Orson Welles took to the airwaves in 1938 after he formed Mercury Theatre. Welles was asked if he thought that listeners would want to hear “The War of the World,” a novel written by H.G. Wells. Welles didn’t think that people would take to the story at first and even laughed at the thought of it being told on the radio. However, the story was changed so that it took place in New York and New Jersey instead of a field in England. Details in the story were also changed just enough so that it would fit in with the types of shows that listeners already enjoyed at the time.

Welles made the decision to direct the story for the radio and would narrate it as well. The story was told on Halloween and was told in two different settings. When listeners heard the first part of the story, they were treated to different songs, but there were news bulletins between the songs that captured the attention of those who were listening to the details. The updates started occurring close together and had an urgency behind them. Welles told listeners about an alien invasion and how everyone needed to prepare. During the second part of the story, listeners were told about someone who had survived the attack as officials started looking for any sign of life left after the attack took place. Welles ended the story by telling listeners that the aliens got sick because they couldn’t handle the germs on the planet.

There was information at the beginning of the broadcast that let listeners know that it was only a story, but for those who didn’t hear that statement, they thought that the world was being taken over by aliens. At the end of the broadcast, Welles did let listeners know that the story was a joke and that they would be alright.

A remarkable find

The Greek Ministry of Culture reported the carved head discovered last year likely dates from the late Fourth Century BC or the early Third Century BC. Many experts believe it depicts a mature version of the Greek god, Hermes. Ancient Athenian artists usually depicted him at a much younger age, wearing winged boots and a helmet.

In ancient Greek mythology, Hermes served as a messenger for the other gods living on Mount Olympus. He communicated information very rapidly across long distances. Perhaps for this reason, the ancient Greeks sometimes viewed him as a patron of travelers and merchants. His likeness carried strong associations with commerce. Some archaeologists surmise the statue discovered last year possibly formed part of signage posted outside a mercantile site.

A treasure trove for modern archaeologists

Finding important objects of art beneath the streets of the City of Athens does not surprise archaeologists. During its long history, this urban metropolis has proven an important location for recovering artifacts produced long ago. Archaeologists have discovered statuary, urns, vases, graves, and tools from excavations in the densely populated capital of Greece.

Mayor Kostas Bakoyannis happily revealed the discovery of the Hermes statue in a social media posting last year. By law, the Greek Ministry of Culture assumes possession of ancient artifacts found in Greece. The agency usually displays the most important finds in national museums. These discoveries help shed light on life in Greek cities centuries ago.

Archaeology in contemporary Athens

Officials from the Greek Ministry of Culture have not revealed extensive information about the most recent discovery; they apparently anticipate studying the piece to ascertain more information about it. However, archaeologist Elsi Spathari did indicate to Deutsche Welle, a German news agency, the chance discovery of the carved head of Hermes likely represents one of the most important items of art discovered in Athens during recent years.

One issue of concern to archaeologists hoping to conduct excavations in Athens relates to the densely packed nature of the city’s modern urban infrastructure. Today, paved streets and towering buildings sometimes stand atop potential archaeological sites. For example, researchers reportedly recovered some significant artifacts at the turn of the current century, when Athens constructed a municipal subway system. The project required extensive digging, and resulted in the discovery of numerous artifacts.

The challenge of preserving antiquities in Greece

The recent discovery of a stone head of the Ancient Greek god Hermes also highlights a potential problem encountered by experts seeking to retrieve lost antiquities in the modern era. The need to fully investigate sites containing artifacts sometimes inconveniences impacted businesses. Property owners and project managers may encounter extensive delays (and thus, unforeseen expenses) as a result of the discovery of antiquities beneath their real estate.

Fortunately, the sculpture of the head found last year apparently lay within infrastructure belonging to Athens. Yet anecdotal reports circulate of work crews sometimes seeking to conceal the accidental discovery of historical artifacts in Athens when an archaeological dig might delay a pressing building project. These tensions highlight potential conflicts between the interest of the public in learning more about the rich cultural heritage of ancient Athens and the desire of contractors to complete important modern projects on time.

