Category: Random Musings
-
Timely History: Smallpox
With Thanksgiving in the rear-view mirror, there was plenty of mentions about American Indians and how they were treated in the creation of this country. Then, we are also in the midst of a pandemic. I had the brilliant idea of writing about smallpox. (Actually, someone suggested it, but she’s an egomaniac and I refuse…
-
Happy Thanksgiving!
Happy Thanksgiving, nerds! 400 years ago, the Pilgrims landed on our shores and proceeded to find opportunity and success. Just kidding, they found an absolute sh*tshow. Famine. Disease. A native population that vacillated between wanting to kill them and wanting to help them. A little bit more precarious than the times we find ourselves in…
-
Musing: And Now for Something Completely Different – Art!
I had a flight of fancy and approached a co-worker who I knew had amazing art skills. Ethan is a jovial guy and seemed excited about the project. I came up with a scene: A knight standing in front of a medieval castle with a queen looking out over ramparts. Ethan had a lot more…
-
Timely History: The Halifax Explosion
On August 4th of this year, a gigantic explosion ripped through Beirut in Lebanon. Final numbers on the destruction are not fully understood, but it looks like at least 220 people were killed and 7,000 injured. The blast was approximately 2.75 kilotons of ammonium nitrate. Nerd that I am, I immediately thought of the Halifax…
-
My Favorite History: Saint Thomas More
Imagine being one of the great philosophers of your age. You serve a king, die a martyr’s death, and are revered by the Catholic Church. However, your greatest contribution to the world is a book you wrote on a lark. And the title is used today to mean the exact opposite of the point you…
-
History Nerd United’s First Birthday!
Happy 4th of July, nerds! Also, it’s been one year since I launched the site. It would be a massive understatement to say it’s been an interesting 365 days. I’ve been able to meet and talk with awesome people. I’ve also been able to bore tons of people with pleas to visit the damn thing.…
-
Timely History: The Plague of Justinian
Everyone knows about the Black Death. One of the worst pandemics in history and caused by fleas on rats. People merely refer to it as the plague and associate it with the Black Death, which is true. But it’s not the first time the plague is seen in history and it’s definitely not the first…
-
Timely History: Juneteenth
The country recently celebrated Juneteenth on 19 June. For a lot of people, it was the first time hearing about the holiday. Allow me to conduct a quick Q&A to answer your burning questions on the holiday. This is a new thing that was just made up because of what’s going on, right? No, stop…
-
Timely History: The Tulsa Race Massacre
Well, this is frustrating on multiple levels. The Tulsa Race Massacre occurred 99 year ago. I write “Timely History” to highlight current events through the prism of history. It’s the nerd equivalent of “staying in my lane.” I’m not a sociologist and there are many others who will write opinion pieces which will articulate things…