Great Love Affairs That Changed the Course of History, Part Two

In 1894, Marie met Pierre Curie, a noted French physicist and chemist eight years her senior and Professor at the School of Physics at the Sorbonne. Immediately bonding over their mutual interest in physical magnetism and their fondness for cycling, they began what many historians describe as “an extraordinary partnership and love affair that would earn them international renown and influence generations of scientists.”  Marrying a year later in Sceaux, France, they invested the money they received as wedding gifts to buy new bicycles, and were often seen taking long, romantic rides together through the French countryside.  Read more . . .

Snake Handling: Seeking God Amongst the Serpents

Snake handling (or serpent handling), is a religious ritual practiced today in a small number of Pentecostal churches of the US (predominantly but not limited to Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Ohio) and a few areas of Canada, that first became popularized in the early 20th century in remote areas of the Appalachian Mountain region, which then spread to regional coal mining towns.  (Practitioners, or self-described “sign-followers,” prefer the term “serpent-handling” to “snake-handling” noting that they incorporate poisonous reptiles, not common snakes, into religious worship.)  Though snake handling plays only a small part in the religious services of such churches, the fact that followers routinely handle rattlesnakes, copperheads, water moccasins and other highly venomous snakes, has come to define them and their religion. And while always controversial, and in many areas illegal, the practice of snake handling shows no signs of disappearing from the traditional Appalachian landscape.  Read more . . .

Abandoned Towns and Cities of the United States

If you stray from the beaten path while traversing America, you’ll undoubtedly come across one of the country’s thousands of abandoned towns and cities, what many call “ghost towns,” hidden within the forgotten fabric of the land.  An especially prominent feature of the American West, abandoned towns constitute forsaken ideas and ideals, misguided ventures and adventures, untold natural disasters, and the end result of changing times and shifting timelines.  Indeed, these ghostly remains of what once was serve as stark reminders of the physical realities of our not-to-distant past, while directing us to consider the future.  Read more . . .

The Peace Corps

The Peace Corps is an American volunteer program run by the United States Government, as well as a government agency of the same name.  Established by President Kennedy on March 1, 1961, and authorized by Congress on September 22, 1961 with passage of the Peace Corps Act, the mission of the Peace Corps is three-fold: to provide technical assistance, help people outside the United States to understand US culture, and help Americans understand the cultures of other countries.  Generally, the work is related to social and economic development.  Read more . . .

Timothy Leary: Turn On . . . Tune In . . . Drop Out . . .

Timothy Francis Leary (October 22, 1920 – May 31, 1996), born in Springfield, Massachusetts, was a highly influential American psychologist and writer considered one of the most prominent figures of the 1960s counterculture, and once described by President Richard Nixon as "the most dangerous man in America.”   A hugely controversial figure during the 1960s and 1970s, Leary opening endorsed the use of LSD for its therapeutic, emotional, and spiritual benefits, and believed it showed incredible potential in the field of psychiatry.  While mainstream America–which was already reeling from the cultural impact of the Hippie movement–had assumed Leary’s views were a radical departure from the general scientific community, most were unaware that there had been ongoing experimentation with LSD for at least a decade, most visibly involving veteran actor Cary Grant who’d taken LSD more than fifty times under clinical supervision.  Read more . . .

Witch Hunts in America: America's Time of Darkness

As most everyone knows today, during the three centuries of witch hunts in Salem and in many other parts of the American colonies, hundreds of innocent men, women, and even children, were put to death.  According to official documents available to the public, once the accusation of "witch" was made, a process began during which the accused was confined and tortured, and it was only a matter of time before they were ultimately strangled, drown, or burned to death.  Once branded a "witch," tests were administered to prove guilt and allow the accused the opportunity to confess.  Among these tests were swimming, strappado, thumbscrews, the boot, and the Black Virgin.  These methods represent by far the more humane tactics used to extract confession, the more severe involving the tearing off of women's breasts, penetration of women's anal cavities, and spreading of the vagina using metal torture devices designed especially for this purpose.  Read more . . .

Eastern State Hospital: America’s First Insane Asylum

Founded in 1773, Eastern State Hospital, located in Williamsburg, Virginia, was the first officially recognized institution constructed solely for the care and treatment of the mentally ill in the United States.  Initially intended only to treat and discharge the “curable” mentally ill and confine those deemed a threat to themselves and others, this public hospital was not designed with the chronic and harmless mentally ill in mind.  At this time in American history, treatment for psychiatric disorders consisted primarily of restraint and application of various types of discomfort and pain, as most social scientists of the era believed the irrational behavior exhibited by the mentally ill was a conscious choice they could be dissuaded from repeating.  Read more . . .

The Gullah Language

Gullah is a language spoken by the African American population living on the sea islands and coastal region of the US states of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and northeast Florida, and those commonly known as the Gullah people. The Gullah language is what linguists call an English-based creole language, which develop in the context of trade, colonialism, and slavery when people of diverse backgrounds are forced together and must devise a common means of communication.  In the case of Gullah, the vocabulary is largely English in origin, but the African languages have altered the pronunciation of almost all the English words.  Linguists today view Gullah and other creoles as complete and independent languages with their own systematic grammatical structures.  Read more . . .

Ritual Music: Most Popular Rites of Passage Songs in the US

A Rite of Passage is a ritual event that marks a person’s progress from one social status to another.  It is a universal phenomenon which shows what social hierarchies, values, and beliefs are important to a specific culture.  Such ceremonies include those surrounding birth (christening), puberty, coming of age, marriage, and death.  Initiation ceremonies such as baptism, Confirmation, and bar or bat Mitzvah are also considered important rites of passage for people of their respective religions.  Traditionally, there is specific music played or performed that adds to the air of the ceremony--some of which is ceremonial in and of itself.  The following are the most popular songs played during these respective ceremonies in the United States.  Read more . . .

Apples: What Can Eating One a Day Actually Do?

According to the FDA, despite what the old adage ‘an apple a day’ may suggest, while apples do provide 8mg of vitamin C (compared to 45mg in a common orange), they really aren’t very rich in either vitamins or minerals.  But does that mean that apples do little for the body?  Au contraire. The skin of an apple provides ample amounts of beta carotene, and the pulp adds a healthy dose of potassium and iron.  Additionally, apples have virtually no saturated fat, cholesterol, or sodium.  But most importantly, apples benefit us in a way that until recently was only marginally appreciated by the health care profession: as a source of fiber.  Read more . . .

Why Older Women Make Better Lovers: Insight for Younger and Older Men Alike

As we are all aware, we live in a world culture that consistently equates youth with beauty and sexuality.  Most ad campaigns in the US and throughout much of the world depict the ideal woman as having a young, "perfect" body–lacking wrinkles, an extra once of fat, or naturally occurring breasts or rear-end.  Over the past century, this youthful image has come to represent our cultural ideals concerning what we deem sexy and sexually arousing.  Thus, as women age, they are targeted to feel less sexually attractive with less to offer in bed.  But does this youth-oriented equation reflect the reality of older woman–their bodies, their needs, or how effective they are as lovers?  Not by a long shot.  In fact, as any experienced man can tell you, older women do indeed make the best lovers.  Read more . . .