Leaders of Christendom

The conflicts between Rome and Constantinople were often based on the important question of what qualities were necessary to be possessed by the leaders of Christendom. This was a time when it was common to use something similar to the medieval method for impeachment. There existed a church synod in Rome. It was designed to make it possible for any person holding the highest office in Christendom to be put on trial for any type of violations of the customs or traditions of their office. A very well-known synod occurred during January 897. The synod heard charges against a former pontiff. His name was Formosus, and he was pope from 891 to 896.

Dead

The main challenge for the synod was that by the time the trial of Formosus had started, he’d been dead for months. At this time, there was a new pope named Stephen VI. He had a strong opinion that even if a leader had left their office, they should still face punishment for all of their transgressions.

Corpse on trial

At the request of the new pope, the synod went ahead with the trial under some rather ghoulish circumstances. Pope Stephen VI demanded the corpse of Formosus be taken out of its sarcophagus and moved to the Basilica of St. John Lateran in Rome. There it would be put on trial. During the trial, the corpse was seated on a throne and covered with papal vestments. It was alleged that Formosus had intentionally broken the rules of the church. A deacon stood near the corpse and provided answers to questions asked of Formosus. The new pope charged the corpse with breaking an oath to not return to Rome. It was also charged with having illegally obtained the title of pope. The reason was the corpse was only a bishop when it was made pope and popes needed to have obtained the rank of cardinal.

Alleged crimes

Other alleged crimes committed by Formosus took place several years before the trial. Formosus was excommunicated in July 876 for being involved with European power politics. This meant he was prohibited from celebrating mass given by Pope John VIII. The excommunication sentence was removed by Marinus I in 878. Formosus was then able to go back to his job as bishop of Porto.

Insurrection

Formosus convinced Arnulf of Carinthia to advance to Rome. It was done to remove the reigning emperor. This resulted in Formosus being charged with insurrection. In 896, Arnulf seized Rome by force. Before Arnulf could move against other opposition, he was struck with paralysis. He was then unable to continue with his campaign. During the Middle Ages, paralysis was considered divine punishment.

New popes

During this time, new popes were put in charge of the church at an alarming rate. Between 896 and 904 there were several new popes. Pope Boniface VI was the successor to Formosus. He died two weeks after being made pope. Stephen VI was then given the papal throne. Initially, he was a supporter of Formosus, but Stephen VI decided to align himself with the most powerful family in Rome who did not like Formosus.

At the conclusion of the trial, Stephen VI declared that Formosus was guilty. He stated Formosus was not able to legally become pope since he was a bishop at the time he was awarded the papal throne. He also declared Formosus had ignored his oath of not celebrating mass. After being declared guilty, all the decisions, measures, and acts of Formosus as pope were annulled. All priestly orders given by him were made invalid. The papal vestments on his dead body were torn away. The three fingers used by the dead pope for consecrations were removed from his body. The corpse of Formosus was then buried in a cemetery for strangers. A few days later, the body was dug up and then thrown into the river Tiber.

Looking into the text at the time it appears that the reports that the ship was unsinkable were largely exaggerated in modern-day. After the ship sank it is more likely that many felt it was just a good way to sell papers to claim that it was believed to be unsinkable. There have been a number of reports though. For example, one person who was a VP at the company that owned the titanic said that when he heard the reports of the sinking ship, he didn’t believe them. In his mind, the ship could not sink.

However today it is largely presented as if the ship was promoted as the unsinkable ship, which was just not true. The ship’s main selling point was luxury. The ship was incredibly large and had all the trimmings of an incredible ballroom and more. It was a playground for the rich and famous with some of the most notable on the ship being the Us business tycoon Benjamen Guggenheim, British journalist, William Stead and Isidor Straus the owner of the Macy’s department store at the time.  Before they set sail, most did not really consider the safety features, much like we all ignore the safety checks on planes today.

The titanic was an incredible ship though and it had the latest and greatest innovations in ship safety at the time. The ship had 16 chambers and the plan was that if any chamber took on water, it could be closed immediately before it spread to the other chambers and sank the boat. Of course, this is not what took place and on April 14th, 1912 the ship sank. Sadly, the ship could likely stay afloat if four of its 16 compartments filled with water, reports indicated that five of the chambers filled with water. 

