Want to camp like a Sultan? This is the way to do it — The Ottoman Imperial Tent Corps had a really hard job. Tentmakers, needle workers, and tailors had to work together to not only create and care for the Sultan’s tents, but transport and assemble them wherever and whenever he and his court might need them. At its conception in the 1400s…

You should have known Vikings would be involved — When we think of Vikings, we usually think of that first invasion of Lindisfarne in 793 and all the subsequent attacks on the British Isles. But think about it, if pillaging and looting are your thing, why limit yourself? Especially when there’s a ton of real estate right in your…

Welcome to the world of the Bestiary — Monsters and fierce beasts always make stories more interesting, don’t they? After all, if Godzilla was a fluffy bunny, it’s doubtful anyone would have ever run through the streets in terror. St. George would certainly not have had the same reputation if he had slain an iguana instead of a…

Stranger things have happened — Remember the story of that giant horse statue the Greeks left outside Troy’s front door? No? Well, let me refresh your memory. Homer first mentioned the story in the Odyssey, and it goes something like this: The Greek soldiers were sick and tired of their ten-year siege against the city…

Think of it as a passive-aggressive way to fight inequality — There’s something special about snuggling up with your child and reading an old-fashioned fairytale. Stories of witches, fairy queens, dragons, and brave heroes take us to fantasy lands where anything can — and usually does — happen. The Brothers Grim, Charles Perrault, Andrew Lang, and Hans Christian Andersen are some…

But in today’s world, is it really that bad? — I thought I was constitutionally incapable of cheating. But we all probably think that, don’t we? Then one day strange feelings creep in. Oh, sure we try to ignore them, but with every glance in the mirror, we see it. The dissatisfaction, the restlessness, the disappointment: it’s all there. Before…

I mean if you can, why not? — I don’t know what it’s like where you live, but here in the south the ground is warming up and the flowers and trees are starting to strut their stuff. Flowers in particular can be so small and unassuming, it’s sometimes hard to remember many of them have a long…

Like these guys had major sex appeal — Gladiators were the quintessential tough guys in ancient Rome. Rough and rugged, these guys fought to stay alive and simultaneously entertain the masses. Of course, we know the gladiator basics thanks to Hollywood, but if we dig a little deeper, we can find out some pretty interesting stuff. They started off as funeral entertainment Like a…

Here are three methods you probably never considered — What comes to mind when you think of a clock? The alarm on your phone? Something digital at your bedside, or maybe an old-fashioned grandfather clock standing like a sentinel in the hallway? These things are all pretty modern, so how did people tell time way back before electrical circuits…