The phrase “bell, book, and candle” is used to refer to a condemnation that is absolute. It is used similar to “throwing the book” at something. The phrase goes back to the Middle Ages and comes from a Catholic Church ritual used to Read more
In 1936, a stray cat began living in the rectory of St. Augustine Church in London. Father Henry Ross adopted the tabby and named her Faith. The cat would accompany Father Henry to services. If he was preaching, she would lay in the pulpit near his feet. If he wasn’t, Read more
Once upon a time, a stray tabby was taken from the streets of Brooklyn and put in an animal shelter. The poor kitten was suffering from severe pneumonia and a collapsed lung. He was given medical care and adopted by Assistant District Attorney Carol Moran. She nursed him back Read more
Once upon a time, a group of stray cats lived near the train station in Kinokawa, Japan. They were befriended by passengers and the station manager Toshiko Koyama. One of the cats was a female calico cat that Koyama named Tama. She was the most lovable of the cats. Read more
Oliver Cromwell led the Parliamentarian forces to victory in the English Civil War. As a result, King Charles I was beheaded on Jan. 30, 1649. Cromwell became ruler of England and was proclaimed Lord Protector in 1653. This was ironic because although Cromwell was anti-monarchy, he basically was a king Read more
Simon was a black and white cat found in the dockyards of Hong Kong in 1848 by a 17-year old British sailor named George Hickinbottom. He was a crewman on the frigate HMS Amethyst. The kitty was undernourished and unhealthy, but Hickenbottom Read more
Do nonviolent protests work, even in a fascist country? A protest in 1943 Nazi Germany did work despite it butting heads with the SS. In Hitler’s Germany, being Jewish was often a death sentence. By 1943, many Jews had already been killed in death Read more
Once upon a time, during the Crimean War, the British army participated in the Siege of Sevastopol in Russia. It took two years for the city to fall and by the end people were starving. When British soldiers entered the city, on September 9, 1855, they found civilians weak Read more
Sir Francis Bacon was one of the greatest scientific minds of the 17th Century. He encouraged the use of the scientific method which calls for experimentation and observation to reach a conclusion. He was one of the leaders of the Scientific Revolution. He is credited with saying “knowledge is power.” Read more
Marcus Crassus became the richest man in Rome partly through real estate. He created the first fire department in Rome. Sometimes he paid arsonists to set fire to a house and then he would wait around the corner with his fire fighters. When the fire was underway, Crassus and Read more