The bones found were 40,000 years old: they suggest that complex, musical societies existed in the distant past. It seems unlikely that one person alone would create musical instruments; in a community, however, a specialist would have time to carve the instrument, and teach others to play it – suggesting that early societies valued music enough to provide for the musicians. 1 Otzi the Iceman

In 1991, mountaineers discovered a frozen body in the melting ice of the Alps. Once freed from the ice, the body was found to be 5,000 years old. The surprisingly wellpreserved remains have greatly helped us to understand the lives of our ancestors. Holes in Otzi’s ears would have been used for some sort of earring. The skin of his spine, knee, and ankles are tattooed. His body has several wounds, including an arrow wound – suggesting that he was attacked by other humans before finally perishing in the

mountains. This list has been about surprising archaeological discoveries: of these, human-inflicted death is perhaps one of the least surprising.

30 de abril de 2009 Isaac Asimov y el Sionismo.

El escritor de Ciencia Ficción y divulgador científico Isaac Asimov, era hombre de firmes convicciones liberales y humanitarias. Nacido en Rusia en 1920, su familia llegó a Estados Unidos en 1923. Asimov, de orígenes judíos, recibió una educación secular, se convenció de que América era el crisol de razas, y fue un profundo admirador de la democracia estadounidense. Por eso no comulgaba con los sionistas. En sus "Memorias" escribe sobre algunos judíos: "(...) después de condenar el antisemitismo con un tono desmesurado, pasan en un instante a hablar de los afroamericanos y, de repente, empiezan a sonar como un grupo de pequeños Hitler. Y cuando lo hago notar y me opongo con energía, se vuelven en mi contra, furiosos. Sencillamente no se dan cuenta de lo que están haciendo". Y abunda más: "En estos momentos se está produciendo una gran afluencia de judíos soviéticos a Israel. Están huyendo porque temen una persecusión religiosa. En el momento en que ponen sus pies en suelo israelí, se convierten en nacionalistas extremistas sin piedad para los palestinos. Pasan de perseguidos a perseguidores en un abrir y cerrar de ojos". Refiere Asimov en el mismo texto, el enfrentamiento que tuvo en una mesa redonda con Elie Wiesel, "que sobrevivió al Holocausto (...) y que ahora no habla de nada más" (Wiesel recibió el Premio Nobel de la Paz en 1986; Asimov sitúa la anécdota en 1977). Dijo Wiesel que no confiaba en los científicos o los ingenieros porque habían participado en la dirección del Holocausto. Irritado Asimov, defensor a ultranza de los beneficios que la Ciencia ha traído a la Humanidad (y tiene razón, usted está leyendo Siglos Curiosos gracias a los inventores de los computadores y de Internet), le espetó a

Wiesel que el haber sido perseguido no muestra que ese grupo sea inocente o culpable de nada, sino simplemente que era más débil que el grupo perseguidor, y que en otras circunstancias, podrían ser los perseguidos quienes fueran perseguidores. -Déme un solo ejemplo en que los judíos hayan perseguido a alguien- replicó Wiesel, muy excitado. -Bajo el reinado de los Macabeos en el siglo II a.C., Juan Hircano de Judea conquistó Edom y obligó a los edomitas a elegir entre la conversión y la espada. Los edomitas, que eran prudentes, se convirtieron, pero después fueron tratados como un grupo inferior, ya que aunque eran judíos eran también edomitas. -Esa fue la única vez. -Esa fue la única vez que los judíos tuvieron el poder. Una de una, no es un mal récord. Aunque bueno, en honor a la verdad, si hemos de contar veces en que ha habido estados judíos en el mundo (el Israel moderno, el Reino Macabeo, el Reino de David que tuvo también sus coqueteos con la intolerancia religiosa a costa de los cananeos), deberíamos incluir también al Reino Jázaro, del cual no parecen haberse conservados registros de fanatismo religioso. ¿Diríamos entonces, tres de cuatro...? Publicado por General Gato a las 01:00 Enviar esto por correo electrónicoBlogThis!Compartir en TwitterCompartir en Facebook Busca otras anécdotas relacionadas: Judaísmo, Libertad de Religión, Siglo 20

5 comentarios: Ale dijo... Sublime: Aunque apoyo a muerte la causa palestina, nunca tuve prejuicios con los judíos, puesto que entiendo que la religión es una cosa y las ideas de las personas otras... No sabía la opinión de Isaac Asimov sobre el sionismo, aunque sabía que era judío... pero tengo casi todas sus obras, puesto que lo considero un genio de la Ciencia Ficción (lo único que leo). No sabéis cuánto me gratifica que se posicione además contra el sionimo... si viviera le daría un beso... Con él se demuestra que alguien con conocimientos reales de la realidad, inteligencia y con actitud consecuente, nunca podría apoyar al fascismo, sionismo o nazismo... los demás tienen intereses propios o no saben de lo que hablan... jueves, abril 30, 2009 12:21:00 p.m. Tarragona dijo... Un genio de la ciencia ficción... y de la diculgación científica e histórica!!!

jueves, abril 30, 2009 12:41:00 p.m. Manuel dijo... Si Asimov dijo eso es que es judío, es que es como lo somos la mayoría: humano. jueves, abril 30, 2009 1:09:00 p.m. Sergio G. Rabadá dijo... Existe una diferencia entre ser judío y ser sionista, el sionismo es un movimiento político nacido a fines del siglo XIX, el judaísmo es una religión. Pensar que "los judíos son intolerantes y fanáticos" es lo mismo que decir que "los musulmanes son intolerantes y fanáticos", y no es así. Existen judíos intolerantes y fanáticos, musulmanes intolerantes y fanáticos, cristianos intolerantes y fanáticos y ateos intolerantes y fanáticos. Por ejemplo, de la misma forma en que Asimov se oponía al sionismo, muchos musulmanes se oponen al fundamentalismo isámico y muchos católicos se oponen al Opus Dei. Toda religión tiene sus fanáticos, el problema es que por el mucho ruido que hacen son los que suelen sobresalir por encima de los normales. También los que se oponen a la religión tienen sus fanáticos. Algunos matan, otros no, algunos tienen el poder de aplicar su pensamiento e intolerancia en todo un Estado (Torquemada, Komehini, Hitler, etc.), otros solo pueden patalear y gritar muy alto (por mi parte adhiero al pensamiento agnóstico que dice "no sé si Dios existe, pero si existiera no cambiaría nada"). También creo en la tolerancia y en la solidaridad como principios básicos de la buena convivencia. Buen artículo. Un abrazo. viernes, mayo 01, 2009 9:16:00 a.m. General Gato dijo... Efectivamente, judío y sionista son dos cosas distintas, aunque se emperren algunos en sostener lo contrario. Podemos decir a grandes rasgos que el Judaísmo es la religión de quienes adoran a Yahveh como único Dios, y siguen la Torah como su Ley, mientras que el Sionismo es el movimiento político de quienes reclaman a Palestina como un Estado exclusivamente de los judíos. Arnold J. Toynbee, en su "Estudio de la Historia", hace un brillante análisis de cómo el nacionalismo del siglo XIX impactó en un Judaísmo en vías de asimilación a Occidente, surgiendo así el movimiento sionista actual.

Por otra parte, para no alargar el posteo, no incluí las palabras con las que Asimov cierra ese capítulo de sus Memorias: "Los judíos no son diferentes de los demás. Aunque como judío soy especialmente sensible a esta situación en concreto, es un fenómeno general. Cuando la Roma pagana persiguió a los primeros cristianos, éstos suplicaban tolerancia. Cuando el cristianismo se impuso, ¿fue tolerante? ¡Ni hablar! La persecusión empezó de inmediato en otra dirección. "Los búlgaros pedían libertad en contra de un régimen opresor y usaron su libertad para atacar a la etnia turca que convivía con ellos. Los azerbaiyanos exigen libertad del control centralizado de la Unión Soviética, pero parece que la quieren para matar a los armenios que hay entre ellos. "La Biblia dice que aquellos que han sufrido persecusión no deben perseguir a su vez: 'No maltratarás al extranjero, ni le oprimirás, pues extranjeros fuisteis vosotros en la tierra de Egipto.' (Exodo 22:21). ¿Y quién sigue este texto? Cuando intento predicarlo, lo único que consigo es parecer raro y hacerme impopular." (Isaac Asimov, "Memorias", Ediciones B, España, Año 1998, Página 41).

Lo que debería enseñarse en el colegio, según Richard Dawkins 13 comentarios Sergio Parra 22 de noviembre de 2012 | 22:56

El colegio, en un mundo donde el conocimiento está a un click de nuestros dedos, no

debería ser tanto un lugar donde transmitir datos como un lugar donde nos enseñen a aplacar nuestros defectos neurobiológicos de fábrica y, sobre todo, fomentar la capacidad de jerarquizar conocimientos, relacionarlos entre sí y descartar fácilmente los que carecen de sostén. En ese sentido, Richard Dawkins propone una herramienta para mejorar el pensamiento crítico desde el colegio: los experimentos de control a doble ciego. A juicio de Dawkins, si todos los colegios enseñaran a efectuar experimentos de control a doble ciego, los alumnos saldrían con un equipamiento cognitivo mucho más afinado. Según Dawkins, se mejoraría del siguiente modo, como podemos leer en Este libro le hará más inteligente, editado por John Brockman: •

Aprenderíamos a no generalizar a partir de simples anécdotas.

•

Aprenderíamos a ponderar la probabilidad de que un efecto en apariencia importante pudiera deberse únicamente al azar.

•

Comprenderíamos la enorme dificultad que encierra la eliminación del sesgo subjetivo.

•

Aprenderíamos a no dejarnos seducir por los homeópatas y otro tipo de curanderos y charlatanes, los cuales quedarían así fuera de la circulación.

•

Adquiriríamos un hábito de pensamiento crítico y escéptico de alcance aún más general, que no solo contribuiría a mejorar nuestro instrumental cognitivo, sino que podría llegar incluso a salvar el mundo.

¿Dónde nació exactamente Internet? 0 comentarios Sergio Parra 23 de noviembre de 2012 | 10:36

Tal y como afirmó el que probablemente sea el mayor historiador de Internet, Roy Rosenzweig, “Internet carece de una figura fundadora central, de un Thomas Edison o de un Samuel F. B. Morse”. Así pues, hallar el lugar y el momento exacto del nacimiento de Internet es una tarea esquiva, casi quimérica. Como determinar qué fue antes, si el huevo o la gallina. Después de todo, Internet es una red de redes, luego se requieren dos redes para constituirlo. ¿Cuál de ellas sería la primera? Primero hemos de acotar la pregunta. Más que buscar el lugar donde empezó Internet, hemos de preguntar sobre el lugar donde estaba la primera caja. Y para ello hemos de viajar con nuestro DeLorean hasta la Universidad de California Los Ángeles (UCLA), en 1969: el verano de Woodstock, la llegada del hombre a la Luna, hippies por doquier fumando marihuana…

Fue allí donde se instaló una máquina llamada procesador de mensajes de interfaz (IMP) bajo la supervisión de un joven profesor llamado Leonard Kleinrock. Era una tarde de sábado, durante el puente del Día del Trabajo de 1969. Una escena que describe vívidamente Andrew Blum en su libro Tubos: un reducido grupo de alumnos de posgrado que estudiaban computación se reunieron en el patio del Boelter Hall con una botella de champán. Yo, desde ese mismo lugar, evocaba la escena. Celebraban la llegada de su nuevo artilugio, grande, costoso, que llegaba ese día desde Boston por correo aéreo: una versión modificada y ampliada para usos militares de un miniordenador Honeywell DDP-516 (“mini” para la época, lo que significaba que la máquina pesaba más de 400 kilos y había costado 80.000 dólares, el equivalente a medio millón de dólares actuales). Provenía de la empresa de ingeniería Bolt, Beranek y Newman, ubicada en Cambridge, Massachusetts, que había firmado un contrato de un millón de dólares con el Departamento de Defensa para construir una red de ordenadores experimental, conocida como ARPANET. Uno de los padres de Internet, pues, fue Kleinrock. Es uno de los padres porque tuvo otros teóricos. Por ejemplo, un profesor del British National Physical Laboratory llamado Donald Davies, por su cuenta, ya llevaba tiempo elucubrando sobre conceptos similares. De igual manera que Paul Baran, un investigador de la RAND Corporation de Los Ángeles.

Solo eran ideas que nadie había materializado aún. Aquella caja llegada a UCLA en 1969, y construida por el especialista en computación Larry Roberts, pues, era la primera pieza material del rompecabezas. La idea inicial fue que ARPANET conectara los ordenadores de cuatro universidades de la Costa Oeste: UCLA, Stanford Research Institute, Utah y California Santa Bárbara. El IMP, aquella caja misteriosa, se instalaría entre el gran ordenador compartido del departamento de informática, llamado Sigma-7, y las líneas telefónicas especialmente modificadas que conectaban con las otras universidades. La caja tenía el tamaño de una nevera y era de color beige. Era de acero. Y tenía botones en el frontal. Durante su primer mes de estancia en California, la IMP#1 estuvo sola en el mundo, una isla a la espera de su primera conexión. El segundo momento histórico, su primera conexión, ocurrió el miércoles 29 de octubre de 1969. El IMP de la UCLA se conectó por primera vez con el IMP#2 instalado en el Stanford Research Institute.

Con los años, empezaron a florecer más redes en varios rincones del mundo. Pero el problema es que aquellas redes no estaban conectadas entre sí. Eran como autopistas privadas desconectadas unas de otras. Hasta el que llegó el Año Nuevo de 1983. Todos los ordenadores centrales de ARPANET adoptaron las reglas electrónicas que siguen siendo la piedra angular básica de Internet. En términos técnicos, modificaron su protocolo de comunicaciones, o lenguaje, dejando de usar NCP (Networtk Control Protocol) para usar el TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol). El TCP/IP propició que Internet se convirtiera en lo que es hoy en día. En 1986 sólo había 400 redes o “sistemas autónomos” en Internet. En 2011 eran más de 35.000. Y el número de ordenadores asociados a estas redes también creció: en 1985 había

2.000 ordenadores con acceso a Internet. A finales de 1989, 159.000. En 2011, el número de usuarios de Internet era de 2.000 millones. Internet, que durante casi veinte años había sido una ciudad universitaria llamada ARPANET, había empezado a parecerse más a una metrópolis.

El ordenador más antiguo del mundo, ‘La bruja’, vuelve a encenderse 1 comentario Sergio Parra 22 de noviembre de 2012 | 21:56

El primer ordenador digital del mundo, bautizada como The Witch (La Bruja), una máquina de más de 2 toneladas, ha vuelto a encenderse en el Reino Unido, donde será expuesto como pieza de museo tras una reparación de tres años. En una ceremonia en el Museo Nacional del Ordenador en Buckinghamshire, varios de los creadores de la histórica máquina, así como estudiantes que aprendieron a programar con ella, pulsaron el botón de “on”. En sus mejores días, The Witch, cuya construcción se inició en 1949, fue la pieza central del programa británico de investigación de Energía Atómica. Su misión era facilitar el trabajo de los científicos llevando a cabo de forma electrónica operaciones matemáticas, a pesar de que tardaba diez segundos en multiplicar dos números.

10 Ancient Wonders As You Have Never Seen Them by Jamie Frater | November 22, 2012 • • •

There were originally seven wonders of the ancient world but now only one remains. Fortunately there are some very good replicas around the world or other objects based on the originals so we can actually get a real life look at what most of them would have looked like. In looking at these pictures it certainly becomes clear why they were considered the great wonders of the world. Because the original list was of seven wonders I have added an additional three – one from Rome, one that was originally on the list but got removed, and one from Ethiopia (which is still standing). 10 Great Pyramid of Giza 2584–2561 BC – Present Day

This is the only one of the original seven wonders still standing. And while you can visit today to see it – you can’t see it as it was originally built. The entire pyramid was clad on the outside with highly polished white limestone tiles. The pyramid would have glistened in the harsh Egyptian sun. Unfortunately in 1300 an earthquake loosened the majority of the tiles and they were consequently taken away to build mosques. 9 Ishtar Gate 575 BC – Present

As part of the Walls of Babylon, the Ishtar Gate (eight gate into Babylon) found itself a place on the original list of wonders. Parts of the walls remain and some have been reconstructed. Using original parts of the Ishtar gate a replica was built in the 1930s in Berlin. That is what you see above. It is quite stunning and would, if restored to its original place in the reconstructed wall it would undoubtedly be a new modern wonder. 8 Temple of Artemis at Ephesus 550 BC – 262 AD

Pictured here is a reconstructed scale model of the Temple of Artemis – a temple dedicated to the daughter of Zeus (the equivalent of Rome’s Diana). The temple was rebuilt three times in its life but eventually it was destroyed in raids by the Goths who plundered it and set fire to the remains. Sadly all that remains today is a single column made from the ruins. 7 Statue of Zeus at Olympia 435 BC – 5th/6th Century AD

This vast statue was situated in the temple complex dedicated to Zeus – the supreme god of the ancient Greeks. He was so immense that it was said he would topple the roof of the temple if he stood up. He was made completely of ivory and gold-plated bronze – so one can imagine what he must have cost to build. How it was lost or destroyed is not entirely clear but it was most likely in the fire the destroyed the temple itself. 6 Mausoleum at Halicarnassus 351 BC – 1494 AD

Pictured here is the House of the Temple in Washington DC. It is home to the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry. It was designed to be an exact replica of the lost Mausoleum at Halicarnassus. The original Mausoleum was built for Mausolus – a Persian Governor and its beauty was so great that Mausolus is now the source of our English term for an above-ground burial site. Earthquakes eventually led to its downfall and in the end invading Knights Hospitaller used its stones to strengthen their nearby castle. 5 Colossus of Rhodes 292/280 BC – 226 BC

You may wonder why you see a photo of the statue of liberty above. That’s because it was designed and built to the scale and design of the original Colossus of Rhodes (at least as it was believed to have looked at the time Liberty was constructed). This at least gives you an idea of how large the Colossus was and why – in ancient times – it would have been a wonder to behold. In 226 BC the Rhodes earthquake toppled the statue which lay on the ground for the next 800 years. Eventually the remains were sold by a Muslim conqueror to a Jewish merchant who sold them for scrap. 4 Lighthouse of Alexandria 1303–1480 AD

Pictured is a life-sized replica of the Lighthouse at Alexandria which can be found in China. The original stood on the island of Pharos and was designed to guide sailors into the Alexandrian port. Like so many on this list, the lighthouse was destroyed by an earthquake and in the end a medieval fortress was built in the same location from the ruins. 3 Obelisk of Axum 4th Century AD – Present

The Obelisk of Axum is on this list as it really is an ancient wonder but it never made the list – perhaps because Ethiopia was too far to travel for most and the Seven Wonders was a kind of tourists guide book. The obelisk was designed as a marker for a burial site (many other exist too). In 1937 the Fascists who had conquered Ethiopia dismantled it and took it to Rome, but when relations warmed between modern Ethiopia and Italy, it was repatriated in 2005. 2 Colosseum 70/80 AD – Present

Pictured here is how the great Colosseum in Rome would have looked before it was damaged in 1349 by a great earthquake. It was used thereafter by religious orders, families as housing, and even as a cemetery. Its stones were plundered over the centuries and used in other buildings. 1 Roman Baths 836 BC – Present

The famous Roman Baths in Somerset are a reconstruction of the previously destroyed baths. Unlike the rest of the entries on this list it is still a functioning historic building. It was destroyed in the 6th century. Redevelopment of parts of the baths occurred over time with the last additions being done in the late 1800s. The baths were actually originally built by British king Bladud and it wasn’t until the 1st Century AD that the Romans had their input into the design and use of them.

En recuerdo de Hobsbawm Posted: 26 Nov 2012 12:16 AM PST

Eric Hobsbawm falleció el 1 de octubre a los noventa y cinco años de edad. No podía faltar un recuerdo para el que ha sido uno de los grandes historiadores del siglo XX, quizá el que más ha influido en la formación de historiadores y profesores de Historia, tanto en Europa como en Iberoamérica. Mi generación descubrió la Historia social con la lectura de dos libros que marcaron nuestra formación: Crecimiento y desarrollo, de Pierre Vilar y Rebeldes primitivos de Eric Hobsbawm. Nos abrieron los ojos y las mentes a una Historia interesante, renovada, que consideraba a los pueblos, a las gentes, en suma, a la sociedad, la principal protagonista del devenir histórico. Vilar y Hobsbawm eran dos historiadores marxistas (militantes comunistas) que se mantuvieron fieles a su ideología hasta el final de sus días y constituyen un ejemplo de coherencia intelectual y cívica. En el caso de Hobsbawm a pesar de las críticas tan contundentes que recibió de otros historiadores, como es el caso de Tony Judt, tras la caída el Muro de Berlín. La obra de Hobsbawm es tan extensa como su vida: desde su contribución al debate sobre la transición del feudalismo al capitalismo, los ensayos sobre las revoluciones y los revolucionarios del siglo XIX y XX, el estudio de los nacionalismos, los trabajos sobre la clase obrera y las revueltas campesinas, hasta sus aportaciones a la teoría historiográfica. Sus obras de síntesis sobre el siglo XX son una de las reflexiones más lúcidas y fundamentadas de la historiografía occidental. La de mayor difusión (traducida a 36 idiomas) es la Historia del siglo XX (The Age of Extremes: the short twentieth century, 1914-1991,), la cual para algunos constituye la más accesible, renovadora y rigurosa historia universal contemporánea. Su vida, narrada en su autobiografía Años interesantes: una vida en el siglo XX (Crítica, 2003) es un apasionante relato de su trayectoria en lo que él denomina el “corto siglo XX”. Nacido en Alejandría de familia judía, formado en Viena y Berlín, se estableció en Inglaterra cuando el nazismo comenzaba su escalada antisemita. En 1936 ingresó en el Comunist Party, donde militó hasta su disolución en 1989. Formó parte del grupo denominado “Club de los Apóstoles”, sociedad secreta en la Universidad de Cambridge integrada por los más distinguidos intelectuales que compaginaban distinción e ideas marxistas. Hobsbawm ha sido el más influyente y prolífico de los historiadores británicos, entre los que se encuentra E. P. Thompson, Christopher Hill, Maurice H. Dobb, Rodney Hilton y otros, que tanto esplendor han dado a la mejor historiografía europea. Para Hobsbawm no existía “el fin de la Historia”, como señalaba el titular del obituario que le dedicó The Guardian, en clara referencia al libro de Francis Fukuyama que pronosticaba el final de los grandes cambios históricos tras la caída del Muro de Berlín. En su último libro,

publicado el año pasado -Cómo cambiar el mundo. 1848-2011 (Crítica 2011)- sigue propugnado el espíritu de progreso, que arranca de la Ilustración y que augura grandes transformaciones.

“No sé todavía las consecuencias de la grave y duradera actual crisis mundial, -decía en un artículo publicado hace tres años- pero sin duda marcará el fin del tipo de capitalismo de libre mercado que capturó al mundo y a sus gobiernos en los años transcurridos desde Margaret Thatcher y el presidente Reagan”. Para Hobsbawm, una política progresista necesita una ruptura con los supuestos económicos y morales de los últimos 30 años. Es necesario volver a la convicción, afirma, de que el crecimiento económico y la prosperidad son un medio y no un fin. Su compromiso político no le restó jamás lucidez y objetividad. En una entrevista que le hicimos en la revista AULA Historia Social, nos comentó: “es cierto que la Historia es siempre un asunto sumamente politizado. El problema no es evitar la politización pero lo que sí puede evitar es subordinar el análisis histórico a fines políticos”. La izquierda y los nacionalismos han intentado utilizar la Historia para legitimarse, unos para sustentar su agenda política, otros porque cambian una historiografía del pasado nacional por una historiografía nacionalista. En la misma entrevista acababa diciendo que no era posible impedir el uso de la Historia con fines políticos pero se podía evitar escribir para un debate político en términos históricos. “La función de los historiadores -señalaba- es precisamente hacerse molestos a los políticos”. Ahora más que nunca.

jueves, 29 de noviembre de 2012 ¿Propaganda sobre Suez...?