Worse still some reports after the event indicated that low quality steel and weak rivets may have been used in the construction of the titanic. This may have meant the despite a solid design the ship could not withstand the damage that would be caused. At the end over 1,500 people died that were on the ship. The majority that died were crew (700) while the third class inhabitants also took a majority share with only 174 of the 700 passengers surviving from that class. 

Today the ship is still at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. It has split into two parts, the bow, and the stern. The bow is the largest part and can be found at 41°43′57′′ N 49°56′49′′ W, if you are ever in the area.  Many people do not know but the ship’s final stop before it had its wreck was in Cobh, Ireland. 

The evidence does appear to suggest that most people did not know of the ship as unsinkable at all. While the new safety features were well reported and many thought of them as far superior to any ship at the time, few thought it was unsinkable. The ship was so heavy that the new features were mostly to calm down any concerns that people would have had at the time. It appears that it has simply earned this reputation after the fact. Because after all, nothing beats a good story.

Philipp Siebenkes and the 19th Century Iron Maidens
The late 18th century was a time of change in Europe. The age of enlightenment was giving way to the era of the romantics. The industrial revolution was changing the landscape of 19th-century Europe. In the late 18th century, the German philosopher, Philipp Siebenkes described a medieval torture device using nails in a box.

No evidence of medieval iron maidens was available when Philipp Siebenkes wrote his account of the death of a criminal. Siebenkes account of the torture and death of a forger dated the iron maidens use to 1515. The iron maiden of Nuremberg became an object of curiosity in the German city. The iron maiden of Nuremberg remained in the city until the Allied bombing of World War II.

The First Accounts of an Iron Maiden
Philipp Siebenkes popularized the modern interpretation of the iron maiden. The first known reports of an iron maiden type of torture device include a book about Christianity. “The City of God” of the 5th Century A.D. includes a report about the death of a Roman General. General Marcus Atilius Regulus was imprisoned standing up in a box filled with nails. The general died of sleep deprivation when he was unable to move for several days. The slightest movement led to painful stabs from the iron maiden’s nails.

The Spartan Iron Maiden
The next known account of an iron maiden takes the tale and gives it a diabolical twist. Polybius, a Greek philosopher recorded the story of the Spartan tyrant, Nabis. The tyrant rule Sparta in 100 B.C. and would use a primitive iron maiden to punish those who failed to pay their taxes.

Those who failed to pay Nabis’ rising taxes hugged Nabis’ metal wife. The wife’s statue included hidden nails. Nabis used Springs to press nails into the skin of the citizen on Nabis’ command.

The Brazen Bull
A diabolical twist on the iron maiden legend dates back to the rule of the Akragas King Phalaris. The King of modern-day Sicily was known for his temper and painful torture techniques. The Italian sculptor, Perilous presented Phalaris with a metal bull sculpture.

For reasons known only to the people of the time, the brazen bull was created with metal pipes inside and space for a human. Those displeased Phalaris would be placed in the cavity within the bull, with boiling water pushed into the pipes. The scalding metal would burn the imprisoned person each time they moved. The overthrow of Phalarus saw the deposed king imprisoned in his own brazen bull torture device until he died.

The Rise of the Iron Maiden
There are no known reports of the iron maiden being used in medieval Europe. The device appeared after the first account by Philipp Siebenkes was published. Historians believe the account by Siebenkes was the catalyst for the creation of the 19th-century iron maiden.

The truth behind medieval torture techniques is that they were banal and easy to complete. The most commonly used torture in medieval Europe was binding people and hanging them. Medieval torture was usually completed to obtain the truth from the individual. The sadistic tyrants of the early civilizations and the medieval period were works of fiction written by philosophers.

Despite the iron maiden being an elaborate work of fiction, the myth of ancient torture techniques persists. An exhibition of medieval torture devices in San Diego included an iron maiden. The exhibition set attendance records for the museum.

Lamborghini Made Tractors

In the 1940s, Ferruccio Lamborghini created a business that sold tractors and other farm vehicles. Those tractors were great because their success allowed Lamborghini to experiment with different interests, such as building a luxury sports car to beat the Ferrari.

LEGOS Made Wooden Toys

The founder of LEGOs, Ole Kirk Kristiansen, started by making wooden toys out of scraps during Denmark’s economic recession in the 1930s. Some of his favorite designs were cars, trains, other vehicles, and a wood duck that quacked.
By the 1940s, Kristiansen became interested in plastic toys. At first, these toys weren’t trendy. Eventually, he developed the unique plastic interlocking building bricks that became so popular around the world.

