The First Website in History! I Didn’t Know the Answer…Do You?

Photo of the Large Hadron Collider within CERN located in Meyrin, Switzerland by Pietro Battistoni at Pexels: https://www.pexels.com/photo/cern-806763/.

Blogging about The Guinness Book of World Records got me thinking of all types of records. The latest was, “What was the first website?” Thanks to the power of AI and the Internet, I got my answer…and that website still works! Here it is: https://info.cern.ch/ You can even browse the first website using a simulated … Read more

Where Did Paper Cash Come From? It Was Invented in Chengdu, China in 1018 AD.

Photo of a reproduction of a Song note, possibly a Jiaozi, redeemable for 770 mò courtesy of Wikipedia and in the public commons.

Paper cash appears to be disappearing in favor of digital cash. Many places only take credit cards now. But where did paper cash come from? It originated in the same place as paper…in China. While paper started being made sometime between the 2nd Century BC and 3rd Century AD in China, paper money came later. … Read more

The Lost City of Akkad, Capital of the World’s First Empire

Ancient Mesopotamian carving image by Daniel from Pixabay: https://pixabay.com/photos/mesopotamia-ancient-assyrian-7362893/

We still haven’t found the city of Akkad, the capital of the Akkadian Empire. This is the world’s oldest known empire, founded in 2334 BC. Despite all the evidence of this empire, and all the archaeological work done in Mesopotamia, the city of Akkad remains lost. What makes this the first empire? It was the … Read more

How to Settle a Bar Bet? St. Paddy’s Day and the Guinness Book of World Records.

Photo of The Temple Bar Pub in Dublin, Ireland. By Leonhard Niederwimmer from Pixabay: https://pixabay.com/photos/dublin-ireland-temple-bar-pub-bar-6801635/

Happy St. Patrick’s Day 2024! In honor of this day, I’ll discuss some Irish history. Back before the Internet, folks would ponder and argue over such things as:  “What’s the fastest game bird in Europe?” This question started an argument during a shooting party in County Wexford, Ireland in the early 1950’s. One of the … Read more

Oldest Soccer Tournament Crowned First Champ 152 Years Ago

Photo of London by Dominika Gregušová: https://www.pexels.com/photo/city-view-at-london-672532/

We just had Pi Day on the 14th, the Ides of March on the 15th, and will have St. Patrick’s Day on the 17th. What about poor old March 16th?  I felt I had to pay tribute to this date. There are some obscure observances (not sure if some are holidays) on this date. But … Read more

Beware the Ides of March! But…what is an Ide?

Photo by Skitterphoto via Pexels: https://www.pexels.com/photo/julius-caesar-marble-statue-615344/.

Today is the historic day of the Ides of March aka March 15th. Julius Caesar was assassinated in the Roman Senate 2,067 years ago.  This famous event became even more popular by William Shakespeare’s tragedy Julius Caesar.  The “Ides of March” become immortalized when a soothsayer in this tragic play warns Julius Caesar to “beware … Read more

Happy Pi Day! Also Now “Faketoshi-Gets-Pie-In-His-Face Day”!

Photo of pie by Maksim Goncharenok: https://www.pexels.com/photo/baked-apple-pie-on-a-ceramic-plate-6163328/.

Happy Pi Day! It’s 3-14 aka 3.14 aka March 14th, 2024. It’s especially happy for the Bitcoin community. A man of monumental fraud and vindictiveness has lost his court case today! He has gotten a big pie in his face by a British court! His name is Craig Steve Wright aka CSW aka #Faketoshi aka … Read more