A pesar de ser considerado como uno de los más importantes conflictos del Medio Oriente en el siglo XX, debido a ser jugado por dos potencias claves como Inglaterra y Francia en una de las áreas geopolíticas más sensibles del planeta, la operación militar anglofrancesa para tomarse manu militari el Canal de Suez en 1956, en respuesta a la nacionalización del mismo por el Presidente egipcio Gamal Abdel Nasser, es también una de las más chapuceras operaciones militares de toda la centuria. No todos los errores militares cometidos aquí merecen abrirse paso hasta Siglos Curiosos (algunos son simplemente lamentables, pero no...curiosos, más o menos como entendemos el concepto en este blog), pero no podemos dejar de elaborar una nota respecto a la terrible estrategia comunicacional de Inglaterra y Francia al respecto. Porque desde la Primera Guerra Mundial que se venía entendiendo de manera sistemática la importancia de la propaganda para desmoralizar al enemigo y convertir a los neutrales en aliados, a pesar de lo cual, el manejo propagandístico en la llamada Guerra del Sinaí, Crisis de Suez o Guerra de Suez, se merece de sobra el calificativo de desastroso. A resultas de los manejos burocráticos británicos, sumada a la previsión (cumplida después) de que la conflagración sería muy impopular en dos países que estaban a apenas una década de distancia de la Segunda Guerra Mundial, los altos mandos británicos, incluyendo al sesentón y muy enfermo Primer Ministro Anthony Eden, estimaron que era necesario emprender una dura ofensiva propagandística para convencer a los egipcios de dejarse invadir. En la mentalidad de Eden y su gente no podía caber que Nasser privilegiara los intereses nacionales egipcios por sobre la tradicional servidumbre a los intereses coloniales británicos, de manera que se figuraban que Nasser era una especie de tirano sediento de sangre al que los egipcios no apoyarían, y recibirían a los ingleses y franceses como libertadores. En la realidad Nasser podía ser autoritario (los Presidente de Egipto desde el derrocamiento de la

monarquía en 1952 tienen mucho de faraones contemporáneos, incluyendo a Nasser, Sadat, Mubarak... tres en casi seis décadas), pero a la vez era muy popular como campeón internacional de la causa tercermundista contra la intervención extranjera, cualquier intervención extranjera, fuere occidental o soviética (aunque la hostilidad occidental a su casquivanería lo llevó a dejarse cortejar un tanto por el Oso Ruso). De ahí que ingleses y franceses decidieran lanzar una campaña propagandística en pleno dentro de Egipto, contando con soliviantar a los egipcios contra Nasser (listo: ya pueden carcajearse a destajo). A diferencia de los políticos, muchos altos mandos militares juzgaban que la guerra sicológica era una pérdida de tiempo: lanzar folletos sobre territorio enemigo no convencía a nadie, y bombardear las ciudades enemigas reforzaba la moral contra el invasor, no la debilitaba. Contaban con la experiencia de la Segunda Guerra Mundial hablando en favor de esta idea. Pero mandos aún más altos decidieron que la guerra sicológica iba, lo que además daba tiempo para organizar un desembarco rápido y sorpresivo (así como suena: según los británicos, los egipcios tenían que creer que la propaganda iba a caer porque sí, y luego dejarse sorprender por lo que venía después). Para la misión fue destacado un tal Bernard Fergusson. Parece ser que Fergusson se comportó como un soldado impecable, y a pesar de tener dudas sobre la utilidad de la operación, se dedicó a la misma en cuerpo y alma. Se le cedió a él y sus ayudantes una radio en Chipre para lanzar proclamas, y una imprenta para editar folletos. Pero los pilotos de la RAF eran reacios a arriesgar sus vidas en lo que esencialmente era infringir el espacio aéreo egipcio para una operación tan inútil como... lanzar folletos. Aún así, ironías del destino, para lanzar los folletos se había previsto una bomba que estallara a trescientos metros de altura sobre los civiles: lo que pasó es que la bomba, así como buena parte del obsoleto material bélico inglés, falló y estalló a ras de calle, causando una buena mortandad entre los civiles egipcios a quienes supuestamente debía convencerse de la bondad de una invasión británica. Se utilizaron también aviones parlantes para sobrevolar territorio egipcio, pero cuando el avión parlante aterrizó en Adén para repostar combustible, el equipo de megafonía se esfumó misteriosamente y nunca nadie supo de su destino. Fergusson también utilizó la radio para crear programas destinados a los palestinos, llenos de material contra Nasser. Pero aunque los programas eran emitidos en árabe, los palestinos no se dejaron convencer: muchos creyeron percibir un sonsonete judío en la voz de los locutores, y con eso dejaron de hacer caso a la propaganda. Ya en medio de la guerra, que por cierto fue lanzada el 29 de octubre de 1956, la (des)inteligencia británica les jugó otra mala pasada. Debido a que los invasores querían disminuir al máximo las bajas civiles para que su intervención pareciera una operación de policía contra Nasser, no bombardearon la estación de radio El Cairo, evitando así que cualquier edificio colindante o sus residentes terminaran incinerados bajo fuego enemigo. Ni qué decir que a través de dicha radio, Egipto informó al mundo de las horrendas (y exageradas, claro, que en la guerra no hay santos) atrocidades de los invasores, volviendo a la opinión pública internacional aún más contra Inglaterra y Francia, así como fortaleciendo el ánimo egipcio para resistir. Ante este panorama, los aliados de Inglaterra se preguntaron por qué no se bombardeaba dicha radio, y cuando supieron la razón, Chipre informó que la radio El Cairo estaba... a 25 kilómetros de El Cairo, en pleno desierto. Por supuesto que lo muy verdaderamente siguiente fue enviar un escuadrón de aviones y reducirla a cenizas, pero el daño ya estaba hecho, por supuesto. Es lo que tiene haberse montado una operación bélica del siglo XX con una

filosofía geopolítica del XIX: que las operaciones propagandísticas tenían un tufillo a sacadas de otro siglo...

Juan XXI, el papa médico y Miguel Ángel Buonarroti (miércoles, 28 de noviembre de 2012)

El papa Juan XXI, nacido en Lisboa en 1215, era hijo de un médico y estudio medicina, teología, dialéctica y otras materias en la Universidad de París antes de convertirse en el dirigente máximo de la Iglesia Católica. Entre 1245 y 1250 fue profesor de medicina en la Universidad de Siena y durante esta época escribió varios tratados, entre ellos, El tesoro de los pobres. En esta obra daba explicaciones de varios remedios que eran útiles para los problemas oculares. Este texto se conservó de un modo u otro durante varios siglos hasta que Miguel Ángel Buonarroti tuvo que hacer uso del mismo cuando estaba trabajando en la Capilla Sixtina, a comienzos del siglo XVI. Cuando estaba afrontando el magno trabajo de la capilla, Miguel Ángel tuvo serios problemas en sus ojos y estuvo cerca de perder la vista. Alguien le aconsejó que consultara y aplicara las recomendaciones del texto del papa médico y así lo hizo el artista. Gracias a aquellos remedios que tres siglos antes había consignado Juan XXI cuando aún era Pedro Julião (o Pedro Juliano) Buonarroti salvó su vista. De hecho, según parece, aún se conservan en los archivos vaticanos algunos apuntes del puño y letra del artista con las recomendaciones que copió de aquel El tesoro de los pobres. Fuente: Mis anécdotas preferidas, de Carlos Fisas. En el período de entreguerras, un arquitecto alemán llamado Herman Sorgel estaba convencido de haber encontrado la solución a la situación crisis en que se encontraba inmersa la vieja Europa: rebajar el nivel del mediterráneo hasta 200 metros mediante la construcción de una inmensa presa en el Estrecho de Gibraltar. Electricidad ilimitada y nuevas tierras ganadas al mar serían, sólo, algunos de los beneficios de su plan. Seguir leyendo El hombre que quiso construir una presa en el Estrecho de Gibraltar y crear un nuevo continente, Atlantropa

En enero del 1940 un gigante llegó a la Antártida. Se trataba de un vehículo totalmente diferente a cualquier otro construido hasta la fecha. Sus dimensiones eran inmensas: 16.75 metros de largo, 4.5 de altura y 6.10 de ancho. Aunque no se había podido comprobar su comportamiento sobre la nieve o el hielo, su creador estaba convencido de que sería capaz de recorrer miles de kilómetros sobre ellos propulsado por sus 4 ruedas de 3 metros de diámetro. Había llegado el momento de comprobar si el Snow Cruiser pasaría a la historia como una revolucionaria invención, o como uno de los más ingenuos fracasos. Seguir leyendo El Antartic Snow Cruiser, el gigante atascado y olvidado en los hielos

En la década del 1870, Nueva York necesitaba una mejora radical de su sistema de transporte. Alfred Ely Beach, un inventor local, creía tener la solución: un ferrocarril subterráneo propulsado por aire a presión. Ante la imposibilidad para obtener los permisos oficiales, decidió intentarlo por su cuenta. En secreto, comenzó la perforación de un túnel bajo una de las calles más animadas de la ciudad, convencido de que cuando la gente viera su obra, todos le apoyarían. Seguir leyendo El metro secreto de Nueva York

Harry Grindell Matthews es para algunos uno de los inventores más prolíficos del Reino Unido, el “Tesla” inglés, cuyos múltiples inventos (el más conocido y más temible de todos, el rayo de la muerte) podían haber acortado las dos guerras mundiales. Otros, sin embargo, creen que simplemente fue un charlatán, o un visionario loco, siempre dispuesto a anunciar grandes invenciones, pero incapaz de demostrar y explicar su funcionamiento. Seguir leyendo El rayo de la muerte y su inventor

En los años 20 y 30 del siglo pasado, parecía que el futuro de los vuelos transatlánticos comerciales dependía de la construcción de una serie de pistas de aterrizaje flotantes de uno al otro lado del Atlántico. Estas pistas permitían superar los límites de autonomía que tenían los aviones de pasajeros de la época al permitirles repostar en medio del mar y continuar el viaje hasta la siguiente. Los aviones “saltarían” de pista en pista como se salta de piedra en piedra la pasar un riachuelo. De haberse completado, el aeropuerto de Vigo se habría convertido en un hub transoceánico. Seguir leyendo Los aeropuertos flotantes del Atlántico

Las pilas o baterías de Bagdad (jueves, 29 de noviembre de 2012)

Me ha venido a la cabeza la historia de las de pilas de Bagdad, que debía estar en el fondo de mi mente por algún motivo, y releyendo en la Wikipedia sobre ellas he visto que después de la guerra de Irak están desaparecidas y que es posible que estén en el mercado negro del arte y las antigüedades. Durante los combates, el Museo Nacional de Irak fue saqueado y entre las muchas cosas que han desaparecido, y quizás algunas

destrozado, están las baterías o pilas de Bagdad. Con este nombre se conocen a unos jarrones descubiertos en 1936 y que datan del siglo I. Lo sorprendente de estos objetos y lo que los ha convertido en uno de los misterios más conocidos de las historia, es que no eran sencillos recipientes, sino que podría tratarse de pilas o baterías eléctricas. ¡Del siglo I! Fueron descubiertas en unas tumbas junto con un buen número de objetos más. Estos jarrones de arcilla tienen un cilindro de cobre en su interior fijado a la embocadura y dentro del cilindro una vara de hierro. Ya en 1939 el arqueólogo alemán Wilhelm König trabajó sobre la hipótesis de que fuera una pila eléctrica y después de algunos estudios en los que se llegó a comprobar su funcionamiento, se concluyó que el objeto se comportaba efectivamente como una pila. Se han construido réplicas de estos jarrones y parece que son capaces de generar electricidad. Según los científicos, usando como electrolito zumo de uva, algo al acceso de los hombres del siglo I, podrían funcionar. En la otra parte de la balanza, y es en la que yo me situaría a priori, están aquellos estudiosos que dicen que estos objetos nunca fueron una pila y nunca fueron utilizados como tal. Si bien parece que podrían generar electricidad, no hay prueba alguna de que alguna vez fueran utilizados con tal fin. Y siendo el objeto algo no demasiado complejo, bien podría haberse fabricado con un fin mucho más mundano y simple. El programa de televisión Cazadores de mitos construyó unas réplicas y conectando varias consiguieron una corriente eléctrica de cuatro voltios, usando como electrolito zumo de limón. Por lo tanto, parece ser que el diseño se puede usar para generar electricidad pero no hay constancia de que los hombres del siglo I lo hicieran con tal fin. Pero, si no era con este fin, ¿con qué otro era? Pueden opinar y comentar al respecto. Como decía al comienzo, actualmente están desaparecidas estas pilas antiguas que se adelantaron en siglos a los trabajos de Volta, el padre real y comprobado de este invento y probablemente estarán en manos de algún coleccionista de antigüedades. Si ese tipo lee Curistoria, que todo es posible, hasta que hubiera pilas en el siglo I, estaría encantado de tomar un café y echarle un ojo a ese invento si fuera posible. Prometo discreción.

El mayor negocio de la Edad Media Artículos - Curiosidades - Costumbres

Aunque hoy bajo el término especias se denomina a especies herbáceas que se utilizan en muchas ocasiones como condimentos, durante siglos con esta palabra se aludía a

plantas originarias del extremo oriente y de una forma más precisa a las que llegaban de las Islas Molucas, conocidas como Islas de las Especias. El uso de estas plantas no era sólo como condimento alimentario, sino que en ocasiones formaban parte de preparados con finalidad medicinal. Por referencias literarias de autores griegos y romanos sabemos que especias venidas de Asia estaban presentes en los lujosos banquetes de las familias más poderosas, en los ungüentos que se aplicaban tras el baño, en los perfumes más caros, en los inciensos que se quemaban en los templos o en las medicinas que recetaban sus médicos. El prestigio de estas sustancias se ha querido explicar también por las limitaciones que en aquellos tiempos sufría Europa, que todavía no conocía ni el té ni el café ni el chocolate, ni apenas disponía de azúcar. Si a esto le añadimos que se carecía de cualquier medio para conservar frescos los alimentos (especialmente la carne), estos se consumían en ocasiones en un estado no muy agradable para el paladar. Entiéndase lo que en estos casos suponía un poco de pimienta, clavo o canela: lo suficiente para aromatizar el producto y hacerlo comestible. En la Edad Media el comercio de especias estaba en manos de los árabes que las compraban en la India y las transportaban hasta los puertos del Mediterráneo oriental donde se las revendían a comerciantes italianos que iniciaban su distribución por Europa. El negocio tenía tales dimensiones que los árabes procuraron mantener siempre a los comerciantes europeos fuera de sus rutas comerciales para evitar cualquier tipo de competencia. A su vez los comerciantes italianos mantenían el monopolio de las especias. Las complicaciones de la ruta desde Asia, ya fuese por tierra (hay que atravesar desiertos, montañas y altas mesetas llenas de peligros) o por mar (enormes distancias, tifones, piratas, barcos no muy seguros) elevaban el precio de las especias, que pasaban además por muchas manos (y en cada paso elevaban sus precios) antes de llegar a los consumidores europeos. Para hacerse una idea de la cotización de estos productos puede decirse que en la Edad Media un pequeño saco de pimienta valía lo que el salario de un trabajador durante toda su vida. La pimienta se contaba grano a grano y llegó a utilizarse en ocasiones como moneda o forma de pago. La atracción por el negocio de las especias será lo que ponga en marcha los grandes descubrimientos de los siglos XV y XVI cuando los portugueses intenten hacerse con este negocio buscando una ruta a "Las Indias" distinta a la que musulmanes e italianos mantenían desde hacía siglos. Sólo con la irresistible atracción del negocio de las especias se entiende el enorme sacrificio en vidas humanas y dinero que harán las coronas de Portugal y España. Cuando Vasco de Gama llegue a la India culminando un siglo de esfuerzos portugueses, su viaje habrá puesto en manos de su país una enorme fuente de riqueza. Pocos años antes Colón había intentado llegar a las especias viajando hacia el oeste. Y las especias serán también el objetivo de la expedición de Magallanes que lo intentará viajando hacia el oeste lo que llevará a la primera circunnavegación del planeta. En las décadas siguientes se desatarán luchas por el control de este comercio: durante el siglo XVI estará bajo control portugués (España parecía entretenida con el oro y la plata

de América). En el siglo XVII serán los holandeses quienes transporten las especias a los puertos europeos. La ruta portuguesa de Vasco de Gama hará bajar inmediatamente el precio de las especias (el viaje era largo y peligroso, pero se evitaban intermediarios), aunque el negocio siguió siendo durante siglos interesante.

10 Ancient Cities Still Around Today by Jamie Frater, December 1, 2012 • • •

I am fascinated by ancient history and the cities in which history played out. While the vast majority of the famous places from the past are now gone, a number still remain – some small and others huge. This list takes a look at ten ancient cities that are still functioning today. I have chosen a day shot and a dusk or night shot for each city. There are definitely some great tourist destinations in this list. 10 Plovdiv Founded: Pre 400 BC

Plovdiv is in modern day Bulgaria. When it was founded it was called Eumolpias and was a Thracian settlement. It was conquered by the Macedonians and ultimately became

part of what is now known as Bulgaria. It is second in size and importance to the capital city of Sofia which is about 150 kilometres away from it. 9 Jerusalem Founded: 2000 BC

Jerusalem is one of the oldest cities in the world and it is considered a holy city by Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. It is capital city of Israel (though not all countries recognise this fact). In antiquity it was the famed City of David from the Bible and later the place where Jesus began his last week of life. 8 Xi’an Founded: 1100 BC

One of the four great ancient capitals of China, Xi’an is now the capital of the Shaanxi province. The city is full of ancient ruins, monuments, and still contains the ancient wall built in the Ming Dynasty – pictured here. It also holds the tomb of Qin Shi Huang which is most famous for the terracotta army. 7

Cholula Founded: 500 BC

Cholula is in the Mexican state of Puebla which started out as a pre-columbian city. Its most famous site is the Great Pyramid of Cholula which now looks like a hill with a church atop; in fact the hill is the pyramid base. The pyramid temple is the largest in the new world. 6 Varanasi Founded: 1200 BC

Varanasi (also known as Benares) is in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Jains and Hindus consider it to be a holy city and believe that if you die there you will attain

salvation. It is the oldest habited city in India and one of the oldest in the world. Found along the river Ganges are gats – stops along the way in which believers can perform religious ablutions in the river. 5 Lisbon Founded: 1200 BC

Lisbon is the largest city and the capital of Portugal. It is the oldest city in Western Europe – predating London, Rome, and the like. Religious and funerary monuments exist there from the neolithic age and archeological evidence also suggests that it was once an important trading post for the Phoenicians. In 1755 it was struck by a devastating earthquake which almost completely destroyed it due to the fires and a Tsunami – it is one of the deadliest quakes in history. 4 Athens Founded: 1400 BC

Athens it the capital city of Greece and it is also the largest city. Its 3,400 year history is a fascinating one and much of the culture and customs of the ancient Athenians found

there way into many other cultures due to its dominance in the region as a vast citystate. The multitude of archeological sites make this the perfect city for visit for anyone with a passion for European history and culture. 3 Damascus Founded: 1700 BC

Damascus is the capital of Syria and home to over 2.6 million people. The recent civil uprisings have unfortunately caused a great deal of damage to one of history’s most significant and oldest cities. It has been named in the top 12 cultural heritage sites most in danger of being destroyed or suffering irreparable loss. Only time will tell whether this ancient city will survive or be relegated to history as another ancient city lost to the world. 2 Rome Founded: 753 BC

Rome began as a collection of small urban villages which ultimately became the citystate that ruled one of the greatest empires known to man. The Roman Empire (which grew from the Roman Republic) was relatively short lived – lasting from its founding in 27 BC with its first Emperor Augustus to its last, Romulus Augustulus, who was deposed in 476 AD (though the Eastern Roman Empire survived another 977 years). 1 Istanbul Founded: 660 BC

As just mentioned the Roman Empire in the East continued to exist until 1453 with its capital city being Constantinople – now known as Istanbul. Constantinople fell to the

Turks who established the Ottoman Empire in its place which survived until 1923 when the Sultanate was abolished and the Republic of Turkey created. Arteifacts of both the Roman and Ottoman empires remain to this day in Istanbul with probably the most significant being the Hagia Sofia – originally a Church but converted to a Mosque under the Islamic ottomans and then a museum under the republic.

Top 10 Rulers That Were Nuts by LordZB, December 1, 2012 • • •

When Caligula, a notably eccentric Roman Emperor, was chastised by his grandmother, he fixed her a stern look. “Remember,” he said, “I have the right to do anything to anyone.” Does having absolute power make dictators eccentric, or is it simply that we are all eccentric but lack the power to behave as we would like? Whatever the answer, there have been a sufficient number of eccentric rulers to provide material for a dozen lists. Here are ten of the strangest eccentricities of the (not so) great rulers in history. 10 Frederick William I and the Potsdam Giants

Frederick William I, King of Prussia in the 18th century, has gone down in history as the ‘Soldier King’ for his obsession with all things military. Of particular note to those interested in eccentricity is the King’s fondness for tall soldiers. The King’s pride and joy was a regiment of taller-than-average soldiers, which came to be known as the “Potsdam Giants”. All members of the regiment had to be over 6’ 2” in height – and the taller they were, the better. In order to recruit tall people for the regiment, the king would offer bonuses; and if that failed, he would simply kidnap them. Tall men were sent from all over Europe as diplomatic gifts to Frederick William, and visiting dignitaries would be treated to a march by the regiment. The king once commented that although he was utterly indifferent to beautiful women, a tall soldier was his only weakness. 9 Honorius and Chickens

By the 5th century AD, the Roman Empire was split in two. The Western empire was by this time much weakened, and unable to defend itself from the Visigoths. It was a perilous time for the empire – but in 495, a ten year old boy named Honorius became Emperor in the west. The Visigoths invaded Italy and began a siege of the ancient capital, Rome. The emperors had long abandoned the city, but it was still the symbolic centre of the empire. You might expect the emperor of a besieged nation to be obsessed with its defense – but the historian Procopius recorded the (possibly apocryphal) tale of Honorius’ real obsession: “At that time they say that the Emperor Honorius in Ravenna received the message from one of the eunuchs, evidently a keeper of the poultry, that Rome had perished. And he cried out and said, ‘And yet it has just eaten from my hands!’ For he had a very large cock, Rome by name; and the eunuch comprehending his words said that it was the city of Rome which had perished at the hands of Alaric, and the emperor with a sigh of relief answered quickly: ‘But I, my good fellow, thought that my fowl Rome had perished.’ So great, they say, was the folly with which this emperor was possessed.” 8 Joanna of Castile and Dead Husbands

Joanna, daughter of Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile, was the first sole monarch to rule over the united kingdoms of modern Spain. As a young lady she was fortunate enough to marry a man nicknamed Philip the Handsome, Duke of Burgundy. Unfortunately, even as a young woman Joanna was noted for a certain mental instability – and her marriage did not lessen this. She became obsessed that her husband was having an affair. She attacked one woman with scissors, in an attempt to cut off her beautiful hair. When Philip died, Joanna was so distraught that she had his embalmed body carried with her wherever she went, and would look at it often. Proclaimed mad by her father, she was placed in a darkened room in a nunnery to calm her down, and remained there for the rest of her life. She was allowed to keep her husband with her. This confinement continued after her son came of age and took over her rule. 7 Tsar Peter III and Toy Soldiers

Tsar Peter III is best remembered today as the husband of Catherine the Great, who deposed her husband and ruled in place of her son. The stories of Peter’s obsession with toy soldiers come mostly from Catherine and so they may have been designed to discredit him, although there are other sources attesting to it. On their wedding night, the Tsar is said to have pulled a box of toy soldiers from under their bed, and forced his new wife to play with them until two in the morning. When a fort was set up for a mock battle, a rat happened to wander by and knock over several soldiers. The rat was hanged from the wall for a breach of military discipline. Catherine soon tired of her husband and forced his abdication and – many assume – eventually ordered his murder. 6 King Ludwig II and Fairy-tale Castles

Ludwig II of Bavaria ruled in the 19th century, but seems to have dreamed of living in a romantic past which never really existed. Bavaria was one of the most rich and powerful of the German states , but Ludwig was to impoverish the monarchy with his eccentric obsession: he loved to build castles. The building projects he set in motion include the famous Neuschwanstein, the castle on which Disney’s Cinderella’s castle is based. Besides this, he also built palaces and decked out old homes in luxurious new styles. When he could no longer afford to pay for his constructions, he borrowed lavishly. Ludwig was deposed on the grounds of mental incompetency, and removed – to a castle – for treatment. He lamented, however, that he would not be allowed to stay in Neuschwanstein. Not long afterwards, he was found mysteriously drowned, along with his doctor. 5 Ibrahim I and Fat Women

Ibrahim was, like all potential successors to the Ottoman throne, raised in seclusion at court in a building known as ‘The Cage.’ When an emperor was chosen, he would often have his brothers killed to avoid rivals usurping his throne. But the brother of Ibrahim left him alive, because he felt that Ibrahim was too mad to ever be a threat. After his brother’s death, Ibrahim was declared emperor – and released from his cage, he was able to express his eccentricities freely. It is said that he had a great liking for fat women; the fatter the better. One obese woman was found who so pleased him that he made her an imperial governor and gave her a pension. Apparently, the selection of this particular woman was due the resemblance of her private parts to those of a cow. 4 Bokassa and the Napoleon Complex

Jean-Bedel Bokassa ruled over the Central African Republic as President until 1976. It was in this year that he decided to convert the country into the Central African Empire, and declare himself to be Emperor Bokassa the First. His coronation was based on that of another soldier turned autocrat – Napoleon. The coronation cost a quarter of the country’s budget for the year, and was designed to proclaim the Emperor’s greatness to the world. Unfortunately for the self-esteem of Bokassa, no world leaders attended the coronation – perhaps deciding it was in poor taste in a country with such a high rate of poverty. The Empire collapsed, only two years after the coronation. 3 Nero and The Arts

Nero became Emperor of Rome at the age of just 17. He was trained in all arts regarded as fitting for an aristocratic boy of the age. He could sing, play music, and recite poetry. But Nero was set apart by the fact that he was absolutely intent upon doing these things in public. Public displays in the arts were shameful for any person of breeding, in a world where actors and musicians were a mere hog’s breath above slaves and prostitutes in the social order. Nero held games throughout Greece and Italy, in order to display his talents to the people. Invariably, the Emperor won all the prizes. His shows reportedly lasted so long that people had do devise extreme means of escaping them: old men would pretend to die and women would fake going into labour. When Nero was overthrown and preparing to die, one of his final utterances was, “What an artist dies in me.” 2 Qin Shi Huang and Immortality

Qin Shi Huang became the first Emperor of a unified China in the 3rd century BC. Today, he is best remembered for his magnificent tomb – the one with an army of terracotta soldiers guarding it. If he had had his way, however, Qin Shi Huang would never have been buried at all. The emperor was obsessed with achieving literal immortality. He consulted doctors, and was prescribed sex as a way of maintaining youthful vitality. When this failed to prevent old age, he tried pills containing mercury. We now know that Mercury is unlikely to help with immortality – or sanity. Expeditions were sent to find the mythical Islands of the Immortals, to retrieve their legendary potions. Eventually, the emperor did die – but we have yet to see his grave, as the central part of his vast tomb remains unexcavated. Supposedly, he is surrounded by rivers of his precious mercury. 1 Saparmurat Niyazov and Language

Niyazov became president of Turkmenistan after the fall of the USSR. While eccentricities can be entertaining in private people, the problem with eccentric dictators is that they can impose their whims on the rest of us. Niyazov had many such whims – but his obsession with renaming things was perhaps the most pervasive. The months of the year were renamed to reflect his own glory, and that of past Turkmen heroes. The days of the week, from Sunday to Saturday, were respectively renamed: Rest-day, Main-Day, Young-Day, Favourable-Day, Justice-Day, Anna-Day, and Spirit-Day. Bread he simply renamed Mother. Soon after Niyazov’s death, his reforms were – perhaps unsurprisingly – undone.

