England – the quick Sliver

4.13.18 Precedent and the President

April 13, 2018 Mike Keeler

No Comments

From our legal affairs desk comes some breaking news…from the 1700’s. (You’ll need some coffee for this one.) In 1714, James Annesley was born as the heir of a hugely important English lord, the Earl of Anglesea. However, when he was 12, his father died, and James’ uncle Richard –…

10.20.17 VOC

October 20, 2017 Mike Keeler

No Comments

Historical tidbit: this year is the 350th anniversary of the Treaty of Breda. So? OK, here we go. In 1667, at the end of the second of four Anglo-Dutch Wars, the Dutch traded away their interests in the New World to the English. The English took over New Amsterdam, which…

2017 Dutch East India Company England Netherlands New Amsterdam New York Nutmeg Run

6.24.16 Ice Breakers

June 24, 2016 Mike Keeler

No Comments

There are no words to describe it. At least, not in the English language. But here’s some context. A generation ago, the tiny country of Iceland – population 330,000 – made a decision to build numerous indoor soccer facilities so that their kids could train through the long Arctic winter.…

2016 Austria England Euro Iceland soccer

10.30.15 The Jack Facts

October 30, 2015 Mike Keeler

No Comments

Who’s Jack? And what’s up with the lantern? There’s a lot of ancient tradition involving scary lights at harvest time. Pre-Christian Europeans celebrated Samhaim, the autumn festival of the Dead, with bonfires and torches and other late-night illuminations. Samhaim was later displaced by All Saint’s Day, but the fascination with…

2015 All Hallows Eve All Saint's Day America England Europe halloween Ireland Mexico Pumpkin Samhaim Sleepy Hollow Stingy Jack Turnip Wampanoag

9.23.13 He Blewe It

August 23, 2013 Mike Keeler

No Comments

Mistakes like this are pretty rare. They only happen, like, once in a…well, hold that thought. The ultimate source of the problem is the lazy nature of the moon. The moon orbits the earth every 29.5 days or so, which is a little less than once a month. In most…

2013 Blue Moon calendar Easter England full moon Harvest Moon Hunter's Moon Pope rome Trivial Pursuit

12.7.12 Nog

December 7, 2012 Mike Keeler

No Comments

This is where mixology meets etymology. Nobody is quite sure where the name comes from. But the drink has its roots in many forms of milk-and-alcohol libations that were common in Europe since at least the Middle Ages. One such drink was “Posset,” a glass of milk curdled with alcohol,…

2012 America bourbon colonies egg nog England etymology holiday madeira mixology rum

5.11.12 Open Water

May 11, 2012 Mike Keeler

No Comments

You don’t hear THIS in the news every day: “Spyros from Liverpool.” Here’s where the story starts: a boy named Spyridon Gianniotis was born in Liverpool in 1980. His mother’s family was from there, and she had met his father in Greece while on holiday. They were married and set…

2012 England Greece Olympic open water Spyros Gianniotis swimming

7.4.1776 Daddy of the Founding Fathers

July 1, 2011 Mike Keeler

No Comments

When you go to the National Archives and look at the document today, you won’t find his signature on it. But without him, the Declaration of Independence may never have been written at all. Charles Thomson was born in County Londonderry, Ireland, in 1729. When he was ten years old,…

2011 Charles Thomson Constitution Continental Congress Declaration of Independence England Fourth of July United States

5.6.11 Aye Dios Mio

May 6, 2011 Mike Keeler

No Comments

GOOD MORNING! HAPPY SEIS DE MAYO!!! (What’s that? We’re yelling a little too loudly this morning? You feeling the effects of uno or dos or tres too many margaritas at Pancho and Lefty’s Cantina last night? Okay, we’ll tone it down.) But, lo siento, we have to correct a little…

2011 Battle of Puebla Cinco de Mayo England France Mexico Napoleon III Spain

10.5.07 What’s Left

October 5, 2007 Mike Keeler

No Comments

The world is quickly becoming a more sinister place. Nobody is sure what “natural” percentage of the human population is left-handed. A study of ancient jewelry reveals that about 10% of all pieces were twisted by left-handed artisans; other ancient sources suggest that percentage is probably accurate. But everyone IS…

2007 England Julius Caesar Left-handed Population