Sony’s Rice Cookers

Before Sony developed the Walkman and other types of technology, Masuru Ibuka created cooking supplies such as its rice cooker. After World War II, Sony’s founder Ibuka began creating wooden rice cookers for people with no appliances in their homes. But the rice cooker wasn’t a good product, so the Japanese producer decided to go in another direction. Now Sony is one of the biggest producers of electronics in the world.

IKEA and its Watches

Ingvar Kamprad began his life as an entrepreneur. He started by buying a lot of watches in Stockholm and reselling them for financial profit at the age of five. By the time he was 17, Kamprad had sold jewelry, pens, watches, and other items by mail order in 1943. By 1951, he used the first IKEA catalog to expand his business. Eventually, Kamprad and IKEA became one of the most significant furniture sellers in the world.

Samsung Trading Company

Before Samsung specialized in phones and related items, the company exported noodles from Daegu, South Korea. The originator of the company, Lee Byung-Chul, started a trucking company that exported products like noodles to China.

After the Korean War, the company began to make textiles. The company became so successful that it created subsidiaries in heavy industries, shipbuilding, and the Samsung Precision Company. By 1969, Samsung began to produce TVs, then segued into making home electronics.

Nestle’s was a Pharmacist

Henri Nestle created the Nestle’s company in 1876. The company initially produces baby food formulas, starting with flour with milk. The recipe was popular amongst mothers because it remained easy for babies to digest. It was especially useful for sick or premature babies.

Some of the additional products that Nestle’s eventually developed and marketed include:

· Kit Kats.
· Breakfast Cereal.
· Coffee.
· Ice Cream.
· Smarties candy
· As well as other snack products.

Dupont Made Gun Powder

During the American Civil War, the Dupont company originally made gun powder. The company began in 1802 and made a variety of explosives. Almost half vo the gun powder that the Union Army used during the Civil War came from DuPont. In modern times, Dupont has merged with Dow Chemicals to provide its customers with pharmaceuticals and other chemicals.

The cave in Bethlehem wasn’t the only cave receiving historical and religious significance in the Bible. Just outside of Jerusalem, in a cave on the Mount of Olives, found itself the focus of Christian recognizance in the Acts of John. Calvary, the site of Jesus Christ’s crucifixion, was first located during the fourth century. Scholars during that time believed that Calvary was located inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. However, modern scholars believe that Calvary, also known as Golgotha, is located outside of the city of Jerusalem. Jesus Christ’s burial tomb outside of Jerusalem was identified around the second century. This tomb is allegedly where Jesus was buried and resurrected.

Eusebius, a Roman historian from the fourth century argued that Hadrian constructed a Roman temple over Jesus’ tomb to oppose Christianity. Eusebius came to this conclusion because Hadrian had built a temple right by a Jewish temple in Jerusalem, as well as a building a temple near a Samaritan shrine on Mount Gerizim.

The fourth century appears to be a popular time to identify important Christian holy sites. During this time, scholars identified Gethesemane, the site where Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus, in addition to identifying Tabgha, the site of the Sermon on the Mount by the Sea of Galilee. Just outside of Bethlehem, scholars located Shepherds’ Fields, where angels announced the birth of Jesus. They also located the site of Eleona, the olive grove church on the Mount of Olives, where Jesus Christ ascended to Heaven.

During the fourth century, two places in Nazareth were discovered as well. One was the site of the Annunciation, where Jesus’ mother Mary met and conversed with the angel Gabriel. The other site was Jesus’ childhood home, where he learned the trade of carpentry from his father Joseph.

In Life of Constantine, the historian Eusebius wrote of three large churches that were built in the fourth century on holy sites mentioned in the Gospels. These churches were the previously mentioned, Eleona, The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and the Church of the Nativity. These churches were all built over pre-existing caves in their respective locations.

While on the topic of caves, there is some evidence to suggest that early Christians may have followed a trail around the caves to travel to them in sequential order as they occurred in the Gospels. While there is no definitive proof of this, it’s definitely a viable theory. Just like people in our modern day and age make pilgrimages to holy sites for their respective faith, their earlier counterparts are no different.