10 Poisons Used To Kill People by GCchange, December 2, 2012 • • •

Poison is definitely among fiction’s greatest weapons. Hercule Poirot and Sherlock Holmes seem to have developed the audience’s taste for untraceable, fast-acting poisons. However, murder mystery is one thing, but when the story becomes reality, you have got yourself a real killer! Here is a list of the most famous poisons used to kill people throughout history. 10

Hemlock

Hemlock or Conium is a highly toxic flowering plant indigenous to Europe and South Africa. It was a popular one with the ancient Greeks, who used it to kill off their prisoners. For an adult, the ingestion of 100mg of conium or about 8 leaves of the plant is fatal – death comes in the form of paralysis, your mind is wide awake, but your body doesn’t respond and eventually the respiratory system shuts down. Probably the most famous hemlock poisoning is that of Greek philosopher, Socrates. Condemned to death for impiety in 399 BC, he was given a very concentrated infusion of hemlock. 9 Aconite

Aconite comes from the plant monkshood. Also known as wolfsbane, aconite leaves only one post-mortem sign, that of asphyxia, as it causes arrhythmic heart function which leads to suffocation. Poisoning can occur even after touching the leaves of the plant without wearing gloves as it is very rapidly and easily absorbed. Because of its untraceable nature it has been a popular one with the “get away with murder” crowd. Reportedly, it has a particularly famous casualty. The emperor Claudius is said to have been poisoned by his wife, Agrippina, using aconite in a plate of mushrooms. 8 Belladonna

This was a favorite of the ladies! The name of this plant is derived from Italian and means beautiful woman. That’s because it was used in the middle-ages for cosmetic purposes – diluted eye-drops dilated the pupils, making the women more seductive (or so they thought). Also, if gently rubbed on their checks, it would create a reddish color, what today would be known as blush! This plant seems innocent enough, right? Well, actually, if ingested, a single leaf is lethal and that’s why it was used to make poisontipped arrows. The berries of this plant are the most dangerous – consumption of ten of the attractive-looking berries is fatal. 7 Dimethylmercury

This one is a slow killer – a man-made slow killer! But this is exactly what makes it all the more dangerous. Absorption of doses as low as 0.1ml have proven fatal; however, symptoms of poisoning start showing after months of initial exposure, which is definitely too late for any kind of treatment. In 1996, a chemistry professor at Dartmouth College, New Hampshire, spilled a drop or two of the poison on her gloved hand – dimethylmercury went through the latex glove, symptoms appeared four months later and ten months later, she died. 6 Tetrodotoxin

This substance is found in two marine creatures – the blue-ringed octopus and the puffer fish. However, the octopus is the most dangerous, because it purposely injects its venom, killing it in minutes. It carries enough venom to kill 26 human adults within minutes and the bites are often painless, so many victims realize they have been bitten only when paralysis sets in. On the other hand, the puffer fish is only lethal if you want to eat it, but if it is well prepared, meaning the venom is taken out, the only thing that’s left is the adrenaline of eating something which could kill you. 5 Polonium

Polonium is a radioactive poison, a slow killer with no cure. One gram of vaporised polonium can kill about 1.5 million people in just a couple of months. The most famous case of polonium poisoning is that of ex-Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko. Polonium was found in his tea cup – a dose 200 times higher than the median lethal dose in case of ingestion. He died in three weeks. 4 Mercury

There are three forms of mercury which are extremely dangerous. Elemental mercury is the one you can find in glass thermometers, it’s not harmful if touched, but lethal if inhaled. Inorganic mercury is used to make batteries, and is deadly only when ingested. And finally, organic mercury is found in fish, such as tuna and swordfish (consumption should be limited to 170g per week), but can be potentially deadly over long periods of time. A famous death caused by mercury is that of Amadeus Mozart, who was given mercury pills to treat his syphilis. 3 Cyanide

Now here’s one right out of an Agatha Christie novel. Cyanide seems to be extremely popular (spies use cyanide pills to kill themselves when caught) and there are plenty of reasons for this. Firstly, it is found in a great variety of substances like almonds, apple seeds, apricot kernel, tobacco smoke, insecticides, pesticides and the list goes on. Murder in this case can be blamed on a household accident, such as ingestion of pesticide – a fatal dose of cyanide for humans is 1.5 mg per kilogram of body weight. Secondly, it’s a rapid killer: depending on the dose, death occurs within 1 to 15 minutes. Also, in its gaseous form – hydrogen cyanide – it was the agent used by Nazi Germany for mass murders in gas chambers during the Holocaust. 2 Botulinum Toxin

If you’re watching Sherlock Holmes, then you’ll know about this one. The Botulinum toxin causes Botulism, a fatal condition if not treated immediately. It involves muscle paralysis, eventually leading to the paralysis of the respiratory system and, consequently, death. The bacteria enter the body through open wounds or by ingesting contaminated food. By the way, botulinum toxin is the same stuff used for Botox injections! 1 Arsenic

Arsenic has been called “The King of Poisons”, for its discreetness and potency – it was virtually undetectable, so it was very often used either as a murder weapon or as a mystery story element. But that’s until the Marsh test came and signalled the presence of this poison in water, food and the like. However, this king of poisons has taken many famous lives: Napoleon Bonaparte, George the 3rd of England and Simon Bolivar to name a few. On another note, arsenic, like belladonna, was used by the Victorians for cosmetic reasons. A couple of drops of the stuff made a woman’s complexion white and pale. Just perfect!

10 Things That Prove Our Ancestors Were Total Pervs by Morris M, December 3, 2012 • • •

The ancient Greeks had a word – katapepaiderastekenai – which roughly translates as ‘to squander your entire estate through hopeless devotion to young boys’. That’s right; the cradle of Western civilisation was basically one giant NAMBLA convention. But it

wasn’t just the ancients: throughout history we’ve consistently proven ourselves to be total pervs at heart, no matter where or when we enter the world. I’m talking things like: 10 Pompeii Rome

Know what they found when they dug up Pompeii? Dicks. Lots of dicks; a goddamn smorgasbord of dicks. Images of Pan running around with a Ron Jeremey-comedy-sized wang, people engaging in all sorts of vigorous penetration, and a statue of some dude boning a goat. This wasn’t just the Roman equivalent of glue-sniffing teenagers doodling graffiti on the toilet wall either (that’s not to say toilet graffiti wasn’t around too); this shit was everywhere. The whole city was one giant monument to getting an erection. So explicit were the frescoes that the architect who first uncovered the city, in 1599, promptly buried it again out of sheer embarrassment. 9 The Victorians Britain

Despite their zeppelins and steam-powered robots, the Victorians always seemed pretty dour. On the surface that is: beneath the civilised veneer, the average Victorian was a slobbering mess of barely-repressed lust. Prostitution, homosexual orgies and STDs were rife among the moneyed classes, while peddlers of pornography churned out more obscenity in a day than /b/ manages in a week. The Way of a Man With a Maid details violent bondage, rape and forced-incest; while the similarly-popular Memoirs of a Young Rakehall delights in descriptions of masturbation. Behind closed doors everyone was doing it; even freakin’ Queen Victoria is rumoured to have taken a young lover in her twilight years. They may have been too prim to show an ankle in public, but at heart they were as dirty as the floor of a Taiwanese sex club. 8 Elagabalus Rome

Of all the people to give unlimited power, ‘a fourteen year old boy’ should be very far down your list, just ahead of ‘Hitler’. Yet the Romans decided to do just that. While much of what we know of Elagabalus’ reign is probably horse shit, if even one tenth of what we read is true – then he was one depraved guy. A prolific cross-dresser, he spent more of his time picking up men in brothels than ruling; while also finding time to smash through five wives, a long line of concubines and even invent the whoopee cushion. Things finally came to a head when he started prostituting himself in the Imperial Palace; at the age of 18 he was assassinated on the orders of his grandmother, of all people. 7 Sex Festivals Greece

We’ve established that Ancient Greece wasn’t exactly the serene, monastic environment depicted by Led Zeppelin albums and Bill and Ted. But some causal boy love is only the tip of the phallic iceberg. Festivals, such as those for the god Dionysus, would kick off with an enormous wooden cock being dragged through the streets at the head of a parade. From there participants would head out into the countryside, get blind drunk on wine, dance themselves into a frenzy and get their orgy on. At their most extreme, these festivals involved wild animal-sacrifice and an emphasis on wooden dildos; at their tamest they simply involved plenty of al fresco sex and probably several-hundred phony promises to call. 6 The Marquis De Sade France

De Sade was the leading light of Libertinism, a philosophy that promoted the importance of pleasure above all other considerations. To this end he abducted, imprisoned and tortured women; sexually abused his servants; poisoned people on a whim and once turned a high society gathering into a deranged orgy thanks to the aphrodisiac Spanish fly. Men, women, children, freakin’ nuns; anyone was fair game. Too much for even Louis XVI’s decadent France; he was chucked in prison until the revolution freed him, before being locked back up by Napoleon for resuming his dirty ways. 5 The Emperors China

Alongside wives and mistresses, the average Chinese Emperor was expected to keep around 3,000 concubines, each of whom had to be serviced on a regular basis. This was even more complicated than you might think: whole hosts of secretaries were deployed to make sure each girl received her royal lovin’, while leaving enough room in the Emperor’s schedule for important things like ‘ruling’ and ‘sodomy’. So traditional was this constant flow of poon that Emperor Wen of Sui managed to cause a minor scandal by only taking two concubines, meaning his lightweight daily sex schedule was still twice as busy as yours. Nor was it just the menfolk: Empress Wu Zetian famously did her best to promote equality; having her own harem filled with nubile young boys. 4 Caligula Rome

Long before every 90’s rapper started doing it, Caligula was pimping big time – at least according to his enemies, who happened to write the history books. Not content with selling his sisters to other men, Rome’s most batshit-insane emperor converted his palace into a brothel, slept with anything that had a pulse, threw innocent spectators to the lions and tried to make his horse a senator. Then, because raising a farm animal to high office simply wasn’t insane enough, he declared himself God and had statues set up for the public to worship. Generally regarded as one of the cruelest, most despotic men who ever lived, Caligula was eventually assassinated by his own senate; probably at the instigation of his backstabbing horse (citation needed). 3 Brethren of the Free Spirit Medieval Europe

Most of what we know about the Brethren comes from biased sources, so take this with a pinch of salt. If reports are true, the Brethren were an offshoot of Christianity who believed it was possible to communicate directly with God, provided you first experienced some energetic boning. Ceremonies were held in the nude, sex was actively encouraged, and prayer was naturally achieved via orgy. They became so popular during the 11th to 15th centuries that the Church regarded them as a genuine threat, executing anyone suspected of involvement. Not that it really took a lot to get executed by the Medieval Church; getting a random boner was probably grounds enough for a visit from the Inquisition. 2 Etruscan Civilisation Ancient World

The Etruscans loved sex so much that even the Greeks and Romans were embarrassed: surviving frescos depict sodomy, copulation, flagellation and good old-fashioned pederasty all being enjoyed out in the open. Like, literally: with other dudes watching like it ain’t no thang. Even worse were their parenting skills: Theopompus reports visiting a sex party where children were invited to join in. But what really blew the minds of Greeks and Romans alike was the sheer freedom enjoyed by Etruscan women: not content with being subservient to men, they flitted around having sex with whoever they felt like and no-one gave a damn. This was too much for the ancients: giant orgies, sex with kids? OK. Equal rights for women? Perverts. 1 Stone Age Sex Everywhere

If you’re still not convinced our species is inherently perverted, you just have to look at our distant ancestors. These guys were still just getting together what it meant to be human, and what it apparently meant was lots of dirty sex. Ancient cave paintings of crude sex scenes have been uncovered across the world, including some depicting bestiality. There is evidence that dildos were in use around 26,000 BC (that’s roughly 20,000 years before the wheel); while most scientists accept we now had regular sex with our Neanderthal cousins, and possibly enslaved them for that specific purpose. So basically, we’re descended from a bunch of slave owning pornographers who were too busy playing with sex toys to come up with the simplest goddamn invention in human history. Go figure.

Etruscan Sexuality

Warning - May Offend (If under 18, please leave now)

Many Greek and Roman authors including Theopompus of Chios and Plato referred to the Etruscans as immoral. During later Roman times, the word Etruscan was almost synonomous with prostitute, and Livy's histories moralise about the rape of Lucretia, where Roman women are seen as virtuous model wives in comparison to their liberated Etruscan counterparts. On this site we shall examine the evidence given by these sources and also from Necropolis art such as the "Tomb of the Bulls" in Tarquinia. Athenaeus, a Greek grammarian of the 3rd Century CE came too late to give a personal eye-witness account of Etruscan life-style, and had to rely instead on the accounts of Timaeus and Theopompus who both lived in the 4th Century BCE. According to Timaeus: "Among the Etruscans who had become extravagantly luxurious, it is customary for the slave girls to wait on the men naked...."

A Greek historian's account of the behaviour of Etruscan women. Theopompus of Chios, 4th cent. BCE (Histories Book 43) Sharing wives is an established Etruscan custom. Etruscan women take particular care of their bodies and exercise often, sometimes along with the men, and sometimes by themselves. It is not a disgrace for them to be seen naked. They do not share their couches with their husbands but with the other men who happen to be present, and they propose toasts to anyone they choose. They are expert drinkers and very attractive.

The Etruscans raise all the children that are born, without knowing who their fathers are. The children live the way their parents live, often attending drinking parties and having sexual relations with all the women. It is no disgrace for them to do anything in the open, or to be seen having it done to them, for they consider it a native custom. So far from thinking it disgraceful, they say when someone ask to see the master of the house, and he is making love, that he is doing so-and-so, calling the indecent action by its name. When they are having sexual relations either with courtesans or within their family, they do as follows: after they have stopped drinking and are about to go to bed, while the lamps are still lit, servants bring in courtesans, or boys, or sometimes even their wives. And when they have enjoyed these they bring in boys, and make love to them. They sometimes make love and have intercourse while people are watching them, but most of the time they put screens woven of sticks around the beds, and throw cloths on top of them. They are keen on making love to women, but they particularly enjoy boys and youths. The youths in Etruria are very good-looking, because they live in luxury and keep their bodies smooth. In fact all the barbarians in the West use pitch to pull out and shave off the hair on their bodies. Dionysius of Halicarnassus wrote in the first century BCE: The Tyrrhenians were a people of dainty and expensive tastes, both at home and in the field, carrying about with them, besides the necessities, costly and artistic articles of all kinds designed for pleasure and luxury.

The Tomb of The Bulls, Tarquinia

(Click on parts of the image to magnify.) The above image is from the Tomb of the Bulls (Tombe dei Tori) in Tarquinia. The frescos on this tomb are characterised by fertility symbols, although the meaning of some of the symbolism is not entirely clear. The panel on the left depicts a heterosexual scene involving two couples, whereas the scene on the right depicts a homosexual scene. This has been variously interpreted. It is noted that the bull on the right has an aggressive pose, whereas the bull on the left is completed passive, which has been interpreted by some authors as a disapproval of homosexuality. Note also that the bulls have human faces, possibly indicating some mythological context.

The Tomb of The Bigas, Tarquinia

The Above picture is taken from a watercolour painting which was painted soon after the discovery of the Tomb of the Bigas in Tarquinia (These frescoes have since almost completely deteriorated) The picture shows an audience of a chariot race, and show a homosexual couple making love quite openly in full view of all. This shows that perhaps Etruscan society had a high acceptance level of homosexuality. The city of Pompeii was founded by the Etruscans as part of their expansion in Campania. Although captured by the Samnites in the 4th Century, and later by the Romans,it retained many of the customs introduced by the Etruscans, in common with Capua, the Urbs princeps of the Campania league. We have a very good understanding of sexuality among the Pompeians during the 1st Century CE, although to correlate this with Etruscan habitation of Pompeii requires a trained imagination. In Pompeii, all variations of sexuality were openly and blatantly pursued. Here, homosexuality, group orgies and even pedophilia were widely accepted as normal behaviour. It has been variously argued, that the mores of Pompeii were influenced by the Samnites, the Greeks, or that they reflected the norm in general Etruscan society.

The Tomb of The Floggings , Tarquinia

The tomb of the floggings (tomba della fustigazione) has frescoes which depict erotic scenes, and like those in the Tomb of the Bulls, these may carry an underlying apotropaic theme. On the right hand wall, there are two erotic scenes separated by a prothesis (funerary door). The wall paintings are badly damaged, The scene to the right shows a woman, clad only in a tutulus, bending and holding the hips of a bearded man who faces her with a smile. From behind, the woman is approached by a youth who has one hand on her buttocks and raises a whip with the other hand. On the left side of the prothesis, another woman embraces a young man, while being penetrated from behind by a bearded man. The other walls of the tomb are covered with scenes of musicians, drinking, dancers etc, which suggest the influence of the cult of Dionysus. Many Items of pottery from Tarquinia tombs, particularly of the 6th and 5th Century also show such erotic scenes, and tend to back up Theopompus's view of Etruscan society, however these may be no more than copies of Greek art of the same period. Perhaps the erotic images are part of some wider significance such as a religious festival (cf the Roman festival of Lupercalia, probably the forerunner of Valentine's Day). The fact that the imagery is used so blatently in tombs tends to reinforce the belief that Etruscan society was much more permissive than other contemporary societies. Some authors have drawn parallels with present day US society, from the perspective of the fact that both are very open societies, and with a high immigrant population. My own opinion is that we should exercise extreme caution when comparing modern societies with their ancient counterparts. While forming such hypotheses, we must also be cogniscant of the changing influences over time. Of the tomb scenes, the Tomb of the Bulls is the oldest, dated at around 520 BCE. The tomb of the floggings is approximately 50 years younger, about the same age as the Tomb of the Bigas.

Livy on Lucretia "The royal princes sometimes spent their leisure hours in feasting and entertainments, and at a wine party given by Sextus Tarquinius at which Collatinus, the son of Egerius, was present, the conversation happened to turn upon their wives, and each began to speak of his own in terms of extraordinarily high praise. As the dispute became warm Collatinu said that there was no need of words, it could in a few hours be ascertained how far his Lucretia was superior to all the rest. "Why do we not," he exclaimed, "if we have any youthful vigour about us mount our horses and pay your wives a visit and find out their characters on the spot?" While other wives were found in various states of wantonness, Lucretia was: "very differently employed from the king's daughters-in-law, whom they had seen passing their time in feasting and luxury with their acquaintances. She was sitting at her wool work in the hall, late at night, with her, maids busy round her. The palm in this competition of wifely virtue was awarded to Lucretia."

Her virtue only served to make her the target of Sextus Tarquin. Livy goes on to say that: "Sextus Tarquin, inflamed by the beauty and exemplary purity of Lucretia, formed the vile project of effecting her dishonour." Sextus Tarquin "went in the frenzy of his passion with a naked sword to the sleeping Lucretia, and placing his left hand on her breast, said, "Silence, Lucretia! I am Sextus Tarquin, and I have a sword in my hand; if you utter a word, you shall die." When the woman, terrified out of her sleep, saw that no help was near, and instant death threatening her, Tarquin began to confess his passion, pleaded, used threats as well as entreaties, and employed every argument likely to influence a female heart...he threatened to disgrace her, declaring that he would lay the naked corpse of the slave by her dead body, so that it might be said that she had been slain in foul adultery. By this awful threat, his lust triumphed over her inflexible chastity, and Tarquin went off exulting in having successfully attacked her honour. Lucretia, overwhelmed with grief at such a frightful outrage, sent a messenger to her father at Rome and to her husband at Ardea, asking them to come to her..." Her husband and father at her side, they attempted to console her, philosophically explaining that: "it is the mind that sins not the body, and where there has been no consent there is no guilt." Nevertheless, Lucretia could not bear to live with her honour forsaken. "She had a knife concealed in her dress which she plunged into her, heart, and fell dying on the floor. Her father and husband raised the death-cry."

PreviousNext theoddmentemporium:

Pope/Devil Illusion Medal, c.1500s

It is generally accepted that the Protestant Reformation began in 1517 when Martin Luther nailed his Ninety-Five Theses to the door of the All Saints’ Church in Wittenberg, Germany, in which he protested many practices of the Catholic Church, in particular the sale of indulgences. The movement spread throughout Europe … gaining its strongest adherents in Northern Europe … The movement was largely concluded in 1648 with the Peace of Westphalia, which ended one hundred thirty-one years of almost continuous religious wars throughout Europe. This European Christian reform movement established Protestantism as a constituent branch of contemporary Christianity. The medal shown here is one of several issued during this period to support the Protestant movement by ridiculing the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church. This satirical medal, when rotated at 180 degrees changes the Pope, now portraying him as the Devil, with horns and Satyr’s ear. The Latin inscription on the obverse can be translated in various ways, but generally suggests that if the parent (Pope) is evil, the children (his followers) are evil also.

caesarindahood: I can’t imagine how difficult it must have been (and how difficult it is for the pictured rider) to actually be a skilled cavalry archer. The pictured Sassanid Savārān(I love that word) is using a composite bow, a weapon that is perfectly suited to the dry Middle East and that is exceedingly powerful, honed after centuries of warfare and innovation. It is not an easy bow to use on foot, let alone on horseback, and Persian youths were traditionally taught riding, archery, and honesty as three pillars for their futures. The precision involved is massive. Even so, the skill, the bravery, and the confidence involved in literally charging at a forest of spears is immense. If you’re not careful, you’re dead, with a spatha at your throat or a plumbata in your ribcage. The horse doesn’t enough credit here either; it has become accustomed to the noise of war, and to the dangers involved. Both man and beast are at their peaks, and that still might not be enough.

I’m sorry, but ancient warfare is just so inspirational when you look at. During the Middle ages, and even in the Renaissance and until the 18th century, eyelashes were not styled. Women, in general, removed eyelashes and eyebrows in order to give more importance to the forehead, which was the most important feature in females’ faces at that time. Women were not supposed to exhibit their hair in public, and by several ecclesiastical edicts, the Catholic Church condemned that practice as an offense to God and the church, and a sin. It obviously included eyebrows and eyelashes. Bubonic Plague - Yersinia pestis Yersinia pestis is always a fun little organism to see under the microscope. It’s a Gramnegative, rod-shaped bacteria, but it looks more like a safety-pin than a “rod” because of the natural bi-polar staining pattern of the organism. The species was found to be the causative agent of bubonic plague during an 1894 epidemic in Hong Kong, by Alexandre Yersin. Until 1967, however, it was categorized with the Pasteurella genus, and was known as Pasteurella pestis. There are several strains of Y. pestis, and three different manifestations of the plague: •

Bubonic plague - Incubation period of 2-6 days with few symptoms, while bacteria multiply within lymph nodes. Sudden fever and headache at end of incubation period, with complete loss of energy. The characteristic buboes (lymph swellings) appear at this point, as the lymph nodes swell to enormous proportions thanks to the bacteria within them. The inguinal (groin) nodes generally are the first to show signs of infection.

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Septicemic plague - Same bacteria, different strain of Y. pestis, and way worse. From what we know, primary septicemic plague is generally caused by one unique strain, or by any strain in immuno-compromised patients. When the other manifestations of the disease cause overwhelming sepsis prior to death, this is known as secondary septicemic plague. Primary septicemic plague is characterized by hypotension, shock, hepatosplenomegaly (swollen spleen and liver), and death. Sometimes very few or even no outward symptoms develop before the patient is killed by the bacteria’s internal effects.

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Pneumonic plague - Caused by direct inhalation of bacteria (often person-toperson), with initial site of infection being the lungs. Different strains have different degrees of ability to transfer in this manner, but it generally requires prolonged contact with infected persons or animals. Causes tracheal and bronchial hemorrhaging, large amounts of alveolar exudate, congestion of the lungs, and pleural edema. Often quickly spreads to other organs, much like bubonic plague.

While all three manifestations of the disease can be deadly, the incidence of death is greatly reduced by IV antibiotics, and thanks to modern sanitation standards, outbreaks in developed countries are unheard of.

