Today's archival tidbit is the last one from Cocktail Party Cheat Sheets: The Kama Sutra includes 40 kinds of kissing and 64 sexual positions—but the dirty-dirty only comprises about 20 percent of the total text. Most of it is a sort of ancient Indian Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus. In exploring how to acquire a wife (or seduce another man's wife), Vatsyayana discusses the differences between men and women and how each gender experiences... READ ON
We're currently settling into our little cottage on Carriacou, the largest of the Grenadines, the island chain off Grenada. And by "large" I mean 13 square miles and a population under 5,000. The main cultural influences here are French, Amerindian, Carib, and British. This last has some very real consequences: The queen of England is also the queen of Grenada, and the village of Windward on Carriacou has a big population of Scottish and Irish boatbuilders. Also, according to Wikipedia,... READ ON
How on earth did I manage to miss this movie when it came out? An aspiring composer of humble means, 23-year-old Anna Holtz (Diane Kruger) is seeking inspiration and career advancement in the world's music capital, Vienna. A student at the music conservatory, she is recommended for a position at a venerated publisher, and, in a fortuitous turn of events, orchestrates an opportunity to work beside the greatest, most mercurial artist alive - Ludwig van Beethoven (Ed Harris). When the skeptical... READ ON
Today's archival tidbit comes from Cocktail Party Cheat Sheets: Soon after Catherine the Great's death, someone—probably her enemies in the Russian aristocracy—started floating the story that Catherine died of being crushed after attempting to have sex with a horse. It's just not true. Although Catherine did take many lovers and had a secret room built in her palace that she filled with raunchy paintings and sculptures, she did not die anywhere near a horse. But the... READ ON
And this is one you're going to be hearing about all next week, as I gloat take you with me on an Armchair Field Trip (or in my case, an actual trip) to Grenada. I got my wish! But don't worry, I'll still be checking in with you guys while I'm traveling, because I am an enormous dork. A little trivia from Wikipedia and Grenada Explorer to get things started: The recorded history of Grenada begins in 1498, when Christopher Columbus first sighted the island. The Amerindians called their island... READ ON
I know I just told you yesterday about a wonderful book featuring someone who was literally crazy-brilliant, but believe me, this one's even better: When the editors of the Oxford English Dictionary put out a call during the late 19th century pleading for "men of letters" to provide help with their mammoth undertaking, hundreds of responses came forth. Some helpers, like Dr. W.C. Minor, provided literally thousands of entries to the editors. But Minor, an American expatriate in England and a Civil War... READ ON
This week's archival tidbits come from Cocktail Party Cheat Sheets: Like Mickey Rooney, Lana Turner, and Elizabeth Taylor, Attila the Hun married more than six different... READ ON
I know I've blogged about his fantastic songs before, but I'm just sayin' "“ baby got... READ ON
While writing about evolution for our upcoming cover story on "Big Ideas," I was reminded of the sad story of George Price. Here's what I wrote: "Don't forget to name-check Bill Hamilton. He's is best known for the idea of 'inclusive fitness,' which explains why selfish animals sometimes sacrifice their own lives for their relatives'. (Hint: it's not because they're nice.) You may also want to mention Hamilton's friend George Price. A self-taught mathematician, Price... READ ON
Today's archival tidbit comes from Cocktail Party Cheat Sheets: Alexander the Great's epitaph is one of the most famous in history: "A tomb now suffices him for whom the whole world was not sufficient." But in all likelihood, Alexander's tomb does not contain Alexander himself. The emperor Ptolemy took Alexander's body and brought it to Alexandria, where it was on display for a long time. But the body was eventually lost, and its current whereabouts are... READ ON
5 Questions: Boys Behaving Badly
Lesser-Known Founding Fathers
M&M’s stands for “Mars & Murrie’s,” the last names of the candy’s founders.
