Soma Sema. Those may not seem like fighting words, but they seriously riled up the first generation of Christians two millennia ago. Soma Sema was one of the slogans of a group of influential intellectuals who called themselves Gnostics. The name comes from the Greek word gnosis, which means “knowledge.” The Gnostics considered themselves the original Wise Guys, or “people… Read more »
In 1898, a German scientist believed he had discovered the Holy Grail of pain relief. Heinrich Dreser, who worked as a chemist for Bayer – the corporation that had created a remarkable new drug called aspirin – was hoping to synthesize a painkiller that wouldn’t lead to addiction. The world had long known about morphine, the powerful, naturally-occurring opioid. But… Read more »
What’s the most pathetic / head-scratching / cringe-worthy verse in the Bible? There are numerous candidates. But one of the finalists has to be Exodus 32:24, where Aaron, Israel’s first high priest, abandons all leadership responsibility and accountability before his brother Moses. Moses has been up on Mt. Sinai for 40 days – receiving, among other things, the Ten Commandments. … Read more »
Eugene Schieffelin meant well. All he wanted to do was honor his favorite playwright. The German-born immigrant – and Shakespeare obsessive – yearned to introduce to America all the birds mentioned in the Bard’s plays. At great personal expense, he imported hundreds of breeding pairs of non-native species and released them in New York City’s Central Park. No one was… Read more »
When I was 10 years old, the coach of my summer softball team spoke to me some of the most heartening words I have ever heard. “You have been chosen to be on the All-Star team. And the other coaches and I have been talking, and we want you to be the starting pitcher.” It just doesn’t get much better… Read more »
Journalist Arthur Lubow called it “an icon of modern art, a Mona Lisa for our time.” If The Scream is representative of the spirit of our age, then we live in a deeply unsettling period of history. The Norwegian artist Edvard Munch never concealed his insecurities. His mother died of tuberculosis when he was five. His favorite sister Sophie… Read more »
The average American may think that the “Big Game” is the Super Bowl, the seventh game of the World Series, or that magical hoops contest back in high school when he/she won the state championship with a three-pointer at the buzzer. But the game with the greatest stakes has always been the Honor Game – a dramatic public spectacle that’s… Read more »
“It’s all a big lie.” That’s how Wall Street icon Bernie Madoff broke the news on December 10, 2008, to his two sons that his world-renowned investment fund was actually a gigantic Ponzi scheme – the biggest financial fraud in American history. Tens of thousands of investors had entrusted Madoff with their treasure, many of them betting their life savings that… Read more »
It seemed like such a great idea. The creators of Happy Days, America’s top-rated TV show, decided to launch their fifth season by sending the fictional Cunningham family and their closest friends to Hollywood. What adventures might ensue? Arthur Fonzarelli (“the Fonz”), played by Henry Winkler, had originally been merely an eccentric background character. But after a few years he… Read more »
The origins of state nicknames are a bit of a mystery. As social historian Bill Bryson points out in Made in America: “No one can say for sure why Iowans are called Hawkeyes, why North Carolinians are Tarheels, why Kansans are Jayhawkers (there is no such bird), or why Indianans are Hoosiers.” From time to time Arkansas has been called… Read more »