Still, Yersinia pestis isn’t, and probably never will be, completely exterminated. Wild animals such as rodents, prairie dogs, and some marsupials and primates are known to both be affected by and serve as reservoirs for the bacteria. This means that even if humans somehow stopped acquiring the plague for a while, the bacteria itself would still be around, and we would still be able to contract it. Interestingly, a 2011 study in the journal Nature showed that the strain of Y. pestis which caused the Black Death in both the 1st century C.E. and the early Middle Ages may no longer be extant. The genome of the bacteria analyzed from victims of those plagues showed a more ancient form of Y. pestis that lacked a number of the mutations that exist in current-day strains, which are known to have caused all epidemics beyond the Renaissance. Have I gone on about the plague enough? If not, check out way more information than you’ll ever use about the pathogen at CIDRAP Bioterrorism and PLoS Pathogens! Lost Bird of Wounded Knee

Lost Bird Story Summary In the spring or summer of 1890, Lost Bird was born somewhere on the prairies of South Dakota. Fate took her to Wounded Knee Creek on the Pine Ridge Reservation on Dec. 29, 1890. On that tragic day, hundreds of Lakota men, women and children died in a confrontation with U.S. troops and the woman who likely was the child’s mother was among them. But as she was dying, she and her baby found some scanty shelter from the bitter cold and wind in the bank of a creek. Four days after the massacre, a rescue party found the infant, miraculously alive, protected by the woman’s frozen body. The infant was passed from one person to another and her sensational story attracted the attention of powerful white men. Eventually, this living souvenir of Wounded Knee ended up in the hands of a National Guard general. Lost Bird was adopted by Gen. Leonard Colby and, without her knowledge or consent, his suffragist wife, Clara Bewick Colby. The baby’s original name died on the killing field, along with her chance to grow up in her own culture. She became. literally and figuratively, Zintkala Nuni, the Lost Bird. So Lost Bird – Zintka, as her adopted mother called her – ended up the daughter of a very socially and historically prominent white couple. She had one big advantage – a mother who came to love her. Though Zintka’s adoption was a surprise to her, Clara Colby took on the duties of motherhood in addition to her work as a suffragette activist, lecturer, publisher and writer.

However, Zintka’s childhood was marred by her exposure to racism, possible abuse from adoptive relatives and the indifference of her father. Poverty entered into the mix when Gen. Colby abandoned his wife for the child’s nursemaid/governess and failed to provide adequate support for Clara Colby and Zintka. The increasingly restless child endured miserable stays with relatives and at boarding schools and became harder and harder for her mother to control. At age 17, Zintka was sent back to her father and his new wife in Beatrice, Neb. The result was disastrous. A few months later, Gen. Colby placed his now-pregnant daughter in a stark and severe reformatory. Her son was stillborn, but the girl remained in the facility for a year. Zintka eventually returned to her mother. At one point, she seemed to have found happiness in marriage, but the relationship disintegrated when she discovered her new husband had given her syphilis, then incurable. She struggled with the effects of that illness for the rest of her life. She had a number a careers during her short life: work with Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show, various entertainment and acting jobs, and possibly prostitution. Three times, she managed to visit South Dakota in search of her roots, but her welcome was cool. By 1916, Zintka was living in abject poverty. She and her then-husband, who suffered from illness, were trying to make a living in vaudeville. She had had two more children. One died, probably that year, and Zintka gave the other to an Indian woman who was better able to care for him. Later that year, she lost her loving mother, Clara Colby, to pneumonia. Eventually, Zintka and her husband gave up vaudeville and moved in with his parents in Hanford, Calif., in 1918. Zintka fell ill on Feb. 9, 1920, as an influenza epidemic swept across the nation. On Feb. 14, Valentine’s Day, she died. Clara Colby tried to raise Zintka as a white girl in an unaccepting society and tried to erase her unceasing attraction to her Lakota culture. In the end, Zintka was rejected by both. Lost Bird finally came home in 1991, in an effort spurred in part by author Renee Sansom Flood, author of “Lost Bird of Wounded Knee: Spirit of the Lakota.” Her grave was found in California and her remains were returned to South Dakota and buried at the grave site at Wounded Knee. Her tragic story led to the organization of the Lost Bird Society, which helps Native Americans who were adopted outside their culture find their roots. Sources: “Lost Bird of Wounded Knee: Spirit of the Lakota” by Renee Sansom Flood.

16 de noviembre de 2012 Tabúes sexuales: un breve e incompleto recorrido

Ishtar, diosa babilonica del amor, la guerra y la fecundidad. Créditos: Neil Howard/Flickr. Culturas de todo el mundo tienen restricciones o prohibiciones de sexo cuando se permite que resultan ser bastante sorprendente en su diversidad. Esta es una fascinante sección sobre el amplio mundo de los tabúes sexuales de la Enciclopedia del Sexo y Género: En algunas sociedades, la actividad sexual estaba prohibida durante ciertas horas del día. En el pueblo Kuna de Panamá las relaciones sexuales sólo estaban aprobadas por la noche, de acuerdo con las leyes de Dios. Semang en Malasia creen que las relaciones sexuales durante el día provocará tormentas eléctricas y relámpagos mortales, lo que llevará a ahogamientos, no sólo de la pareja infractora, sino también de otras personas inocentes. Y Bambaras en África Occidental creen que una pareja que se involucran en relaciones sexuales durante el día tendrá un hijo albino. A veces, el sexo está prohibido en ciertos lugares. Mendes en África occidental prohíben las relaciones sexuales en el monte, mientras que los Semang condenan el sexo en los límites del campamento por temor a que un ser sobrenatural se enfade. Entre los Bambara, mantener relaciones sexuales al aire libre da lugar a la pérdida de los cultivos. Tabúes sexuales también puede aplicarse a ciertas actividades. A menudo, las prohibiciones sexuales están asociadas con la guerra o la persecución económica. Baganda en Uganda prohíben las relaciones sexuales la noche antes de la batalla si la lucha es probable que sea prolongada. Los Lepcha prohiben el sexo durante tres meses después de una trampa para osos se haya colocado. Si el tabú se rompe, los animales no serán capturados. Kuna de Panamá mantienen relaciones sexuales fuera de la ley durante la cacería de tortugas, Yapeses de Oceanía prohiben el sexo durante una

excursión de pesca, y entre los Baganda de Uganda el sexo está prohibido, mientras que la madera para la fabricación de canoas se este procesando. Mujeres Baganda no pueden tener relaciones sexuales mientras están de luto por los muertos y hombres de Kwoma tienen prohibido participar en actividades sexuales después de que una ceremonia de culto se ha celebrado. Jíbaros de Ecuador se abstienen de tener relaciones sexuales después de que alguien ha muerto, después de la siembra de estupefacientes, cuando se prepara una fiesta o después de que un enemigo ha muerto. Por supuesto, aunque esto puede parecer exótico, nuestras propias prácticas sociales en relación con el sexo probablemente parecen igualmente inusuales para los extraños. Imagínese a antropólogos shuar, viendo videos de Nicki Minaj, asombrados y al grito de "¡no vas a creer lo que la gente de América del Norte tienen que hacer para tener sexo!" Referencia: • •

Enlace a la sección de la Enciclopedia del Sexo y Género. Vaughanbell, "Sex taboos: a brief and incomplete tour", Mind Hacks.

, 30 de mayo de 2012 Instrumentos musicales de 40,000 años de edad, los más antiguos del mundo

Flauta hecha con marfil de mamut. Créditos: Oxford. La Universidad de Oxford en Reino Unido ha anunciado que los investigadores de la Universidad alemana de Tübingen han determinado la edad de instrumentos musicales más antiguos del mundo: una colección de flautas, hechas de marfil de mamut y huesos de aves. Otros huesos encontrados en el mismo nivel de la excavación han sido fechados empleando radiocarbono en 40.000 años de antigüedad.

El sitio en la Cueva de Geissenklösterle en la zona de Jura de Suabia, al sur de Alemania "se cree que fue ocupada por algunos de los primeros humanos modernos que llegaron a Europa". De esta forma es posible que los primeros seres humanos llevados por su naturaleza desarrollarán sus primeros instrumentos. El proceso de actualización de los instrumentos se esbozó en un documento para el Journal of Human Evolution. El equipo de Oxford, dirigido por el autor principal del profesor Tom Higham, utiliza "el método de ultrafiltración mejorada diseñada para eliminar la contaminación del colágeno preservado en los huesos". La datación ha establecido que el Auriñaciense, una "cultura ligada a los primeros humanos modernos y que data del paleolítico superior," comenzó de 2,000 a 3,000 años antes de lo pensado, hace 42,000 y 43,000. La Cueva Geissenklösterle es de "los primeros sitios Auriñaciense, anteriores a las procedentes de Italia, Francia, Inglaterra y otras regiones". "Geissenklösterle es una de varias cuevas de la región que ha producido importantes ejemplos de adornos personales, arte figurativo, imágenes míticas e instrumentos musicales", explica el Dr. Nick Conard excavador de la Universidad de Tubinga. Uno de los temas importantes que rodean a esta nueva fecha es que se demuestra que los seres humanos eran del valle del Danubio, un corredor clave para el movimiento de los seres humanos, antes de que un gran cambio climático redujera las temperaturas de forma significativa. "Los seres humanos modernos durante el período Auriñaciense se encontraban en el centro de Europa, al menos entre 2,000 y 3,000 años antes de este deterioro climático, cuando enormes icebergs surgieron de las capas de hielo en el norte del Atlántico y las temperaturas se desplomaron, explica el profesor Higham. "La pregunta es qué efecto pudo haber tenido esta recesión sobre las personas en Europa en ese momento." Los resultados también son importantes para considerar la relación entre primeros modernos y los neandertales en Europa. A pesar de un gran esfuerzo para identificar las firmas arqueológicos de la interacción entre los neandertales y los humanos modernos en esta región, los investigadores no han identificado indicios de cualquier tipo de contacto cultural o el mestizaje en esta parte de Europa. "La duda", dijo Higham, "es el efecto que esta crisis podría haber tenido sobre las personas en Europa en ese momento". Tal vez la creación de música fue uno de esos efectos. Tal vez el cambio ingobernable inspiró una necesidad ritual que los instrumentos musicales pudieron satisfacer. Referencia: •

Curt Hopkins, "Rock of ages: 40,000 year-old musical instruments the world's oldest", Ars Technica.

15 Revolutionary Posters of the Soviet Union by Matt Hayes, December 8, 2012 • • •

David King recently published a stunning book called “Russian Revolutionary Posters“, which traces the history of these striking propaganda pieces from the Russian Revolution through to the Space Race. As someone who was taught history from a Western perspective – with the Soviet Union often misunderstood at best, or mistrusted at worst – I found it fascinating to get a glimpse behind ideological lines. No matter how stark the contrasts might seem between “us” and “them” (even today, the Pussy Riot trial has brought this way of thinking into the foreground), it’s never difficult to find evidence that there’s no meaningful difference in the way people of different nations think and feel. These posters seem to be ample evidence of that. 15 Capitalists of the World, Unite! Victor Deni, 1920

This poster was created two years after the close of the First World War, which had seen the formation of the disastrous Treaty of Versailles at the Paris Peace Conference. Neither Germany nor the new communist government of Russia had been invited to attend. The Paris Peace Conference also gave rise to the League of Nations, savagely attacked by Victor Deni in this memorable poster. 14 Capital Victor Deni, 1919

According to the red text at the bottom of this famous anti-Capitalist poster – also by Viktor Deni – “Anyone who tears down this poster or covers it up is performing a counter-revolutionary act.” 13 Every Woman Should Know How to Raise a Child Properly Alexei Komarov, 1925

Contrasted here are two different ways of rearing children: the left column follows the life of a child raised in poor conditions, while the column on the right demonstrates the proper way. Although serfdom had been abolished by Tsar Alexander II in 1861, Russia in 1925 still boasted a largely rural – and relatively uneducated – population of “muzhiks”, or peasants. A large part of Soviet propaganda was therefore devoted to educational initiatives, especially in the crucial area of healthcare. The revolutionary babies at the bottom of the right column are testament to the advantages of modern medicine. 12 Tatar Women! Join the Ranks… Artist Unknown, 1920s

“… Arm-in-Arm with the Proletarian Women of Russia, You will Finally Break off the Last Shackles.” The ethnic groups whose home lay on the periphery of Russia, such as the famous Cossacks, had always played a large part in its military defense. Tatarstan actually lies quite close to the cultural heart of Russia, but managed to retain for centuries its own Islamic culture and Turkic language. This poster, which features Tartar script as well as Russian, encourages Tartar women to abandon the “shackles” of tradition in favour of the factories and furnaces of modernity. Part of the Soviet drive to assimilate the Tartars involved discouraging the traditionally subservient role of women. Gender equality thrived in many aspects of Soviet life (though women were notably absent from high state politics.) 11 Get a Tractor! Artist Unknown, c. 1930

“The Machine-tractor Station is the Linchpin of Collectivisation. Get a Tractor! Let’s Double and Triple the MTS.”

Machine-Tractor Stations (MTS) were part of Stalin’s efforts to collectivise farms across Russia. Rich peasants – who by the sweat on their brows had accumulated more land than was acceptable – were attacked by Communist policy and propaganda alike, as friends of the capitalists and enemies of true peasants. Note the dutiful workers reading a newspaper together during their break: self-taught literacy was often encouraged in this manner, especially among the labouring class. Of course, literacy didn’t necessarily entail freedom for the workers to read whatever they liked. 10 Long Live Our Happy Socialist Land! Gustav Klusis, 1935

“Long Live Our Beloved Leader, The Great Stalin!” Five years later, during the war, Stalin’s face wouldn’t be featured on so many posters. The Russian people couldn’t forget the sinister policies, the sweeping purges, and the brutal coercion he had imposed upon them between 1935 and 1940 – which were hardly masked by images of utopia such as this. 9 We Will Eradicate the Agents of Fascism Sergei Igumnov, 1937

“We Will Eradicate the Spies and Saboteurs, the Trotskyist-Bukharinist Agents of Fascism.” This poster was published on behalf of the NKVD – the Soviet Secret Police – during the infamous Show Trials in Moscow. Stalin went on to personally direct what became know as the Great Purge, and later as the Great Terror. According to the propaganda of the time, the purge was a cleansing of the rotten elements in his government. But in reality, he meant to systematically suppress the voices of anybody he perceived as a threat to his own power. It’s a scary thought: propaganda posters such as this one could be used very effectively to keep the tide of opinion in his favour, despite the bloodshed. 8 Them… Us Viktor Koretsky, 1941

Just before WWII, the end of the Spanish Civil War had seen a Nazi-backed Fascist government come to power, after the irresponsible western powers, Britain and France, refused to offer military assistance to the Spanish Republicans. Many left-leaning writers and artists from the west, most famously George Orwell and Ernest Hemingway, had volunteered to fight for the Republican cause. The collapse of the socialist Spanish

Republic, and the suffering endured by its citizens during the war, was an emotional subject for many Russians. By 1941, not only Spain but also France, Belgium and the Netherlands had fallen under Fascist rule. This double-imaged poster contrasts the tragic fate of these western countries with the strong, stable and prosperous society established in Soviet Russia under Stalin. 7 For the Motherland! A. Polyansky, 1941

To the Russians, WWII was known as the Great Patriotic War. Less than six months after the poster above this one was published, Germany had abandoned its former

understanding with Russia, and invaded. Much of Germany’s eastern-front fighting over the next three years took place on Soviet soil… 6 My Son! You See My Plight… Fyodor Antonov, 1942

Red Army soldiers knew that they had everything to lose in the war with Germany. Behind this old woman are the smoldering remains of the family home; she implores her son to save the country. 5 Soldier, Liberate Your Belorussia! Viktor Koretsky, 1943

It can be imagined how powerful this poster might have been for Russian soldiers, a large part of whose country had already been invaded, occupied, and ruined by Nazi soldiers. Imagery as simple and moving as this could draw even peaceful men to war. 4 All Hope Lies With You, Red Soldier Viktor Ivanov and Olga Burova, 1943

As with numbers 5 and 6, you need to look no further if you want to understand why many people go to fight in wars. For the ordinary soldier, the war was not so much

about ideological allegiance as it was about protecting the ones they loved. The frightening images here weren’t designed to show what could hypothetically happen, if the war was lost; they showed what had already happened (see entry #3 on 10 LesserKnown Iconic Photos of World War II). 3 Red Army Warriors, Save Us! Viktor Koretsky, 1943

The imagery in the WWII posters is generally far simpler than those of the propaganda campaigns of the 20s and 30s. The propaganda posters were indoctrination campaigns,

targeted at certain groups of people, aiming to convince them of certain things that they might not otherwise believe. But images like this one did not need to be complicated in order to have the desired effect. Koretsky, the artist who created this poster, received letters from soldiers on the front: they “kept his poster folded in the left-hand top pocket of their uniform, next to their heart, just as icons had been kept by their fathers before them.” 2 Thunderbolt The Kukriniksy, Wartime

Many of these hand-painted posters were pasted over windows for propaganda purposes. Despite initial and unexpected friendship with the Axis powers during the war, Hitler’s surprise invasion of Russia had resulted in a strong alliance with the U.S. and Britain. 1 KPSS – Glory! Boris Berezovsky, 1962

KPSS stands for “Kommunisticheskaya partiya Sovetskogo Soyuza” – the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. This poster celebrates a series of feats, which intensified the space race and redefined the whole Cold War. On the left is Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space. To his right is Gherman Titov, the first person to spend a whole day in space. They are pictured alongside two other cosmonauts who made it to space. The achievements of these men both shocked and excited people in the U.S., and played a major role in Kennedy’s decision to prioritize sending a man to the moon. Definition: Hetaira is the ancient Greek word for a type of highly skilled prostitute or courtesan. The daughters and wives of Athenian citizens were sheltered from men and most serious education* at least partly in order to assure their suitability as citizen wives. Adult female companionship at drinking parties (the famous symposium) could be supplied by a high priced callgirl, or hetaira. Such women might be accomplished musicians, rich, well-educated, and agreeable companions. Pericles' mistress, Aspasia of Miletus, may have been doomed to become an hetaira because she wasn't a native citizen of Athens and therefore unable to marry an Athenian citizen, but her life was probably the richer for it. Other hetairai (hetairai is a plural form of hetaira) provided funds for civic improvements. "These women were essentially sexual entertainers and often had artistic skills. Hetairai had physical beauty but also "had intellectual training and possessed artistic talents; attributes that made them more entertaining companions to Athenian men at parties than their legitimate wives." www.perseus.tufts.edu/classes/JKp.html The Representation Of Prostitutes Versus Respectable Women On Ancient Greek Vases * See Daughters of Demeter for exceptions: Women in Athens, for example, though not trained in athletics, seem nevertheless to have had opportunities for sport and exercise. And it is certain that, among the wealthy, at any rate, they learned to read and gathered in private homes to share music and poetry.

Stanislav Petrov Saltar a: navegación, búsqueda Stanislav Yevgráfovich Petrov

Teniente coronel Lealtad

Unión Soviética

Servicio/rama

Voyska PVO

Nacimiento

1939

Stanislav Yevgráfovich Petrov (Станислав Евграфович Петров en ruso, nacido en 1939) es un teniente coronel retirado del ejército soviético durante la Guerra Fría. Es recordado por haber identificado correctamente una alerta de ataque con misiles como una falsa alarma en 1983, por lo que evitó lo que podía haber escalado en una guerra nuclear entre la Unión Soviética y los Estados Unidos.

Índice • • •

1 El incidente 2 En la actualidad 3 Referencias

•

4 Enlaces externos

El incidente El 26 de septiembre de 1983 (todavía 25 en Estados Unidos) salvó al mundo cuando se produjo el llamado Incidente del Equinoccio de Otoño, que colocaría al mundo a escasos segundos del Apocalipsis atómico. A las 00.14 (hora de Moscú) un satélite soviético dio la alarma: un Misil balístico intercontinental estadounidense se habría lanzado desde la base de Malmstrom (Montana, EEUU) y en 20 minutos alcanzaría la URSS. Stanislav Petrov estaba a cargo del búnker Serpujov-15, el centro de mando de la inteligencia militar soviética desde donde se coordinaba la defensa aeroespacial rusa. Su misión era verificar y alertar de cualquier ataque a sus superiores, con lo que se iniciaría el proceso para contraatacar con armamento nuclear a los Estados Unidos. Solo tres semanas antes, la Unión Soviética había derribado un avión de pasajeros surcoreano que había invadido el espacio aéreo soviético, matando a las 269 personas a bordo, incluidos varios estadounidenses (Vuelo 007 de Korean Air). La OTAN pronto comenzó el ejercicio militar "Able Archer 83", interpretado por el KGB como una preparación de un primer ataque. De acuerdo con CNN, el KGB había enviado un mensaje a sus espías en Occidente, advirtiéndoles que se prepararan para una posible guerra nuclear. En principio Stanislav Petrov pensó que debía de tratarse de un error, porque no tendría sentido que los estadounidenses atacaran con un único misil. Más tarde los ordenadores indicaron que cuatro misiles más se dirigían hacia Rusia. Stanislav Petrov conocía bien las peculiariades del sistema satélite OKO de alerta temprana rusa y creía que éste podía equivocarse, así que consideró de nuevo que eran muy pocos misiles, solo cinco, cuando EE.UU. tenía miles de misiles nucleares. Decidió esperar y finalmente se descubrió que era una falsa alarma causada por una rara conjunción astronómica entre la Tierra, el Sol y la posición específica del satélite OKO. Cuando le preguntaron por qué no había dado la alerta, contestó simplemente: "La gente no empieza una guerra nuclear con sólo cinco misiles"

Stanislav Petrov Su superior le dijo que sería homenajeado por evitar la catástrofe. Se ha propuesto crear un día en su honor.[cita requerida]

En la actualidad Este incidente avergonzó a altos cargos soviéticos y en materia de disciplina militar, consideraron que el teniente coronel Petrov se equivocó en su decisión (ya que su deber era comunicar el dato a sus superiores, y dejar que ellos decidieran si era erróneo o no). Sin embargo, dadas las circunstancias no lo castigaron, pero lo reasignaron a un puesto inferior y decidieron ocultar el incidente. Hoy en día, Petrov se encuentra retirado del ejército y pasa sus días como pensionista en Friázino, Rusia.1 Aunque no se considera un héroe por lo que hizo ese día, la "Association of World Citizens" (Asociación de Ciudadanos del Mundo) le otorgó su premio "World Citizen Award" el 21 de mayo de 2004, que consta de un trofeo y 1.000 dólares estadounidenses, por evitar lo que podría haber sido un desastre mundial. En enero de 2006, Petrov realizó un viaje a EE. UU., donde fue homenajeado por las Naciones Unidas, y donde posteriormente le fue entregado un segundo premio de la Asociación de Ciudadanos del Mundo. En el documental "The Red Button & The Man Who Saved The World" ("El botón rojo y el hombre que salvó el mundo", 2008) Petrov afirma: "Todo lo que pasó no me concernía - era mi trabajo. Estaba simplemente haciendo mi trabajo y fui la persona correcta en el momento apropiado, eso es todo. Mi última esposa estuvo diez años sin saber nada del asunto. '¿Pero qué hiciste?', me preguntó. 'No hice nada'".2

8 de diciembre de 2007 Las empresas familiares más antiguas del mundo Podemos ver en la web de familybusiness la lista de las 100 empresas familiares más antiguas del mundo. La más antigua es una empresa de construcción japonesa llamada Kongo Gumi fundada en el 578, y que actualmente es gestionada por la 40a generación. El príncipe Shotoku trajo la familia Kongo desde Korea a Japón hace más de 1400 años para construir el templo Budista de Shitennoji que aun existe. La segunda más antigua también es japonesa fundada el 718 y gestiona un hotel en la localidad de Komatsu. Así entre las curiosas hay una fundición de campanas en Italia: Fonderia Pontificia Marinelli fundada el año 1000. Un productor de vino y aceite de oliva de Siena llamado Ricasoli. Realmente le pica a uno la curiosidad de probar su vino. Un productor de vidrio de Murano (Venezia) Barovier & Toso.

Un constructor de barcos fundado el año 1438, en el puerto Veneciano de Khanià en la isla de Creta. Y que llegó a proveer de barcos a un Emir turco, a la Serenissima República de Venezia y a Napoleón entre otros. Entre las españolas, dos empresas relacionadas con el vino: • •

Codorniu, fundada en 1551 en Sant Sandurni d'Anoia. Osborne, fundada en 1772 en Cádiz, en la actualidad gestionada por la 6a generación. La empresa fue creada por Thomas Osboner Mann, un ingles que poseía una agencia de exportación en Cádiz.

