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For all the means of communication and exchange we’ve established between the cultures of the world, no matter how distant they may be from one another, we still have no truly universal single human language. The reason could date back to antiquity, when we first attempted a grand collective project: that of building a tower […]
2 days ago

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More from Open Culture

The Only Illustrated Manuscript of Homer’s Iliad from Antiquity

Despite its status as one of the most widely known and studied epic poems of all time, Homer’s Iliad has proven surprisingly resistant to adaptation. However much inspiration it has provided to modern-day novelists working in a variety of different traditions, it’s translated somewhat less powerfully to visual media. Perhaps people still watch Wolfgang Petersen’s […]

16 hours ago 1 votes
The Great Gatsby: A Free Audio Book

April 10th will mark the 100th anniversary of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic American novel, The Great Gatsby. As A.O. Scott notes in a recent tribute, when first published, The Great Gatsby got off to a slow start. Initially, “Reviewers shrugged. Sales were sluggish. The novel and its author slid toward obscurity.” It wasn’t until the […]

17 hours ago 1 votes
A Rare Smile Captured in a 19th Century Photograph

Just look at this photo. Just look at this young girl’s smile. We know her name: O‑o-dee. And we know that she was a member of the Kiowa tribe in the Oklahoma Territory. And we know that the photo was taken in 1894. But that smile is like a time machine. O‑o-dee might just as […]

2 days ago 3 votes
This Is What a Nuclear Strike Would Feel Like: The New York Times Creates a Precise Simulation

Though certain generations may have grown up trained to take cover under their classroom desks in the case of a nuclear showdown between the United States and the Soviet Union, few of us today can believe that we’d stand much chance if we found ourselves anywhere near a detonated missile. Still, the probable effects of […]

5 days ago 7 votes

More in history

The Assassination of Rev Dr Martin Luther King Jr

Civil rights icon Rev Dr Martin Luther King Jr was shot and killed on April 4, 1968, on a motel balcony in Memphis. One of the earliest successes of the civil rights movement was a boycott in Montgomery, Alabama.  In 1955, after Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her bus seat to … Continue reading The Assassination of Rev Dr Martin Luther King Jr →

11 hours ago 3 votes
The Only Illustrated Manuscript of Homer’s Iliad from Antiquity

Despite its status as one of the most widely known and studied epic poems of all time, Homer’s Iliad has proven surprisingly resistant to adaptation. However much inspiration it has provided to modern-day novelists working in a variety of different traditions, it’s translated somewhat less powerfully to visual media. Perhaps people still watch Wolfgang Petersen’s […]

16 hours ago 1 votes
Wool Aliens of the British Empire

Wool Aliens of the British Empire JamesHoare Tue, 04/01/2025 - 09:07

16 hours ago 1 votes
How Extra Virgin Olive Oil Got its Name

The Ancient History in Your Kitchen

12 hours ago 1 votes
The Life of Flowers In Vintage Found Photographs

Flowers speak a language we understand. They tell us of time and its passing. They speak of life and death, enduring, waiting and survival. They speak of hope and renewal. “To be a flower,” Emily Dickinson wrote in Bloom, a poem, “is profound Responsibility”. We’re thinking of flowers as we look at this album  from … Continue reading "The Life of Flowers In Vintage Found Photographs" The post The Life of Flowers In Vintage Found Photographs appeared first on Flashbak.

13 hours ago 1 votes