Medicina

Los dos científicos que violaron la ley para salvar una vida (con la aparición estelar de Hitler) 2 comentarios Sergio Parra 13 de diciembre de 2012 | 19:14

En 1935, la hija de Gerhard Domagk, el gran microbiólogo, tropezó en la escalera de la casa familiar de Wuppertal, en Alemania, mientras sostenía una aguja. Caerse por las escaleras es un accidente bastante frecuente en el mundo, como ya os expliqué en Ese objeto peligrosísimo que es una escalera (I): más de 300.000 accidentes solo en Reino Unido. De hecho, morir en una escalera es más probable que hacerlo en un vuelo comercial. Pero en este caso, aún era peor: la aguja que llevaba la muchacha, de nombre Hildegard, se le clavó en la mano y se partió en su interior. Aunque le extrajeron el pedazo de aguja, una insidiosa infección esteptocócica se extendió por todo el brazo de Hildegard. Gerhard sabía que su hija moriría pronto, porque en aquella época aún no existían fármacos capaces de frenar el avance de las bacterias. Pero Gerhard tenía un as en la manga, un tinte rojo industrial con el que llevaba una temporada experimentando: prontosil. Al parecer, los ratones de laboratorio sobrevivían a las infecciones de estreptococos si recibían una inyección de aquel tinte. Sin embargo, Gerhard no confiaba demasiado en aquella sustancia, tal y como explica Sam Kean en La cuchara menguante: El prontosil, una molécula orgánica aromática que, de forma un tanto insólita, contenía un átomo de azufre, poseía algunas propiedades impredecibles. En aquella época los alemanes creían, extrañamente, que los tintes mataban los gérmenes porque teñían sus órganos vitales de color equivocado. Pero el prontosil, aunque letal para los microbios en los ratones, en un tubo de ensayo no parecía tener ningún efecto sobre las bacterias, que nadaban felizmente en el líquido rojo. Nadie sabía por qué, y a causa de esta

ignorancia muchos europeos habían atacado la “quimioterapia” alemana, que desdeñosamente consideraban inferior a la cirugía para el tratamiento de las infecciones.

Gehrhad se encontraba en la tesitura de si debía o no probar aquel tinte con su hija, habida cuenta de que los primeros ensayos con humanos provocaban, en algunos casos, graves efectos secundarios; sin contar que los pacientes quedaban rojos como la grana. Era el mismo dilema al que se había enfrentado el héroe intelectual de Gerhard, Louis Pasteur, 50 años antes, cuando recibió el caso de un niño herido por la mordedura de un perro rabioso. Pasteur, sin la licencia de médico reglamentaria, infringió la ley y le administró al niño una vacuna contra la rabia que sólo se había probado en animales. Pasteur salvó la vida del niño, pero corrió el riesgo de ser denunciado por un delito criminal. Como sucede en muchas películas de mad doctors o científicos que actúan extramuros de la legalidad, Gerhard decidió que era hora de seguir el mismo camino que su ídolo Pasteur. Hildegard ya estaba a punto de sufrir una amputación del brazo y no podía esperar más: se llevó varias dosis del fármaco experimental y le inyectó aquel suero rojo a su hija. La audacia de Gerhard fue recompensada, y Hildegard salvó la vida gracias a la primer fármaco del mundo verdaderamente antibacteriano, pero Gehrhad guardó silencio sobre su éxito a fin de no influir en los sucesivos ensayos clínicos que tuvieron lugar con aquel tinte rojo.

En 1939, Gerhard Domagk recibió el premio Nobel de Medicina o Fisiología. Sin embargo, si bien había salido airoso de su violación de la ley, obteniendo el máximo de los parabienes (el premio más prestigioso y salvar la vida de su hija), tuvo que enfrentarse a un hecho funestamente inesperado: Adolf Hitler. Hitler odiaba al comité del Nobel por haber concedido el premio de la Paz de 1935 a un periodista y pacifista antinazi, tras lo cual Die Führer prácticamente había declarado ilegal que un ciudadano alemán ganara el premio Nobel. En consecuencia, la Gestapo arrestó y trató con brutalidad a Domagk por su “crimen”. Cuando estalló la segunda guerra mundial, Domagk se redimió un poco al convencer a los nazis (que al principio se negaban a creerlo) de que sus fármacos podían salvar a los soldados que sufrieran gangrena. Pero para entonces los Aliados ya tenían las sulfas, y no debió aumentar precisamente la popularidad de Domagk que en 1942 sus fármacos salvaran la vida de Winston Churchill, un hombre decidido a destruir Alemania.

Top 10 Bizarre Methods of Human Sacrifice by Jeff Mitchell, December 15, 2012 • • •

Mankind has always had a semi-violent nature as its driving force. Over the years, people have obsessed over finding the best ways to dispense of adversaries as well as win conflicts amongst each other; however, not all human violence existed merely for

warring purposes. Human sacrifice is known to have been a fundamental part of many historic “civilizations” for a large variety of reasons. Although most human sacrifice was carried out for the sake of religion, at times their cruelty hardly seemed worthy of the purpose. Warning: some of these forms of sacrifice are downright cruel, so if you aren’t interested in learning all of the gritty details, stray away whilst you may (as they say). Without any further ado, here are a few of the most bizarre forms of human sacrifice that have ever been practiced by mankind: 10 Buried Alive

In early pharaonic civilization, pharaohs, once deceased, were buried along with their many servants (who were possibly still alive at the time of burial). This was done in accordance with the belief that they could serve their ruler in the afterlife. Evidence found by certain archaeologists suggests that the servants who were to be entombed with their ruler were in some sort of drug-induced state when this happened. I guess the drugs took their minds off the fact that they were walking to their deaths as they entered tthe tomb. 9 Gift-Giving and Decapitation

Each year in Dahomey (now known as Ghana) within West Africa, there was a large celebration that involved gift-giving discussion amongst leaders and, incidentally, large amounts of human sacrifice. Many slaves of the area were killed at this time, along with war captives and criminals, to honor the deceased kings of Dahomey. The victims were generally sacrificed by decapitation. Decapitation was utilized so much at these events that the ceremony’s nname (Xwetanu) literally translates to “yearly head business”. 8 Thugs with Handkerchiefs

The “thuggees” – or as we would say nowadays, “thugs” – were a fanatical religious group in India who were infamous for their ritualistic assassinations, carried out in the name of the Hindu Goddess Kali. These killers traveled in groups throughout India for hundreds of years, performing their rituals in order to please their Goddess. In an attempt to find victims for their sacrifices, the Thugs would join groups of travellers, gaining their confidence before surprising them in the night and strangling them with a handkerchief or a noose. The bodies would then be robbed of their valuable ppossessions, and buried. 7 Leaps of Faith – or Did the Mayans Push Them?

The Mayans held a strong belief in a divine power, which they thought was contained deep within limestone sinkholes (or “cenotes” as they called them). They believed these

to be portals that led into the underworld, and would cast their own people into them. According to their beliefs, those thrown into the cenote would not die. Of course, they were never seen again either. Recent discoveries of human remains in these areas tell a different story than what the Mayans would have had us believe. Fractured skeletons of old and young people from tthose times don’t paint a portrait of enlightened victims. 6 In the Name of Architecture

Although human sacrifice was usually performed for ancestral deities in early Chinese civilizations, there were other motives for such offerings. One such alleged variation in sacrificial purpose was to strengthen a structure or a building. One of the most famous examples of this was the sacrifice of the crown-prince of Ts’ai after he was caught in a battle which brought ruin upon his kingdom. He was sacrificed with the intention of strengthening a dam. w

5 Burned Alive by Druids

There are many early Roman references to the extensive practice of human sacrifice by the Celtic Druids. Caesar himself explained that the slaves and dependents of highranking Gauls would usually be burnt alive, along with the body of their deceased master. Other types of sacrifices included hangings, for the God Esus, and drownings, for Teutates. But the most well-known form of sacrifice allegedly practiced by the Druids was the wicker man method. A large effigy in the shape of a man, made of sticks, was erected, and living people were placed within it. The creation would subsequently be set aablaze, along with all those held within. 4 Weeping Boys, Skinned Alive

The Aztecs are rather famous for the many sacrificial rituals they performed at the height of their civilization. One of the most famous rituals involved the removal of a living person’s heart, in honor of the great sun god Huitzilopochtli. However, there were also several other types of sacrifices performed by the Aztecs, such as offerings made to Tlaloc, Xipe Totec and the “Earth Mother” Teteoinnan. Tlaloc’s offering required “weeping boys” to be ritually murdered; sacrifice offerings made to Xipe Totec were bound to a post and shot full of arrows, before being skinned by a priest. The Earth mother Teteoinnan’s offerings generally required skinned female victims. They all had one thing in common though – a less-than-pretty ending as one of tthe countless “chosen” ones. 3 Widow Strangling in Fiji

T minute a woman became a widow in Fiji, she was destined to be strangled to death. The This practice was based on the belief that a deceased husband should be buried with his wife. In the case of great chiefs, their deaths simultaneously brought forth the asphyxiation-based demise of his various watina lalai (little wives). These women were then referred to as the thotho (carpeting of his grave). To make things even worse, it was typically the woman’s brother’s duty to perform the task, or at least superintend it. Perhaps the “honor” of carrying out such a task was eenough to take the brother’s mind off of the fact that he was murdering his own sister. 2 Honor Suicides in Japan

In Japan, a ritual known as Seppuku was practiced for a long time, and was considered to be one of the most prominent elements of the “Bushido”, a.k.a. the way of the warrior. It consisted of a semi-suicidal ritual in which the warrior was required to cut himself. The ritual was carried out for a variety of reasons – such as the loss of one’s honor. Committing seppuku served as a means of restoration for one’s own family line. Beforehand (in the case of planned seppuku), a samurai would be bathed and then dressed ceremonially in white robes. He was fed his favorite meal, and his instrument (often a special knife or a short sword) would be placed on a plate before him. The warrior would then prepare his death poem. Once his final acts had been concluded, he would open his robe, reach for the knife, and disembowel himself. A kaishakunin (his chosen second) would then end his life with a precise slice – called a “kaishaku” – to his n neck. 1 Child Sacrifices in Carthage and Beyond

According to various accounts of Phoenician and Carthaginian civilization, the people of these groups religiously sacrificed children. This was apparently the most extreme sacrifice that could be performed at the time, and was therefore the best means for protecting the entire community. The sacrificial areas of the Phoenicians were known as “topheth” (the roasting place) and the sacrifices themselves were referred to as “mulk” (or “King”) offerings. According to Diodorus Siculus’ account of the Carthaginians: “There was in their city a bronze image of Cronus extending its hands, palms up and sloping toward the ground, so that each of the children when placed thereon rolled down and fell into a sort of gaping pit filled with fire.” Ouch.

Los papados más cortos de la historia (domingo, 16 de diciembre de 2012)

Hace unos días hablaba en Curistoria del reinado de España más duradero y hoy, obsesionado por el paso del tiempo ahora que se acaba el año, voy a narrarles cuáles han sido los papados más cortos de la historia. Once papas han estado en el trono de Pedro menos de un mes, si nos tomamos la pequeña licencia de extender el mes hasta los 33 días. Sorprendente que a uno lo elijan para un cargo como ese, para el que bien podría estar preparándose toda su vida, y que tan sólo esté en él unas semanas. Hay veces en las que la propia elección del Papa ha llevado más tiempo que los días que estos hombres fueron la cabeza la Iglesia católica. En este texto únicamente consideraremos los papados oficiales y la causa más o menos aceptada para la muerte. Si no hiciéramos esto, Esteban II sería el hombre a batir, y sería casi imposible hacerlo, ya que únicamente fue capaz de mantenerse Papa 3 días.

El récord oficial lo tiene el Papa Urbano VII, que fue nombrado el 15 de septiembre de 1590 y 13 días más tarde fallecía por culpa de la malaria. Detrás de él tenemos a Bonifacio VI, que en abril del año 896 se hizo con el cargo y tras 15 días falleció de gota, dejándolo de nuevo vacante. Tan sólo un día más aguantó Celestino IV, que entre octubre y noviembre de 1241 fue Papa, y además fue el primero elegido en cónclave. Por cierto, dicho cónclave tuvo a los cardenales deliberando dos meses, mucho más de lo que duró el propio Papa. Quizás de haberlo sabido alguno hubiera dicho aquello de “para este viaje no se necesitaban esas alforjas”. Y no acaba aquí la cosa, sino que su sucesor, Inocencio IV, tardó en ser elegido dos años desde la muerte de nuestro breve hombre. Parece ser que los cardenales no querían volver a juntarse a deliberar. La lista de papas breves, una vez repasado el medallero, quedaría así:

• • • • •

•

• •

Teodoro II ⎯ 20 días en el año 897, posiblemente murió envenenado. Sisino ⎯ 21 días en el año 708. Marcelo II ⎯ 22 días en el año 1555. Dámaso II ⎯ 24 días en el año 1048. Pío III ⎯ 27 días en el año 1503, pudo morir envenenado, aunque también era gotoso, lo que le obligó a permanecer sentado durante toda la ceremonia de nombramiento. León XI ⎯ 27 días en el año 1605, lo que le llevó a ser apodado el Papa Relámpago en su tiempo. Parece ser que cuando volvía de un viaje una dolencia se lo llevó con Dios. Estas dolencias repentinas siempre son sospechosas. Benedicto V ⎯ 33 días en el año 964. Juan Pablo I ⎯ 33 días en el año 1978. En este caso la versión oficial habla de problemas de corazón pero hay especulaciones diversas.

Curiosamente, el sucesor de este último, que no fue otro que Juan Pablo II, ha sido el segundo Papa hasta el momento con el pontificado más largo: 26 años, 5 meses y 18 días.

Medieval Arrowheads These arrowheads are hand forged and are historically correct in every detail even the weight. Forged in a charcoal forge from one piece of wrought iron, (not mild steel) they are then hardened by carburizing which entails soaking the heads for several hours at the right temperature in a container packed with carbon bearing materials, such as charcoal, leather, bone, horn or various combinations of these (smells lovely). They are then finally quenched in brine. 1. These are replicas of heads found in the royal armouries collection. 2. Hand forged carbon steel heads, hardened and tempered. 3. Probably the most common medieval warhead.Carbon steel head, forge welded to mild steel or Wrought iron ferrule. 4. Based on finds from Carrisbrook castle.

El mejor dentífrico de la antigua Roma era de Hispania Por Javier Sanz el 16 diciembre 2012 63tweetsTOP5Kretweet Aunque el cepillo de dientes, tal y como hoy lo conocemos, lo inventó William Addis en la cárcel de Newgate (Inglaterra), el hecho de limpiarse los dientes debe ser tan antiguo como el comer… imaginad lo molesto que debía ser llevar un paluego de mamut entre los dientes todo el día. Dejando a un lado la herramienta utilizada, nos centraremos en el dentífrico.

Dentista en la Antigua Roma Los egipcios hacían una pasta dental resultado de mezclar pezuñas de buey quemadas y trituradas, mirra, cáscara de huevo en polvo y piedra pómez. Se desconoce las cantidades de cada uno de estos ingredientes, pero sí que con ella se frotaban los dientes con los dedos o con un palito. También se sabe que los chinos utilizaban alguna mezcla de diversos ingredientes para limpiarse los dientes. Y llegando hasta Roma vemos cómo allí se perfeccionó la mezcla. Las pasta de dientes de los romanos tenía como producto abrasivo – el que sirve para arrancar los restos de comida – conchas igualmente quemadas y trituradas, además añadieron miel, vino y plantas aromáticas para refrescar la boca y combatir el mal aliento. Con ésto, tendríamos solucionada la parte higiénica pero los romanos no dejaron de lado la parte estética. Recordemos que en Roma la orina se utilizaba en las fullonicas (lavanderías) para blanquear la ropa, gracias al amoniaco que forma parte de su composición. Así que, decidieron añadir la orina para blaquear lo dientes. Y aquí es donde entra en juego Hispania. No sé si sería por nuestra alimentación privilegiada (garum, aceite, jamón serrano…), pero el caso es que las clases pudientes de Roma exigían que la orina de su dentífrico fuese de Hispania. Poema de Cayo Valerio Catulo: [...] en el país de Celtiberia, lo que cada hombre mea, lo acostumbra utilizar para cepillar sus dientes y sus rojas encías, cada mañana, de modo que el hecho de que tus dientes están tan pulidos solo muestra que estás más lleno de pis. Pero como no todos podían tener acceso a esta pasta de dientes tipo gourmet, también se utilizaban otras dentífricos más accesibles y más… bueno que cada uno decida: cerebros de ratón en polvo. Part 1: Assassination of Ernst Roehm Munich 1934: The Night Of The Long Knives Flying into Munich in the early hours of 20 June 20 1934, Adolf Hitler, then Chancellor of Germany, drove to a fashionable lakeside hotel, where one of his closest comrades

from the earliest days of the Nazi Party was dragged from his bed and assassinated. Ernst Roehm, the feared leader of the Brown Shirts was dead.

Part 2: Attempt on Princess Anne London, 1974 As the Queen's daughter travelled from Buckingham Palace along the Mall, she was attacked by a gunman who fired six shots at her vehicle. Several passers-by, her chauffeur, and a policemen were all seriously wounded as the gunman was eventually arrested by police reinforcements.

Part 3: Assassination of Lord Louis Mountbatten Ireland, 1979 The former Viceroy of India and cousin of the Queen, Lord Mountbatten was a World War II naval hero, Allied Commander in South East Asia and one of the architects of DDay. On 27 August 27 1979, he was assassinated by a bomb planted on his boat by the IRA (Irish Republican Army) whilst he was on holiday with his family in in County Sligo, Ireland.

Part 4: Assassination of John Lennon New York, 1980 On 8 December 1980, outside the Dakota Building, the 40-year-old Beatle was shot dead by Mark David Chapman, a young stalker who alleged that he was Lennon's 'double'. What were the psychological factors which drove Chapman to murder?

Part 5: Assassination of Leon Trotsky Mexico City, 1940 On 20 August 1940, the exiled Bolshevik leader was assassinated with an ice-pick by Ramon Mercader, who was undoubtedly working on behalf of Stalin and his secret police. Why was it still necessary for Stalin to assassinate him?

Part 6: Attempt on Pope John Paul II Rome, 1981 On 13 May 1981, in front of a crowd of 20,000 people in St Peter's Square, a young Turkish gunman shot the Polish Pope, possibly at the behest of the Russians who were concerned at the inspiration he was providing to Poland and the Solidarity Movement.

Part 7: Assassination of General Sikorski Gibraltar, 1943 On 4 July 1943, General Wladyslaw Eugeniusz Sikorski, Commander-in-Chief of the Polish Army, was flying to the Middle East on a Liberator bomber when it crashed into the sea off Gibraltar. He was very anti-Russian at the time and German propaganda claimed that he had fallen victim to the dirty tricks of the 'Allied Secret Service'.

Part 8: Assassination of President McKinley Buffalo, New York, 1901 On 6 September 6 1901, whilst opening an expedition, President McKinley was shot by Polish anarchist, Leon Czolgosz. McKinley's successor, 42-year-old Teddy Roosevelt, was sworn in within 12 hours. McKinley was the third US president to be assassinated. How did his killer get so close?

Part 9: Assassination of Reinhard Heydrich Prague, 1942

On the mornng of 10 June 10 1942, whilst driving his open-top Mercedes to his office, Hitler's effective deputy and architect of the Final Solution was blown to pieces by a bomb thrown by two Czechoslovakian agents parachuted in by the British Royal Air Force. Hitler exacted a terrible revenge on the village of Lidice.

Part 10: Assassination of Yitzhak Rabin Tel Aviv, 1995 On 4 November 1995, as he was about to address a mass rally of his supporters celebrating the Israeli-Palestinian Peace Accord, one of Israel's greatest Prime Ministers was gunned down by a young Israeli opposed to his concept of 'Land for Peace'. The trial revealed shortcomings in the Israeli President's security arrangements.

Part 11: Assassination of Zia ul Haq Pakistan, 1988 On August 17 1988, en route for a military base in Northern Pakistan, Pakistan's promilitary strongman was brought down by a bomb in his Hercules transport plane, possibly in retaliation for helping the rebels fight the Russians in Afghanistan. Was a Russian agent in the aircraft minutes before he took off?

Part 12: Assassination of Dr Hendrik Verwoerd Cape Town, 1966 On 6 September 1966, seven minutes after taking his seat in the House of Assembly, South African Prime Minister Dr Hendrik Verwoerd was assassinated by Demetrio Tsafendas, a Bible-quoting parliamentary messenger. Verwoerd had played a key role in constructing South Africa's Apartheid laws, but ironically the assassin claimed he was not doing enough for whites. It was the second attempt on Verwoerd's life.

Part 13: Assassinations of Indira and Rajiv Gandhi India, 1984 & 89 Indira Gandhi, Prime Minister of India, was assassinated on 31 October 31 1984 by her Sikh bodyguards as she walked in the garden of her New Delhi home. It appeared that her murder was an act of revenge for her orders to storm the Sikh's holiest shrine at Amritsar in 1983. Six years later, on 21 May 21 1991 in Sriperumbudur, near Madras, her eldest son Rajiv was also assassinated by Khan separatists in a bomb explosion.

Part 14: Assassination of Che Guevara Bolivia, 1967 Born to a middle-class Argentine family, Ernesto 'Che' Guevara became an icon for revolution and rebellious youth all over the world. One of Fidel Castro's most trusted lieutenants in the Cuban revolution, he left to become a guerrilla leader fermenting uprisings against other South American dictatorships. Captured in Bolivia on 8 October 1967, he was assassinated by a CIA-inspired killer.

Part 15: Assassination of Anwar Sadat Cairo, 1981 On 6 October 1981, wearing a black ceremonial uniform at a military parade, the Egyptian President was shot down by four uniformed men who machine-gunned him as he was watching an Egyptian Air Force fly-past. The conspirators killed five people, including foreign envoys attending the parade, and the entire assassination was recorded on film.

Part 16: Attempt on Ronald Reagan Washington, 1981

On 30 March 1981, as US President Ronald Reagan was leaving the Washington Hilton Hotel, 25-year-old John Hinckley III fired six shots from a .22 revolver. One of the bullets missed Reagan's heart by three inches. His famous quote to his wife was, "Honey, I forgot to duck." One of his top aides was not so fortunate.

Part 17: Assassination of Michael Collins Eire, 1922 One of the most charismatic leaders in the struggle for Irish independence from British rule, Michael Collins came to realise that only compromise could secure southern Ireland's independence and peace. Many of his former colleagues disagreed and, on 22 August 1922, as newly-independent Eire lapsed into civil war, Collins was gunned down in an ambush.

Part 18: Attempts on General de Gaulle France 1961: The Day Of The Jackal There were three attempts to kill General de Gaulle, all of which were unsuccessful. The first was by German snipers in Paris 1945. The second was on 8 September 1961, when a plastic charge was fired at his car by a gang controlled by Raoul Salan. The third attempt was on 22 August 1962, when his car was raked by machine-gun fire which shattered the rear window and burst two tyres. The General escaped all three attempts, but was there a fourth which was not reported?

Part 19: Attempt to Assassinate Hitler Rastenburg, 1944 Although there had been two previous attempts to kill Hitler, including poisoning a bottle of Cointreau on his aircraft, the assassination attempt which nearly worked at his Prussian forest hideaway in Rastenburg resulted in the perpetrators being strangled with piano wire strung from meat hooks.

Part 20: Assassination of Robert F Kennedy Los Angeles ,1968

On 6 June 1968, hours after winning the Californian Democratic Primary election, Senator Robert Kennedy was shot and fatally wounded. The assassin was 24-year-old Palestinian immigrant, Sirhan Sirhan, who fired five shots before he was seized. However, Robert Kennedy had many enemies and more than one assassin may have been involved.

Part 21: Assassination of Mahatma Gandhi New Delhi, 1948 India's greatest founding father was a champion of peaceful protest, yet ironically he was gunned down for no clear reason by Nathuram Godse, a fanatical Hindu, in the gardens of Birla House on 30 January 1948 while Gandhi was on his way to attend a prayer meeting.

Part 22: Assassination of Martin Luther King Memphis, 1968 After leading mass protests in Birmingham Alabama and his "I have a dream" speech, Martin Luther King took on the causes of American withdrawal from South Vietnam and the plight of the poor in America's South. On 4 April 1968, he was shot dead by a mysterious white assassin, who escaped in a white Mustang car. James Earl Ray was imprisoned for life for the killing, but was he guilty?

Part 23: Assassination of Tsar Nicholas II Yekaterinburg, 1918 After a disastrous war with Germany, the Bolsheviks imprisoned the Romanov family as their supporters approached. Factory worker guards were replaced by Cheka executioners, and, on 17 July 1918, the family were murdered and buried in a nearby wood. For more than 70 years their whereabouts was unknown, but new material released from Russia now conclusively reveals their fate.

Part 24: Assassination of King Alexander I Marseille, 1934 On 9 October 1934, just after King Alexander of Yugoslavia had arrived in the cruiser Dubrovnik for a State visit to France, a man later identified as Croatian nationalist Petros Kellerman jumped onto the running board of the King's car and opened fire with a Mauser pistol at point blank range. In the confusion, the chauffeur was wounded by a Royal escort, and the King accidentally bled to death in his car because his aides failed to apply a tourniquet.

Part 25: Assassination of Archduke Franz

Ferdinand Sarajevo, 1914 A group of Serbian nationalists were determined to kill the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne. Two of the assassins had bombs and one, a student named Gavril Princep, had a pistol. When the bombs failed, the Archduke's car took another route and almost stopped outside the cafe where Princep was sitting. Within seconds, the Archduke and his wife were mortally wounded. The events of that day on Sunday 28 June led to the outbreak of World War I.

Part 26: Assassination of John F Kennedy Dallas, 1963 By 22 November 1963, the date of his assassination, President Kennedy had made many enemies. He had declared war on the Mafia, racial prejudice and the indsutrial/military interest in Vietnam. He had humiliated Krushchev and Castro, who both wanted revenge over the Cuban Missile Crisis. Even to this day, conjecture surrounds the ballistics evidence and whether two assassins were involved. New film material from Washington has just been released.

De cómo el Salvaje Oeste era peor de lo que creemos, pero las mujeres consiguieron que fuera un lugar mejor 19 comentarios Sergio Parra 18 de diciembre de 2012 | 15:11

A pesar de lo poético del cowboy trotando hacia el sol del atardecer, lo seductor de la mirada entrecerrada de Clint Eastwood o lo divertido que era viajar a 1885 en Regreso al futuro 3, el Salvaje Oeste americano era un verdadero infierno. Sin embargo, un numeroso grupo de mujeres lo cambió todo para siempre… y no nos referimos a las bailarinas de Saloon. O casi. Para que os hagáis una idea de lo peligroso que era vivir como un cowboy, tenéis que empezar a olvidaros de una vida de aventuras y duelos temerarios: el cowboy medio era un tipo con problemas con el alcohol que no confiaba demasiado en un sistema de justicia infradotado y profundamente corrupto. Para que os hagáis una idea, los índices de homicidios del Oeste americano eran de 100 por cada 100.000 habitantes (al año) en Dodge City; 229 en Fort Griffin, Texas; o hasta 1.500 en Wichita. Índices que superan en mucho las cifras actuales, incluso en los barrios más peligrosos de las grandes ciudades, como Nueva York. Para que podáis establecer comparaciones, actualmente estos son algunos de los países con mayor índice de homicidios del mundo (registrados): Jamaica, por ejemplo, tiene 53,7 homicidios por cada 100.000 habitantes. Colombia, 52,7. México, 11,1. Rusia: 29,7. Sudáfrica: 69. Estas cifras tan desorbitadas se debían, sobre todo, a la ineficacia de la ley. Por ejemplo, sólo en Texas se podían encontrar 5.000 hombres diferentes en carteles de Se busca. En el Oeste, si esperabas a que viniera un agente de la ley, estabas muerto: debías empuñar un arma y defenderte de los forajidos, los asaltadores de caminos o de los ladrones. Además, las peleas con muertos se desencadenaban por el motivo más nimio, desde una partida de cartas hasta una discusión con demasiado whisky de por medio.

Esta violencia no sólo se producía entre los cowboys, sino también entre leñadores, mineros o jornaleros itinerantes. Por ejemplo, en la ciudad minera de Bodie, en California, en plena Fiebre del Oro, encontramos índices de homicidios de 116 por cada 100.000 habitantes. En Benton, Wyoming, 24.000 (es decir, casi uno de cada cuatro). Como si en Benton estuvieran en plena guerra. Si no morías tú, probablemente morirían la mayoría de tus familiares y seres queridos.

Pero había otro motivo que propiciaba que en el Oeste hubiese cifras tan altas de homicidios, en comparación al Este, por ejemplo: la demografía. Esta región estaba poblada, sobre todo, por hombres jóvenes, solteros, que habían llegado hasta aquí en busca de fortuna. Este dato es importante porque la mayoría de la violencia en el mundo la cometen hombres con edades comprendidas entre los 15 y los 30 años. Los hombres de estas edades son los que más deben competir por la atención de las mujeres, como lo hace el pavo real desplegando sus plumas multicolores, y ahí entra en juego la psicología evolutiva, tal y como explica el psicólogo cognitivo Steven Pinker en su libro Los ángeles que llevamos dentro: La violencia de los hombres, no obstante, está modulada por una regla de cálculo: pueden distribuir su energía a lo largo de un continuo que va desde competir con otros por el acceso a las mujeres hasta cortejarlas e invertir en sus hijos; un continuo que los biólogos a veces denominan “canallas frente a papás”. En un sistema social poblado sobre todo por hombres, la asignación óptima para un hombre es el extremo “canalla”, pues alcanzar el estatus alfa es necesario para vencer en la competición y condición sine qua non para conseguir una posición ventajosa en el cortejo de las escasas mujeres. (…) Sin embargo, el ecosistema que selecciona el escenario “canalla” tiene un número equitativo de hombres y mujeres y emparejamientos monógamos entre ellos. En estas circunstancias, la competencia violenta no ofrece a los hombres ventajas reproductoras, pero sí los amenaza con una gran desventaja: un hombre no puede mantener a sus hijos si está muerto.

Al sistema legal ineficiente y a la abundancia de hombres jóvenes bravucones, había que sumar otro factor no menos desdeñable: la omnipresencia del alcohol, que relaja el autocontrol. Las personas con inclinación a la violencia acostumbran a hacer uso de la misma cuando están bajo los efectos embriagadores del alcohol. Pero entonces todo empezó a cambiar. Un nuevo factor se coló en la ecuación y los índices de homicidios bajaron asombrosamente. En este descenso nada tenía que ver un incremento de la lectura de la Biblia, ni tampoco un mejor sistema legal. El factor que lo cambió todo fue la llegada de más mujeres. Una de las principales causas del enfrentamiento entre hombres era la escasez de mujeres, como se ha dicho, pero también había algo más: la psicología femenina frenaba en mucho el estilo bravucón a lo Eastwood. La naturaleza detesta las proporciones sexuales desiguales, y a la larga muchas mujeres de ciudades y granjas del Este se desplazaron al Oeste siguiendo el gradiente de concentración sexual. Viudas, solteronas y solteras jóvenes buscaron fortuna en el

mercado del matrimonio, alentadas por los propios hombres solos y por funcionarios municipales y comerciales que estaban cada vez más exasperados por la degeneración de sus antros en el Oeste. Cuando llegaron las mujeres, utilizaron su posición negociadora para transformar el Oeste en un entorno más adecuado para sus intereses. Insistieron en que los hombres debían abandonar las peleas y las borracheras por el matrimonio y la vida familiar, fomentaron la construcción de escuelas e iglesias, y cerraron cantinas, burdeles, garitos de apuestas y otros competidores en su lucha por la atención de los hombres. En el Oeste americano, entre tiros, asaltos, apuestas, prostitutas y alcohol a granel, nacieron algunos de los primeros movimientos feministas, como la Unión Cristiana de Mujeres por la Templanza y el Ejército de la Salvación. Con todo, puede que la idea de que las mujeres pacifican a los hombres, sobre todo vía matrimonio, os parezca retrógrada o sexista. Sin embargo, la moderna criminología ha convertido esta idea en estandarte. Además, el matrimonio incrementa la esperanza de vida del hombre, tal y como podéis leer en ¿Es saludable el celibato? Las ventajas de contraer matrimonio (I), (II) y (III). Por otra parte, un célebre estudio que monitorizó a 1.000 adolescentes de Boston con bajos ingresos durante 45 años determinó que había dos factores que influían en si un delincuente pudiera evitar la vida criminal: un trabajo estable y casarse con una mujer que le importara, y mantenerla a ella y a sus hijos. Ello no significa que debamos apostar por el modelo tradicional del matrimonio, ni siquiera de las relaciones interpersonales. Pero lo innegable es que el matrimonio ejerce un efecto positivo en las tendencias criminales. Esta diferencia por sí sola no nos dice si el matrimonio aleja a los hombres del crimen o si los criminales profesionales tienen menos probabilidades de casarse, pero los sociólogos Robert Sampson, John Laub y Christopher Wimer han puesto de manifiesto que el matrimonio sí parece ser de veras una causa pacificadora. Si mantenían constantes todos los factores que típicamente empujan a los hombres al matrimonio, observaban que casarse conseguía realmente que un hombre tuviera menos probabilidades de cometer crímenes inmediatamente después. Si queréis leer más sobre lugares donde las mujeres tienen especial relevancia, quizá os apetezca echar un vistazo a Los 5 mejores sitios para viajar si eres mujer.

2/12 Los 10 descubrimientos arqueológicos más importantes de 2012

La momificación fue una práctica mortuoria sumamente rara en Europa, de ahí la importancia de estos dos cuerpos encontrados en Escocia, con 3 mil años de antigüedad, hombre y mujer situados en posición fetal y conservados deliberadamente con dicha técnica

El grabado sobre piedra más antiguo de Europa: 37 mil años de antigüedad, localizado en la cueva Chauvet de Francia y con una forma primigenia: una vulva

Restos de rituales de enterramiento llevados a cabo por la civilización azteca y encontrados en las ruinas del Templo Mayor, en el centro de la ciudad de México: 45 calaveras y 250 mandíbulas

Máscaras del Dios maya del Sol encontradas en El Zotz, Guatemala, impresionantes adornos sobre la pirámide-templo de El Diablo. Una sinfonía celeste por las representaciones de planetas entre los dioses

Fragmento de mandíbula de un Neanderthal localizado en la cueva El Sidrón, en España, de 50 mil años de antigüedad, en la cual se encontraron restos de plantas medicinales

El bote funerarios más antiguo de la civilización egipcia, probablemente del año 2950 a. C., probablemente perteneciente a un oficial de alto rango

Joyas y monedas engarzadas en una pieza que formaba parte de un tesoro escondido en un pozo de un viejo edificio en la región de Kiryat Gat, al sur de Israel, al parecer perteneciente a la época de la revuelta de Bar Kokhba contra el Imperio Romano, en el año 132 o 135 de nuestra era, quizá el acto desesperado de una mujer para que no le robaran sus pertenencias

La evidencia más antigua del uso de venenos, de 24 mil años de antigüedad, en estos pedazos tallados de madera localizados en una cueva de Sudáfrica

Una colección de 75 clavos para sandalias llevó a arqueólogos alemanes a identificar los restos de un campo militar romano cerca de Hermeskeil, al suroeste de Alemania

Junto con la agricultura y la domesticación de animales para beneficio humano, la alfarería es otra de las actividades civilizatorias más importantes. Estas vasijas tienen

hasta 20 años de antigüedad y fueron encontradas es la cueva Xianrendong, al sureste de China

San Agatón, nombrado papa a los 100 años (jueves, 20 de diciembre de 2012)

Cuando hace unos días consultaba algunos datos sobre los papas en la Wikipedia para la entrada sobre los papados más cortos de la historia, me encontré con el papa Agatón, protagonista hoy de la entrada. Este hombre nació en Palermo en el año 577 y fue el septuagésimo noveno Papa de la Iglesia Católica, ocupando el trono de Pedro entre el 678 y el 681. Efectivamente, amigos, cuando accedió al papado tenía 100 años, una fecha tan redonda como sorprendente, más sabiendo que hablamos del siglo VI. Pero no es este el único aspecto singular del papa Agatón. No se formó sacerdote hasta el año 677, cuando ya era centenario. Antes había formado parte de un monasterio benedictino en el que ingresó después de repartir todo lo que tenía, heredado de su padre, entre los pobres. Un año después de hacerse sacerdote fue nombrado Papa. Vivió hasta los 103 años, muriendo el 10 de enero del año 681, y en su tiempo como papa hizo algunas tareas destacadas y algunas acciones que le llevaron a la santidad. Papa a los 100 años, ahí es nada. Ahora ya saben qué contarle a alguien que les diga eso tan socorrido de “ya estoy viejo para esas cosas”. Cuéntenle la historia del papa Agatón.

21 de diciembre de 2012 La filosofía en el país del espejo Diálogo con María Angélica Fierro, doctora en filosofía, investigadora del CONICET.

Cuando las diferentes disciplinas reflexionan sobre sus prácticas van dando nacimiento a la filosofía del arte, la filosofía del derecho, la filosofía de la ciencia. En el libro La filosofía a través del espejo, diversos especialistas van detrás de la filosofía de la filosofía: la metafilosofía. –Acá tengo La filosofía detrás del espejo. Estudios metafilosóficos. –Sí, es una empresa que emprendimos entre varias personas que nos dedicamos a distintas cuestiones dentro de la filosofía. Lo que nos unió fue una pregunta: ¿qué es lo que la filosofía puede decir sobre sí misma? De manera sencilla, eso es la metafilosofía. En otras disciplinas, cuando suelen preguntarse acerca de sus presupuestos, lo que hacen es mudarse a la filosofía (entonces tenemos la filosofía de la ciencia, del arte, del derecho). Pero en el caso de la filosofía, cuando trata de ver cuáles son sus presupuestos, se produce una especie de círculo, no sé si virtuoso o vicioso. Esa es la peculiaridad de los estudios metafilosóficos. Lo interesante es que muchas veces, cuando la filosofía se pregunta acerca de sí misma, lo hace sin querer: los filósofos se hacen esas preguntas casi involuntariamente. La idea de nuestro trabajo es tomar a algunos filósofos importantes de la historia de la filosofía occidental y, a partir de sus textos, contestar la pregunta. Usamos la metáfora del espejo a la manera en que aparece en el libro de Carroll: Alicia trata de atravesar esa imagen que le devuelve el espejo y explorarla. Nosotros quisimos poner a la filosofía frente al espejo, y meternos y explorar qué es la filosofía para Platón, para Kant, para Heidegger o para Wittgenstein. El último trabajo, de Robert Brandorn, se pregunta directamente acerca de su propia producción filosófica. –¿Y hay respuestas? –Bueno, algunas hay. Pero no es una respuesta unívoca: los textos nos devuelven múltiples imágenes de la filosofía. Yo voy a contar un poco detalladamente lo que tiene que ver con la primera parte del libro, que está relacionada con Sócrates o Platón. En el caso del estudio de Sócrates, a cargo de Oscar Nudler, se aborda el problema sobre la filosofía inquiriendo por el lugar que ocupa en el plano social, político y simbólico. Lo que él trata de demostrar es que la filosofía socrática podría definirse como una filosofía atópica, una filosofía del no-lugar. Sócrates aparece muchas veces caracterizado por estar fuera de lugar. Sócrates (y ésta sería la tarea del filósofo) se ubica por un lado afuera del universo social y político pero, por el otro, sirviéndose de los recursos que ese ámbito le ofrece. Por eso él habla de que el filósofo es un personaje que se encuentra siempre en el límite. Está por fuera de ese ámbito (religioso, ético, político) porque lo está criticando, y por otro lado está dentro de él porque se sirve de esos recursos. Y eso permite explicar muchas cosas raras de la filosofía socrática que han señalado diversos intérpretes. –¿Por ejemplo? –Algunos dicen que es democrático y otros, un oligárquico; algunos dicen que era un sofista y otros, un antisofista; algunos dicen que era un hombre religioso y otros que no. Al verlo desde ese nuevo punto de vista, se puede ver que ambas cosas son ciertas. Está adentro por un lado y afuera por el otro. Está proponiendo una tarea de revisión permanente de los presupuestos, que es la tarea por antonomasia del filósofo. Lo interesante del libro es usar esto para mirarnos a nosotros mismos como filósofos y cuestionar nuestra práctica. –¿Y Platón? –Hay tres trabajos. Tenemos dos trabajos de dos de los platonistas más reconocidos del mundo: Thomas Robison y Richard Parry. Ellos resumieron qué es la filosofía para Platón a partir de una conclusión de sus estudios. Se trata de trabajos inéditos. Lo que Robison trata de demostrar es que la filosofía platónica se funda en una serie de presupuestos de los cuales Platón no es del todo consciente,

por ejemplo que los términos generales tienen referencia, que esa referencia son las formas platónicas (el fundamento metafísico de toda la realidad), que el mundo en su conjunto es en sí mismo un objeto sensible que puede ser percibido, que la realidad está organizada de acuerdo con fines en todos sus ámbitos, incluso en el ético, lo cual implica que la vida humana permite alcanzar la areté (o perfección). La vida humana apunta a un fin (la eudaimonia) que constituye el verdadero Estado de Bienestar, de realización y de compleción. Platón opera con todos estos presupuestos porque hay un gran metapresupuesto detrás: la confianza que tiene Platón en el lenguaje cotidiano, en el griego de su época. Piensa que el lenguaje es confiable y opera sobre esas bases. Y lo que termina demostrando Robison es que hacia el final de su vida tal vez Platón empezó a sospechar que el lenguaje era más equívoco de lo que inicialmente creía. –¿Y el de Parry? –Muestra cómo Platón es el fundador de un tipo de filósofo y de una manera de hacer filosofía: el filósofo persistente. Sobre todo a partir de Wittgenstein se habla del filósofo como un terapeuta del lenguaje que se ocupa de aclarar significados que no están claros a partir de los contextos. Pero para Platón está ínsito como deseo el llegar a conocimientos que no dependan del contexto. Este intento del filósofo, más allá de que se pueda o no alcanzar la verdad, es algo que está en el interior de todo el ser humano, y por eso es que persiste en esta búsqueda, se lo logre o no. El ser humano no lo puede evitar. Lo otro que forma parte de esta imagen de la filosofía es que, como esto es propio de todos los seres humanos, el que no realiza esta búsqueda se siente en realidad insatisfecho, porque lo que quiere encontrar es la verdad (lo sepa o no). Esta manera de concebir la filosofía toma cuerpo en la filosofía platónica. –¿Y usted? –Yo, en mi trabajo, traté de sintetizar algunos aspectos de la filosofía de Platón. La pregunta sobre qué es la filosofía para Platón para mí empieza analizando el significado de la palabra “filosofía” en griego. Como se sabe, es el combinado de “filo” y “sofía”: “filo” tiene que ver con el afecto que se puede sentir por algo y puede tener un sentido de deseo, de posesión; “sofía”, que después va a tener un significado muy específico de sabiduría, en su origen (en Homero) denota un conocimiento que puede ser incluso práctico (por ejemplo, el conocimiento de un carpintero). A medida que van apareciendo disciplinas (como la filosofía de la naturaleza, los tratados médicos, los tratados políticos), las obras de esas disciplinas caen dentro de la categoría de “sofía”. Sería algo así como la cultura hoy en día. La palabra “filosofía”, entonces, quería decir algo así como “interés por la cultura”: interés natural que tenían los atenienses, como menciona Tucídides en el discurso fúnebre de Pericles. Platón se apropia de ese término y le da un significado nuevo fundado en el significado original. La filosofía pasa a ser el deseo por alcanzar la sabiduría. Lo que yo sostengo es que además de ese deseo y amor, una vez que se concreta el contacto con la verdad, se intenta mantener una relación con ese objeto del deseo. Lo otro que quiero mostrar es que esto de conocer las ideas no tiene que ver con un desinterés por el aquí y el ahora: la filosofía nace por situaciones vitales perturbadoras del ser humano. Ese es el campo más fértil para que se ponga de manifiesto el deseo de la verdad. Y las situaciones que recorro son la angustia ante la muerte, la inestabilidad en la que nos ubica el hecho de ser sujetos deseantes... estas situaciones, que en general se evaluarían negativamente, Platón las evalúa positivamente porque despiertan el deseo por la sabiduría. Nos hacen hacer filosofía y, al mismo tiempo, al hacer filosofía se pueden encontrar respuestas posibles a estas situaciones humanas inevitables. –Y en el resto del libro... –Se habla sobre Kant, sobre Heidegger, sobre Leibniz. Pero me temo que se está quedando sin espacio. –Así es. Los que quieran saber más tendrán que leer el libro.

Las Saturnales, las fiestas paganas que celebraban los romanos en honor a Saturno, influyeron en la creación de la Navidad La Navidad, la conmemoración del nacimiento de Jesucristo, que se celebra el 25 de diciembre, guarda muchas similitudes con las Saturnales, las fiestas paganas que celebraban los romanos en honor a Saturno, el dios de la agricultura y la cosecha, y que originalmente transcurrían entre el 17 y el 23 de diciembre, coincidiendo con el solsticio de invierno, el período más oscuro del año, cuando el Sol sale más tarde y se pone más pronto. Las labores agrícolas finalizaban en esta época y los campesinos y los esclavos podían aplazar el trabajo cotidiano. Los romanos, como ocurre actualmente en la Navidad, visitaban a sus familiares y amigos, intercambiaban regalos y celebraban grandes banquetes públicos. Durante estas fiestas, que se prolongaban durante siete días,

los esclavos gozaban de una gran permisividad; podían vestir las ropas de sus señores y ser atendidos por éstos sin recibir ningún castigo.

Julio I fijó la fecha de Navidad Los antecedentes de la Navidad habría que situarlos en los años 320-353, durante el mandato del papa Julio I, que fijó la solemnidad de Navidad el 25 de diciembre, a pesar de la creencia de que Jesucristo nació durante la primavera, quizá con la intención de convertir a los paganos romanos en cristianos. La Sagrada Escritura sólo señala que la muerte de Cristo se produjo durante la Pascua judía. Por otro lado, la primera representación del Belén, que escenificaba el nacimiento de Cristo, la realizó San Francisco de Asís en la Nochebuena de 1223, en una cueva próxima a la ermita de Greccio, en Italia. En cambio, la tradición del árbol de Navidad procede del norte de Europa.

10 Fascinating Economic Collapses Through History by Richard Urban, December 26, 2012 • • •

Since 2008 the United States has been in economic trouble. The current debate over the “fiscal cliff” has placed this economic distress and its origins back on the public radar. In retrospect, the origins of the housing bubble and Wall Street meltdown seem inevitable. There have been numerous financial meltdowns in the past that have their origins in even more bizarre and obviously flawed schemes. From ancient times to the present we seem to fall for economic schemes and the disasters that often result. This list takes a look, in chronological order, at some of the most intriguing economic collapses of history. We can feel a little better about our current situation as we consider the mistakes of our ancestors. 10 Diocletian Destroys Rome’s Economy Fourth Century AD

The Roman Empire was in decay when Diocletian became emperor in the fourth century. The economy was in disarray from a series of costly wars and previous emperor’s building projects that left Rome near collapse. With Rome’s currency worthless, Diocletian introduced a new system of coinage. At many times in history countries have risked economic turmoil to artificially increase the value of their currency. The issue with Diocletian’s new money, however, was that it did the opposite. There was more gold in the coins than the face value stamped on them; the denomination on the coin lowered its value. In response to this insane idea most citizens melted the coins to make use of their higher scrap value. The result was rapid inflation within the Empire. Diocletian increased problems by placing a price ceiling on most goods to counter the inflation. Diocletian’s policies caused so much confusion that many Roman territories simply refused to follow the emperor’s edicts. As matters worsened, Diocletian became the first Roman emperor to voluntarily leave the throne. His highly flawed economic policies weakened the cohesion of the empire and the status of emperor in addition to further damaging Rome’s ailing economy. 9 Pazzi Conspiracy and Medici Banking Collapse 1470s

The Medici family was one of the leading families of Renaissance Italy. They controlled the politics of Florence; served as popes and assisted the rise of Leonardo DaVinci. The source of the family’s wealth was rooted in the banking worldwide banking system they had founded in the late fourteenth century. Under the leadership of Cosimo de’ Medici,

the bank rapidly expanded and found itself overstretched by the time of his death. At the same time as the Medici were stretched to the limit the Pazzi and Salviaiti banking families attempted to replace them as rulers of Florence. On April 26, 1478, two members of the Medici family were assaulted at Mass in Florence. Despite the failure of the plot, the Medici were unable to reassert complete control. The Medici bank was characterized by its dangerously low cash reserves, usually around 10% of assets. As the Pazzi Conspiracy and various wars reduced the competitiveness of the bank, it approached insolvency. As a result Lorenzo de’ Medici taxed the citizens of Florence in the name of military defense to a near tyrannical level. Finally, in 1494 the bank collapsed due to this corruption, faulty investments, and incompetent management. After the bank collapsed, millions were lost from the Florentine economy and it took years for a complete recovery. Since the company had also defrauded the account of Charles VIII of France that paid for dowries the crisis had worldwide implications. ?? 8 Spanish Inflation 1600s

Following Columbus’s discovery of the New World, Spain began the search for gold in the New World. For decades the rich resources of the Americas made Spain one of the wealthiest nations on earth and allowed it to create a great empire. By the second half of the sixteenth century, however, the Spanish had increased mining to unprecedented levels. Rather counter intuitively this influx of wealth nearly destroyed Spain. The high levels of freshly minted gold and silver in Europe drove down the value of money and lead to hyper-inflation across Europe. Combined with the wars that Spain fought to protect its empire, the inflation damaged the economy beyond repair. Instead of reaping great wealth, Spain ended up defaulting on its debt several times. This economic turmoil pushed the Spanish Empire into decline and allowed the British to begin creating an empire of their own. 7 Bermuda’s Hog Money 1616-1624

Several powerful trading companies drove the spread of the British Empire in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Bermuda was colonized with the help of several of these companies. Once the colony was established the colonists were put to work making these companies money. The workers were paid in company credit instead of wages, similar to coal companies in the nineteenth century. When Daniel Tucker was appointed governor of Bermuda he abandoned the credit practiced and introduced his own coins minted from brass. With the monetary system only worth what Tucker declared it to be, the colonists overthrew the governor. Complete economic ruin was only prevented by the fact that Bermuda was an island and isolated. With no monetary system, the colonists resorted to using tobacco as a form of currency. 6 Tipper and See-Saw 1621

When countries rapidly increase their debt to finance wars the result is never good. In the seventeenth century there was no way to insure effective taxation so the states of the Holy Roman Empire began to mint money to raise revenue for the Thirty Years Wars. To do this the empire removed coinage from circulation, melted them down and mixed them with lower value metals. The name of the crisis refers to the scales used to weigh the money before it was melted down. These debased coins were then spent in foreign territories, to limit the economic damage that might occur to the empire. Eventually, the debased coins returned to territories of the Holy Roman Empire in the form of duties and taxes. As the public became aware of the practice there were riots, soldiers refused to accept the debased coinage as pay, and seditious pamphlets were distributed. The money eventually became so worthless children played with the coins in the streets. The resulting rise in prices also crippled the economies of many states within the empire. 5 Tulipmania Hits the Netherlands 1636-1637

Perhaps the most bizarre economic crisis on this list, Tulipmania holds the distinction of being the first recorded economic bubble. When the tulip flower was introduced to the Netherlands in the early 1600s it became instantly popular. In the first true “consumer craze” Dutch citizens simply had to have the latest tulip. Since tulips only grow at certain times of the year, the Dutch set up a future’s market. When tulips were not available consumers could purchase the rights to tulip bulbs when they became available. Soon speculators began playing the future’s market and drove the bulb prices to shocking levels. At the height of the bubble some bulbs sold for the equivalent of an average worker’s ten years salary. The bubble burst in 1637 and the value of tulip bulbs fell back to previous levels. Just like the stock market crash in 2008, investors saw their money erased. The bizarre flower driven financial collapse erased many fortunes and left many investors penniless. 4 South Seas Bubble 1719-1720

The South Seas Bubble shows what can happen when speculators ignore several important limitations on their schemes. In the early eighteenth century, the British economy was suffering from government overspending. As a result, British investors were intrigued by the stories of plentiful gold in the Americas. To tap these riches, the South Seas Company was formed and the British monarchy granted it exclusive trading rights to South America. Despite the fact that Spain owned South America, making the British edict completely useless, investors flocked to the company. The company, despite its obvious limitations, attracted so many investors that nearly a year’s worth of Britain’s GDP was invested. The stock skyrocketed on the British exchange. The company even investigated investing in the British national debt. Confidence was so high the Chancellor of the Exchequer had an investment account worth several hundred thousand pounds with the company. At the end of 1720, the South Seas Company stock was worth roughly 37 million pounds. Of course Spain refused to allow British adventures to remove their gold and the stock crashed. The resulting shockwave crippled the English economy and left many investors completely penniless. An entire generation of wealth was erased from the British economy. 3 Mississippi Bubble 1716-1720

Britain was not the only country to catch the speculation bug in the first quarter of the eighteenth century. When Louis XIV died, the French economy was completely exhausted from financing the wars that the Sun King had waged across Europe. The treasurer didn’t even have enough gold to mint new coins. John Law, a French government economist, proposed creating a bank that would print paper money. The government circulated so much paper money that it was valued at five times the wealth of France. To deal with the issue before it destroyed the French economy, Law informed the French citizenry that the new colony of Louisiana was filled with gold and an excellent investment opportunity. He hoped that the investment would allow government to obtain more actual wealth to solve the problem of the worthless notes. When the promised mountains of gold failed to appear from Louisiana, the bubble burst in 1720 and shares were devalued. What followed was a bank run when the value of Law’s currency was halved and devastating inflation that crippled the French economy. 2 Confederacy Destroys its Economy 1860

During the US Civil War, a major goal of the Confederate army was to secure diplomatic recognition from European nations. Since cotton was essential to the economies of England, France, and other nations, they cut off cotton exports to force recognition. The Union blockaded Confederate ports but was never able to efficiently limit Confederate blockade running until late in the war. Combined with this Union blockade the decision to cut off cotton exports virtually extinguished Confederate trade revenues. The two factors lead to rampant inflation that made Confederate currency virtually worthless. When the Civil War ended, the economy of the South was in complete ruins. 1 Railroads and Silver Cripple America 1893

The Panic of 1893 was the worst economic crisis in America until the Great Depression. As railroads became the dominant mode of transportation in the United States, speculators invested heavily in the technology. Many railroads simply overextended themselves and could not cover their expenses with revenues. In 1893, the giant Philadelphia and Reading Railroad collapsed under its own weight and declared bankruptcy. At the same time as the railroads began to feel the damage of their mistakes, the silver market was rocked. The 1880s witnessed the discovery of several silver mines and the resulting production drove the value of silver down. The US Government sought to deal with the crisis by buying silver in attempt to artificially increase its value. Once the government stopped purchasing silver the crisis reached its full height. The resulting depression lasted until 1900 and witnessed the collapse of 16,000 businesses and 17%19% unemployment at its peak.

Jesús no nació en invierno Ampa el 23 diciembre, 2012 — Hacer un Comentario

LA ESTACIÓN DEL NACIMIENTO DE CRISTO Cuando en fechas navideñas montamos nuestro Belén, acostumbramos a decorar con nieve las montañas y a imaginar cúan fría y humilde habría sido aquella noche invernal del nacimiento del Mesías cristiano. Cierto que son fechas entrañables donde nos dejamos llevar por la costumbre de siglos de tradición cristiana, aunque no por ello, dejemos de indagar en sencillas

cuestiones como esta;

¿que hacían los rebaños de unos experimentados pastores a la intemperie en plena noche invernal de diciembre, en la pequeña y fría población de Betlem? Pregunta ésta clave para descubrir porqué la Iglesia celebra la Navidad un 25 de diciembre en lugar de ubicar la fecha en la verdadera estación del nacimiento de Jesús. EL TIEMPO EN LA ANTIGUA PALESTINA El clima de la antigua Palestina y la del presente es bastante semejante, a excepción de la fertilidad del suelo, muy deteriorada por la tala sistemática de bosques practicada bajo el dilatado dominio musulmán. Según los Evangelios, Belén en la actual Cisjordania palestina, fue el lugar de nacimiento de Jesús, a pesar de que otras teorías defienden que Nazaret habría sido la cuna del “Nazareno” ya que a muchos judíos se les nombraba por su lugar de nacimiento. Dejando este interesante detalle, nos centraremos en la primera cuestión que ahora nos ocupa ;

¿cómo pudo haber sido el clima en aquellas tierras Palestinas en los años del nacimiento de Cristo?

Belén, enclavada en los montes de Judea, al sur de Jerusalén, y a unos 40 km de Nazaret, es una región subtropical con un clima característico, determinado por dos estaciones: • • •

la invernal o de las lluvias desde noviembre hasta abril, y la estival o seca, desde mayo a octubre. En época estival pueden alcanzarse los 50 grados centígrados en puntos como el Valle del Jordán. El “Tebet”, de diciembre a enero, es la época más fría del año donde la zona se mantiene en un clima variado, que va desde las frías lluvias hasta las heladas .

Pero en especial, Belén, estando situada entre elevadas montañas recibe frecuentes nevadas, especialmente durante el mes llamado “Tebet” por el pueblo de Israel, Belén recibe abundante nieve no sólo por encontrarse entre los Montes de Judea, sino por estar cerca del desierto donde las temperaturas bajan hasta los ceros grados. REFERENCIAS EN LOS EVANGELIOS Hay un aspecto fundamental de la interpretación del evangelio de Lucas sobre la estación del año en la que, con mucha probabilidad naciera Jesucristo, que resulta bastante clarificador. En Lucas 2:8, leemos que cuando nació Jesús; “Habían pastores en la misma región, que velaban y guardaban las vigilias de la noche sobre su rebaño”

Adam Clarke, teólogo metodista británico y erudito bíblico en el Vol.5 de su “Commentary on the Bible”, hace unas apreciaciones muy interesantes al respecto: [..."Era una antigua costumbre de los judíos de esos días, enviar afuera sus ovejas a los campos y desiertos cerca del "Passover" (inicio de la primavera), ..., "durante el tiempo que estaban afuera, los pastores vigilaban las ovejas noche y día. Cuando caían las primeras tempranas lluvias, en el mes de Marchesvan, correspondiente a parte de nuestro Octubre y Noviembre (comienza a mediados de Octubre), encontramos que las ovejas eran mantenidas. Y, como estos pastores no llevaban a sus hogares sus rebaños, presumimos en el argumento de que Octubre aún no había comenzado, y que, consecuentemente, nuestro Señor no nació el 25 de Diciembre, cuando no había rebaños afuera en los campos; no podría haber nacido después de Septiembre, ya que los rebaños permanecían afuera en los campos por la noche"...] Es decir, que según Clarke, los pastores de Palestina e Israel acostumbraban a traer sus rebaños desde las laderas de las montañas y campos y las guardaban hacia mitad de Octubre, ya que en estas fechas empezaban las frecuentes lluvias y seguían los fríos del invierno. Por otro lado en el Cantar de los Cantares del Rey Salomón 2:11 y Esdras 10:9 y 13, encontramos que; “el invierno fue tiempo de lluvia que no permitía a los pastores de ovejas permanecer en los campos abiertos durante la noche”

OTOÑO, LA OTRA POSIBILIDAD Sin embargo, si nos atenemos sólo a las fechas, del Evangelio de Juan se puede deducir que el nacimiento pudo haber sido en el Otoño del año 2 a.d.C, esta es la conclusión a la que llegan en el blog 144.000. net]:

[....Elizabet, la madre de Juan, era prima de María y la esposa de un sacerdote llamado Zacarías, quien era de la “clase” de Abías. (Los sacerdotes eran divididos en 24 clases y cada clase o turno, oficiaba en el Templo por una semana, de Sabbat -el sábado judío- a Sabbat.) Cuando el Templo fue destruido por Tito el 5 de Agosto del año 70 DC, la primera clase de sacerdotes acababa de comenzar su servicio. Dado que el curso de Abías era el octavo, podemos rastrear hacia atrás y determinar que Zacarías terminó su servicio el 13 de Julio del año 3 AC. Si el nacimiento de Juan se efectuó 280 días después, debió haber sucedido entre el 19 y el 20 de Abril del año 2 AC, precisamente para la Pascua de ese año. El nacimiento de Juan y el de Jesús estuvieron separados por 5 meses. Por lo tanto, de nuevo tenemos como resultado el otoño del año 2 AC que sería en realidad el año “0”“, como fecha probable del nacimiento de Jesús….

EVIDENCIAS DE BELÉN FUERA DE LA BIBLIA La existencia de Betlem fuera de la Biblia ha sido confirmada por

arqueólogos israelíes hallaron este año en Jerusalén un sello de arcilla con la inscripción “Bet Lejem”, la primera evidencia arqueológica de la existencia de la ciudad, con ese nombre, durante el período en que aparece enunciada en la Biblia, según informó la Autoridad de Antigüedades de Israel. “Es la primera vez que el nombre de Belén aparece fuera de la Biblia en una inscripción del período del Primer Templo, lo que prueba que Belén era una ciudad en el reino de Judea y posiblemente también en periodos anteriores”, señaló Eli Shuk jefe de la excavación.

Concluyendo: Ciertamente el invierno en la región de Israel y Palestina aunque no presenta oscilaciones extremas son frecuentes las intensas lluvias y heladas y en zonas montañosas como Belén próximo al desierto son habituales las fuertes nevadas en diciembre. La bucólica estampa de grupos de pastores experimentados, guardando vigilia en una noche lluviosa y fría, con un clima que cala los huesos, y en un paisaje cubierto de nieve donde poco pasto podría alimentar a sus ovejas, puede ser muy bonita pero, ciertamente, no se puede tomar en serio. A esto podríamos añadir otros detalles como que muy raramente en esta estación invernal, la “sagrada familia” habría encontrado un establo disponible, estando estos

ocupados por los rebaños que permanecían encerrados hasta la llegada de la

primavera. •

Es lógico que los rebaños se mantuvieran bajo cubierto hasta marzo, cuando llegaba el momento del alumbramiento de las ovejas. Sólo entre Abril y Septiembre del año en que nació Jésus probablemente entre el 6 y el 2 antes de Cristo, habrían estado los pastores con los rebaños al aire libre, las veinticuatro horas al día, tal como nos cuenta Lucas.

Es decir, la evidencia de Lucas apunta hacia una fecha de la Natividad bien en los inicios de la primavera o a mediados de otoño. •

La otra razón de peso, por la que la Iglesia primitiva eligió el 25 de Diciembre para celebrar el nacimiento de Cristo, fue su tolerancia con los cultos paganos, al hacer coincidir las festividades cristianas con ritos de la tradición pagana como el festival del solsticio de invierno o fiesta del “Natalis Solis Invicti” (nacimiento del sol invicto), que realizaban por entonces los romanos, al igual que ya hicieran otros pueblos antiguos como egipcios o persas.

Otra cuestión mucho más controvertida es la de la fecha exacta del nacimiento de Cristo, que ya vimos en otro artículo. Artículo relacionado; La fecha exacta del nacimiento de Jesús Bibliografía • •

WRIGHT, ERNEST (2002). Arqueología bíblica. Ediciones Cristiandad. BORNKAMM, GUNTHER (2002). Jesús de Nazaret. Ediciones Sígueme

¿Se están perdiendo los valores? ¿Qué valores? 27 comentarios Sergio Parra 27 de diciembre de 2012 | 16:41

No hay día en que se oiga en un medio de comunicación la letanía “se están perdiendo los valores” o “los jóvenes de hoy ya no respetan nada”, un mantra que todo el mundo parece aceptar y que sirve, entonces, para introducir toda clase de falacias estadísticas: como que los jóvenes de ahora son más violentos que los de antes, o que la sociedad en general está sumida en decadencia moral. Basta con echar un ojo a los índices de homicidios de cualquier país civilizado para comprobar que las personas tienden, cada vez menos, a matar al prójimo. Si bien es cierto que en 1960 hubo un repunte brutal de homicidios en Estados Unidos y Europa, la curva, en general, siempre ha sido descendente. Los jóvenes de antes, pues, eran más violentos y faltos de empatía que los de ahora. Y, bueno, siempre han existido voces que hablaban de la decadencia moral, sobre todo de las nuevas generaciones: Aristóteles decía “Los jóvenes de hoy no tienen control y están siempre de mal humor. Han perdido el respeto a los mayores, no saben lo que es la educación y carecen de toda moral.” Platón abundaba en ello: “¿Qué está ocurriendo con nuestros jóvenes? Faltan al respeto a sus mayores, desobedecen a sus padres. Desdeñan la ley. Se rebelan en las calles inflamados de ideas descabelladas. Su moral está decayendo. ¿Qué va a ser de ellos?”. Incluso podemos ir 4.800 años atrás en el tiempo y leer las siguientes inscripciones de una tablilla asiria: “En estos últimos tiempos, nuestra tierra está degenerando. Hay señales de que el mundo está llegado rápidamente a su fin. El cohecho y la corrupción son comunes”. A esto se suma la dificultad que implica definir qué son los valores. Si asumiéramos esta supuesta pérdida de valores, ¿a qué valores nos estaríamos refiriendo? Tal vez se

estén sustituyendo unos valores por otros, ¿sabemos a ciencia cierta que los de antaño eran mejores que los de hogaño? Si partimos de la base de que los valores correctos no deben sustituirse por otros valores, ¿entonces habría existido alguna clase de evolución en los valores vigentes de cualquier época? ¿Dejar de tratar a los negros o a las mujeres como infrahumanos no supuso la pérdida de determinados valores? Además, los expertos de ciencias sociales (con demasiadas variables que controlar) que afirman que los jóvenes de ahora son más violentos que los de antes aducen causas ambivalentes y poco concretas: porque son muy mimados, porque no tienen suficiente atención de los padres, porque viven en familias desestructuradas, porque viven en familias acomodadas que se creen superiores a quienes mortifican, etc. Todo vale, tanto una cosa como la contraria. Pero nadie alcanza a dar una razón unívoca y estadísticamente significativa. Tal vez porque no es verdad que los jóvenes de ahora sean más violentos que los de antes. Hay un factor que no es causa, pero sí que es poéticamente significativo. Ya que científicamente no pueden aclararse los motivos del repunte de violencia en determinados jóvenes (sí es cierto que hay jóvenes más violentos y descarnados, pero no ocurre de forma generalizada… y tampoco antes había tanta cobertura mediática para denunciarlo), asumiendo eso, digo, que haya un repunte de violentos, entonces podríamos acogernos a la poesía para reflexionar de otro modo sobre el problema: la infancia nunca fue de los niños, la infancia siempre fue de quienes la perdieron. Determinados colectivos han luchado y sangrado para obtener su cuota de protagonismo en la historia. Las mujeres a fin de recibir el mismo trato que los hombres. Los negros, tanto de lo mismo. Todos ellos ambicionando más libertad. Una vez obtenida ésta, los efectos secundarios pueden ser nocivos… pero nunca debemos olvidar lo obtenido en primera instancia. Bajo esta misma lógica, quizá ha llegado el momento de que niños y jóvenes empiecen a reclamar también su pequeña cuota de protagonismo que siempre les fue negada. Y también su pequeña cuota de poder. De esos niños, que les ha llegado su momento de rebelión como tantos otros colectivos, hay unos, una minoría que mediáticamente tiene mucho eco, que manifiestan su frustración a través de la violencia.

Porque, a pesar de que los videojuegos violentos son ya un pasatiempo esencial, que disponemos de pornografía bizarra a través de Internet, que determinado cine es más explícito que nunca con la hemoglobina y el cuestionamiento moral y religioso, la violencia real no ha hecho más que disminuir. Los seguidores de música punk, heavy o hip hop, con pintas que producen miedo cerval, botas militares, piercings, mirada fría y demás aditivos, son personas que pueden ser perfectamente educados, ecologistas, veganos y hasta tímidos y reflexivos, tal y como os expliqué en Dime qué música escuchas y te diré cómo eres. En Bobos en el paraíso, un libro publicado por el periodista David Brooks en el año 2000 ya se observaba que muchos miembros de la clase media se han transformado en “bohemios burgueses” (BOurgeois BOhemians), que fingen el aspecto de personas situadas en los márgenes de la sociedad mientras viven un estilo de vida totalmente convencional. Una sociedad con valores es aquélla que evalúa continuamente cuáles son los aspectos de las normas de una cultura a los que merece la pena atenerse y cuáles ya resultan obsoletos, no una sociedad monolítica e intocada. Cierto es que la gente es más desinhibida que antes, que los alumnos son más descarados con los profesores que antes, que las normas en general no se siguen con tanta inflexibilidad. Pero ello precisamente revela que vivimos en una sociedad con más valores que nunca: antes, dichas normas, no se seguían porque la gente alumbrara más valores sino por miedo (tanto punitivo como social). No enseñar escote porque todo el mundo te llamará puta por la calle no es tener más valores. No cuestionar al

profesor porque éste te dará un reglazo en la mano (y al que luego no podrás denunciar por agresión) no es tener más valores. Lo explica así el psicólogo cognitivo Steven Pinker en su libro Los ángeles que llevamos dentro: Hace siglos, quizá nuestros antepasados tuvieron que reprimir cualquiera señal de espontaneidad e individualidad con el fin de civilizarse, pero ahora que las normas de la no violencia están consolidadas, podemos ceder un poco ante inhibiciones concretas que acaso parezcan obsoletas. Según esta línea argumental, el hecho de que las mujeres enseñen mucha carne o que los hombres suelten tacos en público no es señal de decadencia cultural. Al revés, es señal de que viven en una sociedad tan civilizada que no han de temer que, en respuesta a ello, vayan a sufrir hostigamiento o agresión. Como dijo el novelista Robert Howard, “los hombres civilizados son más descorteses que salvajes porque saben que no les van a partir el cráneo por ello”. Quizás haya llegado incluso la época en que yo pueda usar el cuchillo para empujar los guisantes hasta el tenedor.

La Leyenda de los Magos de Oriente, con Antonio Piñero Ampa el 4 enero, 2013 — Hacer un Comentario

LA MISTERIOSA FIGURA DE LOS MAGOS

Y SU OSCURA PROCEDENCIA… En vísperas de la fiesta de la Epifania, nos acompaña el escritor, investigador y comunicador Antonio Piñero, catedrático de filología griega de la Universidad Complutense de Madrid, especializado en lengua y literatura del cristianismo primitivo. Autor de varias obras sobre el cristianismo y judaísmo. En su reciente libro titulado “Ciudadano Jesús”, (Atanor Ediciones, Madrid 2012), Piñero da respuesta a un montón de preguntas sobre Jesucristo, un personaje controvertido cuya existencia histórica sigue siendo debatida constantemente. En el capítulo 2 de este apasionante libro, el profesor Piñero, trata el nacimiento y la adoración de los Magos de Oriente, y dadas las fechas que nos ocupan con él, desvelamos aquí, algunos de los enigmas que, cada año, nos sugieren las misteriosas figuras de los Magos.

["La imaginación es muy poderosa y los evangelios, que pretenden ser obras históricas, son, ante todo, literatura de propaganda, de buena fe, desde luego, de una fe, por lo que son aptas para recoger leyendas que les sirvan para su propósito"... La narración de los magos es una leyenda o bien, pura “historia teológica”, ... "Los magos tuvieron más éxito que los pastores de Lucas. En las pinturas de las catacumbas romanas, aparecen ya en el siglo II, mientras que los pastores lo harán dos siglos más tarde, en el IV." ] Antonio Piñero / Entrevista concedida a Arquehistoria

ENTREVISTA A ANTONIO PIÑERO

P: ¿Qué sabemos de los legendarios Magos de Oriente?

R: Los magos son personajes misteriosos, dibujados en el Evangelio de Mateo muy someramente, por lo que, suscitaron rápidamente la curiosidad popular. Todo lo que sabemos, en principio, de tales personajes lo tenemos en el texto de Mateo 2,1-12. Dentro de la literatura cristiana es este pasaje, nuestra fuente principal y única, pues puede decirse que detalles posteriores en torno a los magos no son sino aclaraciones o expansiones para explicar mejor los datos comprimidos o poco explícitos que ofrece esa “historia” o leyenda primigenia. P:¿Qué mensaje quiso transmitir Mateo con esta historia de los Magos? R: En efecto del relato de los magos podemos preguntarnos: ¿qué pretendía el evangelista con esta “historia”? o

o

Primero, Mateo se sentía obligado a relatar de Jesús un episodio casi obligado en las biografías fabulosas de cualquier personaje ilustre en la Antigüedad: ya de pequeñito había sufrido grandes peligros, pero la divinidad lo protegía especialmente, por lo que había salido indemne. Es el mismo caso que se contaba de otros personajes, tanto fabulosos, como Hércules como de Alejandro Magno, Platón o Pitágoras Segundo: Mateo compone una “historia teológica”. En concreto transmitía ciertos “hechos” de Jesús calcados en realidad de narraciones del Antiguo Testamento. Ya que todas las Escrituras sagradas habían profetizado su vida, la huida a Egipto no era más que el cumplimiento definitivo de algunos hechos antiguos que lo prefiguraban. Así:· La marcha a Egipto del patriarca José, como cuenta Génesis 37ss, y de la vuelta del exilio de Babilonia.

P: En los evangelios apócrifos los magos ocupan un lugar preferencial, por qué? R: Precisamente, porque los apócrifos tratan de colmar lagunas de las narraciones más populares sobre Jesús que hallan los lectores en los evangelios canónicos o aceptados por la Iglesia. Desde mediados del siglo II, los autores de evangelios apócrifos, comenzando por el Evangelio de Pedro (anónimo, compuesto hacia el 130) o el Protoevangelio de Santiago (anónimo, compuesto hacia el 150) inician una costumbre literaria de proporcionar al pueblo entretenimiento piadoso a base de literatura complementaria a los Evangelios. Tales textos apócrifos podían servir además, para inculcar al pueblo concepciones teológicas que no estaban claras en los Evangelios oficiales.

Por ejemplo, la virginidad perpetua de María no aparece nada clara en el capítulo 1 del Evangelio de Mateo (véase 1,25: “Y José no la conoció, es decir, no tuvo relaciones sexuales con ella, hasta dio a luz un hijo, y le puso por nombre Jesús), lo que supone normalmente que sí las tuvieron después, de las que nacieron seis hermanos de Jesús (Marcos 6,3). P: ¿Quienes fueron realmente estos hombres y cúal fue su condición social? R: Parece natural si se reflexiona sobre lo que en el siglo I d.C. podría significar el vocablo “magos”, es decir, qué quiere decir exactamente en esta narración. Mateo no lo explica, porque debió de creer que sus lectores lo

entendían bien. En tiempos de Jesús la palabra “mago” tenía dos significados. o

o

El primero era el corriente, el que dura hasta hoy, individuos que practican la magia negra o blanca, adeptos de la ciencias ocultas, intérpretes de sueños y visiones; astrólogos baratos, la mayoría de ellos charlatanes y embaucadores. La segunda, y lo sabemos por la obra de Filón de Alejandría, filósofo judío contemporáneo de Jesús, serían hombres respetables, sacerdotes del zoroastrismo, la religión de Irán/Persia, hombres religiosos y científicos que se dedicaban a estudiar la astronomía y su repercusión en la vida de los hombres, la astrología en el buen sentido.

Por la descripción de Mateo en nuestra historia hay que considerar a los magos en este último sentido, sabios que se dedicaban a la ciencia de los astros. No queda claro, si pertenecían también a la clase sacerdotal o no de la religión zoroástrica. En el Evangelio de Mateo representan a los paganos cultos, y con ello indica el evangelista que lo mejor de la ciencia y la religiosidad del paganismo lleva hacia Jesús. Pero en el Evangelio, ni son reyes ni nada por el estilo, ni se saben su número y nombres. P: ¿Entonces, cómo se va perfilando la leyenda de los magos que ha llegado a nosotros? R: La figura de los magos, un tanto desdibujada en la narración de Mateo fue enriquecida por la tradición popular. El texto del salmo 72 sobre el oro llevado a Jerusalén había ayudado a algunos cristianos a precisar que los magos venían de Arabia. Otros versículos del mismo salmo sirvieron para hacer de los magos unos reyes: “Que los reyes de Sabá y Arabia le ofrezcan (al rey de Israel) sus dones; que le rindan homenaje todos los reyes” (72,10-11).Parece ser que hacia el año 500 esta tradición era ya universal.

El siguiente paso fue precisar el impreciso “magos”: eran tres exactamente. Con toda probabilidad se pensó que cada uno portaba uno de los tres regalos: oro, incienso y mirra. Aquí hay también tradiciones variantes: desde dos reyes, dibujados en las catacumbas de los santos Pedro y Marcelino; cuatro, en las catacumbas de santa Domitila, hasta doce o quince, en listas medievales orientales. Otro paso fue darles nombres: En Oriente el primer intento conocido es el de un escrito siríaco, del siglo IV, anónimo, llamado ”Cueva de los tesoros”, que los llama Hormizda, rey de Persia; Yazdegerd, rey de Sabá, y Perozad, rey de Arabia.

Como se ve es un intento de precisar los nombres uniéndolos a los monarcas respectivos de las posibles regiones de donde proceden los regalos. Más conocida por los cristianos es la tradición occidental que los denomina Melkón o Melchor, Gaspar y Baltasar. La primera mención, aparece en una traducción al latín, del siglo VI, de una crónica griega anterior. El autor es anónimo y está recogida en el catálogo de crónicas medievales con el título de Excerpta Latina Barbari. El Evangelio armenio de la infancia (capítulos 5 y 11; ¿de los siglos VII/VIII?) confirma esta tradición occidental: los magos son tres, a saber, Melkón, rey de los persas; Gaspar, de los indios; Baltasar, de los árabes. En un tratado denominado Excerpta et collectanea (“Extractos y fragmentos reunidos”, atribuido quizá sin fundamento a Beda el

Venerable, sabio y exegeta de la Biblia, anglosajón, del siglo VII, dice lo siguiente:“Los magos fueron los únicos que entregaron regalos al Señor. Se dice que el primero fue Melchor, una anciano de cabello blanco y larga barba…, que ofreció oro al Señor como rey. El segundo, de nombre Gaspar, joven, imberbe y rubicundo…, lo honró como a Dios con su regalo de incienso, oblación digna de la divinidad. El tercer, negro y muy barbudo, llamado Baltasar…, con su regalo de mirra dio testimonio del Hijo del hombre que iba a morir (en la cruz)”. P: Y ¿cuál pudo ser el lugar de procedencia de estos hombres cultos? R: Según Mateo, los magos “vienen de Oriente”. Pero ¿de dónde?

El texto no lo dice, pero se sobrentiende que, si son “magos”, y así se llamaba a los sacerdotes y sabios astrólogos persas, es lógico que se creyera que venían desde Persia. De hecho en el arte del cristianismo primitivo los magos eran dibujados con indumentaria persa: túnicas ceñidas, mangas largas, pantalones y gorro frigio. •

•

Algunos estudiosos han propuesto que los magos procedían de Babilonia, es decir, el actual Irak, ya que entre los babilonios, llamados también caldeos, había habido desde los albores de la era histórica un gran interés por la astronomía y la astrología. En el libro del profeta Daniel aparecen muy frecuentemente los magos cuando el autor describe la corte de los reyes Nabucodonosor y Baltasar en Babilonia. Finalmente, apoyándose en los regalos que traen los magos, oro, incienso y mirra, se ha pensado que estos magos procedían de Arabia. Oro e incienso son los regalos que, según Isaías 60,6 y Salmo 72,15, traerán los pueblos orientales a Jerusalén en tiempos mesiánicos, como regalo al rey y alabanza al Dios de Israel, desde Madián y Sabá, regiones ambas de Arabia, del noroeste y suroeste respectivamente.

Siendo la narración de los magos una leyenda o bien pura “historia teológica”, a saber la invención de un hecho legendario para ejemplificar una idea teológica (en este caso la predicación del salvador del mundo a los no judíos) parece inútil hacer disquisiciones sobre qué región del Oriente venían los magos. P: El oro de Sabá, ¿podría relacionarse entonces, con las caravanas que venían de Arabia? R: El “oriente”, y Arabia lo es para los judíos, es un símbolo en general: “Ex oriente lux”, “del oriente viene la luz”, que dice el dicho que atribuye la venida de un salvador al mundo, precisamente desde la región donde sale el sol.

Sea, pues, como fuere, sí es cierto que la teoría de que Arabia fue la primera región que los escritores cristianos propusieron como origen de los magos fue deducida de sus regalos: Justino Mártir, hacia el 160, en su Diálogo con Trifón 78,1 (sobre la verdad del cristianismo y del judaísmo) escribía “Unos magos de Arabia llegaron hasta Herodes… P: Antonio ¿Cómo evolucionó la leyenda posterior de los “magos”? R: Este desarrollo comienza muy pronto, pues la piedad popular se interesó por estas figuras simpáticas, pero muy poco dibujadas en la narración de Mateo. A mediados del siglo II, en el llamado Protoevangelio de Santiago, son sólo los magos los que acuden a rendir homenaje al mesías, no los pastores del evangelio de Lucas; pero los magos lo hacen en una cueva, no en una casa, como indica expresamente Mateo. Tenemos aquí la fusión de magos con pastores, y de las noticias de Lucas con las de Mateo. Los magos tuvieron más éxito que los pastores de Lucas. En las pinturas de las catacumbas romanas aparecen ya en el siglo II, mientras que los pastores lo harán dos siglos más tarde, en el IV.

Arca con las reliquias de los supuestos Magos, conservadas en la catedral alemana de Colonia.

Con el éxito de las reliquias entre los cristianos, sobre todo a partir del siglo IV, cuando la madre del emperador Constantino trajo a Europa restos del lignum crucis, se propagaron también reliquias de los magos. Se dice que a finales del siglo V, fueron llevadas desde Persia a Constantinopla, y una parte de ellas pasó a Milán.

Posteriormente, en el siglo XII, el emperador Federico Barbarroja, que había hecho una campaña contra Italia, se apoderó de las reliquias y las trasladó a la catedral de Colonia. Todavía se conservan allí, custodiadas en una urna, a su vez en un altar magnífico, que es atracción de los visitantes. P. Háblenos un poco de los simbolismos R: Pues, los regalos mismo son símbolos de los rasgos que caracterizan a Jesús: rey, Dios, redentor sufriente. Pero el simbolismo de los regalos es mucho más antiguo, pues aparece en la obra de Ireneo de Lyón, Contra las herejías III 9,2, ya a finales del siglo II, y se confirma en un himno del poeta cristiano Prudencio sobre la fiesta de la Epifanía del Señor, el 6 de enero.

Más tarde se desarrolló otra interpretación alegórica de los dones, muy en consonancia con lo dicho: el oro simboliza la virtud; el incienso, la oración; la mirra, el sufrimiento. El que adoraran a Jesús en una cueva se debe a un esfuerzo imaginativo cristiano al interpretar la noticia de Lucas de que al nacer Jesús, al no haber sitio en la posada de Belén, fue depositado por su madre en “un pesebre” (Lc 2, 7). Naturalmente, el pesebre tenía que estar en un sitio abrigado y Nazaret era conocido por sus cuevas habitadas desde el neolítico. El que en esa cueva encontraran los magos junto a Jesús a un asno y un buey, se debe a una interpretación de Isaías 1,3: “Conoce el buey a su dueño, y el asno el pesebre de su amo. Israel no conoce, mi pueblo no discierne”, en donde Dios se queja de su pueblo que no le rinde el culto debido…, pero los magos, gentiles, sí. P:¿Que opina usted de la estrella de los Magos, pudo ser un fenómeno astronómico?

R.: Muchos exegetas opinan –y creo que pueden tener razón- que en torno a los años en los que se sabía que había nacido Jesús (al final del reinado de Herodes el Grande) había ocurrido objetivamente algún fenómeno meteorológico extraño que impactó las conciencias de las gentes. Más tarde, después de la muerte de Jesús y de que se creyera firmemente que había resucitado, cuando se sintió la necesidad de hacer propaganda de la fe cristiana por medio de escritos acerca de la vida, palabras y obras de aquél, los evangelios, se recordó vagamente ese fenómeno celeste que había ocurrido y llamado la atención, y se entendió como un signo celeste del nacimiento de Jesús. ¿Qué pudo ser este fenómeno?

Tres son las explicaciones científicas que se han dado: la aparición por los días finales de Herodes de una supernova, de un cometa o bien de una conjunción de astros que brillaron especialmente en el firmamento. Realmente, me siento muy escéptico respecto a todas estas teorías y en mi opinión creo que para inventar una historia tan inverosímil como la de una estrella que aparece y desaparece, que guía a unos personajes exóticos y que se posa encima de una casa, basta con la imaginación popular con el trasfondo general de que el cielo anuncia con signos los nacimientos de hombres ilustres sin tener que recurrir a ningún fenómeno objetivo. La imaginación es muy poderosa y los evangelios, que pretenden ser obras históricas, son ante todo literatura de propaganda, de buena fe desde luego, de una fe por lo que son aptas para recoger leyendas que les sirvan para su propósito. P: Qúe importancia tuvo la Epifanía en Iglesia primitiva ? R: A pesar de que en el Nuevo Testamento, en 2 Timoteo 1,10, se utiliza este vocablo (que significa “aparición”, de una divinidad), para referirse al nacimiento de Cristo, o bien a su aparición después de su resurrección, y también aparece cinco veces (2 Tesalonicenses 2,8; 1 Timoteo 6,14; 2 Timoteo 4,1.8; Tito 2,13) para referirse a la segunda venida de Cristo a la tierra, para cumplir con su encargo de inaugurar el reino de Dios; la Iglesia primitiva, que esperaba esa venida como muy cercana, no tuvo necesidad, al parecer, de celebrarla, porque la vivía de un modo especial de modo continuo.

Sin embargo, con el retraso de la segunda venida de Cristo, la Iglesia oriental sí comenzó a celebrar la “Epifanía” ya que era una fiesta cargada de significado teológico: La apertura de la iglesia cristiana a los gentiles/paganos, en contraste con el judaísmo que seguía manteniéndose como una religión “étnica”, es decir propia de un pueblo, religión a la que se pertenece por nacimiento;· Cristo Jesús se manifiesta a todos los humanos sin excepción a través de la curiosa figura de los magos y el posible significado espiritual de los dones ofrecidos al infante Jesús, etc

En la Iglesia oriental se considera que la Epifanía propiamente dicha no es la manifestación de Jesús a los magos, sino su bautismo, momento en el que Jesús es declarado Hijo de Dios ante la humanidad representada por Juan Bautista (Evangelio de Marcos 1,9-11). En esta Iglesia se celebra la fiesta el 19 de enero, según el calendario juliano; y en la occidental, el 6 de enero, según el calendario gregoriano que precisa astronómicamente el juliano. El primer dato histórico que tenemos de la celebración de la Epifanía se remonta al siglo IV. Se trata de una mención del historiador latino Amiano Marcelino, Historias XXI . Desde entonces hasta hoy no ha cesado de celebrarse. Por nuestra parte, celebramos el hecho de tenerle aquí en Arquehistoria, e invitamos a nuestros lectores a la consulta de su libro “Ciudadano Jesús” para una visión más completa de la figura histórica del Mesías cristiano. Muchas gracias, confiemos en que ni a usted ni a mí, sus Majestades nos traigan mucho carbón… Feliz 2013 y muchos éxitos !!!

10 Weird and Grotesque Archaeological Finds by Andrew Handley, January 7, 2013 • • •

History is full of surprises, and archaeology allows us a rare glimpse into the past that often reveals more than any textbook ever could. Every discovery helps to dig up new information about the way the world was in the time of our ancestors. From vampires to giant man-crushing wombats, here are ten of the strangest archaeological finds. 10 The Alien Skulls of Mexico

Twenty-five human skulls were found in a mass grave in Mexico with long skulls making them look like aliens. Mexican villagers were digging into the ground when they found a mass grave, filled with 25 ancient corpses. Around half of the bodies had freakishly long skulls. Although some people were quick to suggest that the bodies were those of aliens, researchers bbelieve that the skulls were reshaped on purpose – while their owners were still alive. Children in the Central American cultures of 1,000 years ago had their skulls forced into odd shapes from a young age. Their heads were bound with flat boards, which put

enormous pressure on their skulls. The pressure forced the bone tissue to grow upwards rrather than outwards – resulting in something that looks a lot like an alien. 9 King Louis XVI’s Blood (And His Grandfather’s Head)

The blood of this murdered French king was found on a handkerchief proving that people took mementos from his execution place. The remains of a handkerchief from the French Revolution is soaked with the blood of King Louis XVI, scientists have found. Legend has it that when the king was killed in 1792, people rushed forward and dipped their handkerchiefs in his blood – a story which seems to be true, now that the blood stains have been shown to be his. DNA testing didn’t prove anything until the handkerchief was compared to a mummified head that probably belonged to King Henry IV, a direct ancestor of King Louis. Both of the finds – the head and the blood – were verified at exactly the same t time. 8 Otzi the Iceman

This ancient ice-corpse was discovered with perfectly preserved blood – the oldest in tthe world. In 1991, a group of hikers were trekking in the mountains of Austria when they came across an awful sight: a frozen body was buried in the ice at their feet. That body belonged to a 5,300 year old man, later dubbed “Otzi the Iceman”. By studying the body, scientists have been able to discover some surprisingly specific facts. When he was alive, he had parasites in his intestines, was lactose intolerant, and had been sick three times in the past six months. But his death seems to have been caused by an arrow wound to his back – leading some scientists to believe that he was chased across the m mountains. The most important find was not the body itself, but what was still inside it: Otzi’s blood cells were so well preserved that they look almost exactly like modern day blood samples. This makes it the world’s oldest blood – which teaches us a lot about the lifestyle of ancient man. 7 Mega-Wombat Graveyard

Giant wombats were found in an Australian mass grave with 20-foot long poisonous llizards and mega-kangaroos.

Wombats may well be some of the cutest animals on earth – but their ancestors were the stuff nightmares are made of. These ancient wombats were something like a cross between a rhinoceros and a grizzly bear. In 2012, Australian scientists found a mass grave filled with about 50 “mega-wombat” skeletons. They were about the size of a Volvo, could weigh as much as 3.1 tons (2.8 metric tons), and had a pouch large enough tto hold “a small human.” The mega-wombat graveyard also held bones from 20-foot-long poisonous lizards and 14-foot-tall “super kangaroos” – proving that Australia could kill you even in ancient t times. 6 2,600-Year-Old Human Brain

A perfectly preserved Iron Age brain was found pickled inside its skull.

An amazingly intact human brain was found inside a skull in Northern England. By sheer accident, the brain was naturally preserved – like pickled onions – in a way that stopped bacteria from breaking down the soft tissue. The brain is thought to date from the Iron Age. The head was found without its body – leading some to believe that the head was removed during a ritual ceremony and buried aapart from the body.

5 Neanderthal Cannibals

49,000 year old human bones with human gnaw marks on them were uncovered in S Spain.

A small group of Neanderthal skeletons have been found at a dig site in Spain. The bones, which are about 49,000 years old, all have human teeth marks on them – which points pretty conclusively to cannibalism. It seems from the evidence that the group of twelve – six adults, three teenagers, two children, and an infant – were a family that was aattacked and eaten by another party of Neanderthals, after taking shelter in a cave.

4 The Sacrifices of the Peruvian Temple

Bodies laid out in patterns a give proof for mass human sacrifices in Peru.

In 2012, a tomb was found in Peru that held dozens of human skeletons. The adult skeletons were arranged inside a circle of baby skeletons. The tomb was found at the temple of Pachacamac, a major dig site which can claim nearly twenty pyramids and aanother cemetery to its name. The temple is thought to be the place where sacrifices were carried out by the Ychsma, an ancient people who pre-dated the Incas. It seems that the bodies found inside the ring of babies belonged to pilgrims, who traveled to this tribe in search of some sort of cure – but a cure for what, nobody knows. 3 Vampire Corpses

Bodies of the undead are regularly found in Bulgaria with iron stakes still embedded in their hearts.

Bulgarians in the 14th century would stab the hearts of anybody who was thought to be a vampire. It seems that the Middle Ages were even more crazy about vampires than we are today. Over 100 vampire graves have been found scattered across the country – all of them with an iron stake driven through the chest of the body. A vampire corpse, recently found near the coast of the Black Sea, appears to have been stabbed many times and then buried with the stake still protruding from its chest. Grave sites like this are found every few years, and nobody knows just how many people in tthe region were put to death as vampires. 2 Amenhotep’s Book of the Dead

Missing pages of this famous book are still showing up in unexpected places. M

The Egyptian Book of the Dead is one of the most famous books containing spells to be used in the afterlife. Rather than being a single book, it is more of a concept. The spells were usually written on the walls and on the bodies of the deceased. Upper class Egyptians were also given a papyrus scroll with the spells written on it, which would aallow them to journey through the afterlife. Researchers have spent years trying to track down all the pieces of the Book of the Dead given to Amenhotep, a powerful Egyptian official from around 1400 BC. Nearly 100 fragments of this scroll were recently found – not in a sandy tomb, but in the basement oof the Queensland Museum, where they were donated almost 100 years ago. 1 The Headless Vikings

Vikings corpses prove that they were so tough they refused to be killed from behind and preferred to fface their executioner.

In 2009, a Viking mass grave was found by a road crew in Dorset, UK. The bodies – 51 in total – had been brutally executed and then left with their heads in one pile and the rest of their bones in another pile. Researchers think that this might be the grave of the feared Jomsvikings, a mercenary group that carried out a series of violent raids along the coast of England around 1000 AD. From looking at the bones, it seems that the victims’ heads were cut off from the front. As proud Vikings, the captives refused to turn their backs to their killers.

ancientpeoples: Gold Head from the Oxus Treasure 5th-4th Centuries BC Achaemenid Persian This head is part of the Oxus treasure, the most important collection of gold and silver to have survived from the Achaemenid period. The treasure was found on the banks of the River Oxus and probably comes from a temple there. Most of the treasure dates from the fifth or fourth centuries BC, and many of the items are representative of what is described as Achaemenid court style, found throughout the empire and considered typical of the period. This head, though, is rather different, and may be of local manufacture. The head is made of beaten gold and shows a beardless youth with pierced ears. It may have been part of a statue, perhaps in another material such as wood.

10 Sex Toys With Ridiculously Ancient Origins by Morris M, January 11, 2013 • • •

Going strictly by popular culture, you’d be forgiven for thinking sex was invented sometime in the 1960s. Obviously our ancestors were getting it on long before that; Socrates invented Western thought while diddling little boys. But the ’60s were when sex became fun, right? Wrong. Turns out historical men (and women) were light-years ahead of us in the pleasure department, thanks to inventions like: 10 Blow-up Dolls 1904

Lady substitutes are recorded as far back as the seventeenth century, when French sailors devised the Dame de Voyage: a collection of curvaceous rags that could only ever resemble a woman to a homesick Frenchman. But it wasn’t until vulcanised rubber was patented that the more familiar model came about: in 1904, alchemist Rene Schwaeble recorded meeting a ‘Dr. P.’ in Paris, who built inflatable dolls for discerning gentlemen.

Less than four years later, German sexologist Iwan Bloch was marvelling over massmanufactured versions that could ‘imitate ejaculation’ on sale in Parisian catalogues. Creepiest of all though has to be the firm offering a custom doll resembling “any actual person, living or dead” – which has to be the single most disturbing tagline in the history of advertising. 9 Butt Plugs 1892

Frank E. Young was a man with a vision, and that vision involved things being inserted up other people’s rectums. Developed in 1892 but not marketed until the turn of the century, his ‘Rectal Dilator’ was a terrifying 4 1/2-inches of pain designed to go where the stars never shine. Billed as a cure for piles, the devices were hawked to doctors and even advertised in respected journals. People might well have gone on believing they were medical devices too, were it not for the ridiculously suggestive instruction manual included with each order. For 40 years these Victorian butt plugs were sold across the United States, before falling foul of the 1938 Federal Food, Drugs and Cosmetics Act, which banned them for “false advertising”. 8 The Vibrator 1869

The Victorian period was a different time. Britain ruled the world, robots were steampowered, and doctors treated hysterical women by masturbating them. Wait, what? It’s true: ‘female hysteria’ was a recognised illness, and its treatment involved a qualified medical professional rubbing the patient’s private parts until orgasm was achieved. Because nothing about this practice could be logical, doctors often complained of boredom and wrist-ache; leading George Taylor to invent the first steampowered vibrator. Although this version failed to catch on, the same can’t be said of J. Granville’s 1880 ‘electrochemical’ design. Housewives went mad for them; even Good Housekeeping started running monthly reviews. So what happened? Well, society accepted the ‘massager’ so long as we could tell ourselves it was a medical, rather than sexual aid. When they began appearing in early porn films, husbands soon realised what their wives were up to and put a stop to it. Because – as every man knows – the last thing you want is a sexually satisfied wife… 7 Condoms Around 1560

Did the ancients use condoms? Maybe: there’s evidence to suggest people were wearing something, but whether or not it was for contraception, we’ll never know. Going by a strictly modern definition, the first reliable record of their use doesn’t appear until 1564. After the Black Death, Late Medieval man was walloped with an epidemic of syphilis. Not unreasonably, people began to yearn for a way of having sex again without the threat of death. Enter Gabriele Falloppio. His invention – a linen sheath soaked in chemicals and left to dry – may not sound like much, but boy did it work. In a trial that encompassed 1,100 volunteers, Falloppio reported not a single case of the ‘French Disease’. What did Europe do to thank him for his life-saving invention? Named part of our reproductive organs after him. 6 The Penis Ring A.D. 1200

It wasn’t easy being ancient Chinese nobility. Not only did you have to put up with assassination plots and Mongol invaders, you were also expected to service your wife, mistresses and concubines on a regular basis. It may sound like fun (and probably was), but there was an urgent reason behind it: if you didn’t produce an heir, you could be pretty sure some obscure prince was going to step up. In such stressful circumstances, performing can become – well, difficult. Hence the penis ring. Made from the eyelids of a goat, with the eyelashes still intact, it helped the wearer get on with the business of impregnation for hours on end – even if he was secretly crying inside. 5 Geisha Balls A.D. 500

The origins of Geisha Balls are uncertain: all we know is that they appeared in the Orient sometime around A.D. 500 and were originally used to pleasure men. Women soon cottoned on to the benefits of the device, and the balls’ popularity went supernova. Recorded across most Asian cultures, Geisha Balls (also known as Ben Wa Balls, Rin No Tama or Burmese Balls) were the Rampant Rabbit of their day; a toy that could heighten pleasure during sex, or simply facilitate some good old-fashioned selfpleasure. 4 Penis Enlargement Third Century A.D.

The Kama Sutra was many things: a manual for living, a treatise on sex, and one of the earliest recorded email scams. Honestly; about halfway down this page is a whole paragraph on making your schlong bigger by rubbing it with wasp stingers. It might technically work (thanks to swelling), but as far as sex goes, it’s about as useful as that tub of ‘enlargement cream’ you bought online with Dad’s credit card in Junior High. Perhaps recognising this, the author(s) made a further suggestion: an ‘Apadravyas’ made of gold, ivory, silver or wood to “supplement (the penis’s) length or its thickness”. That’s right: before the invention of porcelain (seventh century), the number zero (ninth century) or the fall of Rome, our ancestors had discovered the strap-on. 3 Lube Ancient Greece

Given their reputation for enjoying orifices that don’t naturally lubricate, it should come as no surprise that the Greeks were into their lube. While no record exists of its early use, we do know that by 350 B.C., olive oil was big business. In Aristotle’s History of the Animals he makes passing reference to it, implying that smoother sex made pregnancy less likely. Two centuries later physician Soranus echoed his views; while Herodotus, Plutarch and Ovid all maintained that Athens got its name when Athena gifted the founders an olive tree – because that’s how much they loved olive oil. 2 The Dildo 23,000 B.C.

The dildo may well be humanity’s most durable invention. Only fire, weapons, clothing and beads seem to have been around longer. Even agriculture is an infant compared to crafted lumps of stone and wood modelled on our junk; 13,000 years younger, to be precise. And that’s only taking into account the ones we’ve found: the oldest known dildo (an eight inch stone behemoth discovered in Germany) dates back 26,000 years, but there’s no reason to assume there aren’t other, older models out there. Archaeologists find them all the time; it’s almost as if people in the prehistoric era found sex a natural, enjoyable thing they didn’t have to be ashamed of. Speaking of which… 1 Pornography 33,000 B.C.

A few years back, archaeologists uncovered a pervy prehistoric statue. Carved from mammoth tusk, it featured a female torso with, how shall I put this, ‘exaggerated’ sexual parts. Although its age is uncertain, the best guess places it at over 35,000 years old; which means it may even pre-date religion. Now, obviously the history of religion is largely guesswork and some argue it’s much older than that, but still… the implication that we only sat down to figure out the meaning of life after we’d first solved “doing-it-yourself” may be the single most jaw-dropping case of prioritisation the universe will ever see.