Even though rigorous and extensive archaeological and historical finds typically weren’t made until the 19th century, it appears that early fourth century writers and historians connected the dots as far as holy site locales go. Many sites and cities sacred to the Christian faith are also important and meaningful to the Zoroastrians, Jews, and Muslims. Despite all of the conflict over the millennia or so in that region, the sites have remained vital locations of importance to many practitioners.

The executioner will raise a club as if in readiness to strike, and the victim must brace himself for death. But what follows is a terrifying experience few people want to know about. Although elephants indeed have a reputation for being gentle enough to let everyone ride them without causing them harm, they are also very intelligent creatures. And although they are known to have a certain moral code they follow (for example, they will not harm humans who have surrendered), this does not mean that their instincts do not rise when they are in an agitated state of mind (the state in which they are during execution). It is crucial to never take advantage of their nature and try to ride them. If the prisoner is too feeble or sedated, he will not make a sound when the elephant rises. And if the elephant starts moving in an agitated state that causes it to lose its balance, it will certainly be crushed under its weight. When this happens, no one can rescue the executioner, who will now be lying on top of the fallen man. Furthermore, if the elephant loses its balance while lifting the executioner, its feet will hit him on his head and cause several painful injuries.

Earlier, the elephant had to be more aggressive to successfully execute a prisoner. They would have dragged the victim around and then used their trunks to crush his or her body. This was considered more effective than pressing him against a hard surface because it generated less noise. The animal was trained through punishment and reward to accomplish its task without distractions by onlookers. It is said that this gory spectacle took place in India until 1920 and in Thailand until 1924, but only for people convicted of serious crimes such as treason (for example, an attempt on the king’s life).

Today, elephants are used in Singapore and Yemen to execute criminals. In Singapore, they use the Asian Rhino, which looks very similar to the elephant. This species is much more peaceful than the African Rhino and will only attack if it feels threatened or mistreated by humans. They have stricter laws that prevent anyone from riding them during execution (either as a publicity stunt or as punishment) unless they are already blindfolded, and their hands are bound before being lifted up. This law was introduced in 1993 under pressure from foreign animal rights organizations concerned about human safety during this gruesome aspect of capital punishment.

In some countries, the prisoner is simply killed by lethal injection, so there will be no messy mess following the execution. But in Yemen, they use the Mazaq (or Mazaqah), a large type of monkey with a thin, powerful build. It has almost the same physical ability and strength as an elephant. These animals are known to be extremely aggressive towards humans, so no one wants to take any chances when using them for execution. They will attack and then be killed by other family members should it become necessary. This situation happened in 2014 when after executing 14 prisoners in a single day, five ended up being killed by their family members.

There are many documented accounts of people who lived this lifestyle. It wasn’t until the early 1800’s that this line of work became frowned upon by lawmakers as a public menace, which eventually caused the occupation to disappear into history. The profession of being a Knocker-Upper was seen as a lucrative occupation, and many people chose to have this be their sole source of income for decades. Back when the profession was most prominent, the basic way to wake someone up and demand payment would be to knock loudly or up on their door in order to get their attention and then request payment from them. If the person didn’t pay, they would often use physical force in order to wake them up by hitting them with sticks or using loud noises that could be heard all over the neighborhood. Not only did this cause widespread annoyance, but it also encouraged violence and crime.

There were two different ways of being a Knocker-Upper, depending on your gender. If you were female and wanted to become a Knocker-Up, in Victorian England, it was very common for them to dress up as men to do their work. While this is not entirely common nowadays, many female Knockers-Uppers still work during this time. If you were a male Knocker-Up, then there was not an option for you to dress up as a female, and in most cases, if you were caught by the police dressed as a woman, the punishment would be much harsher than if you were caught dressing like a man.

Many different people were able to become Knockers-Ups and not just men. Women also took on this occupation because they could apply their gender to provide a disguise when they were working. Women dressed up as men simply because the Victorian era’s gender roles were incredibly strict and discouraged women from doing any activities that would be seen as masculine. One of the main reasons why women would choose this profession is because they already have a good understanding of making traditional food like soups, desserts, pickles, and jams, which could be used to earn extra money from their clients without risking their reputation at home.

In order to become a Knocker-Upper, you had to first be sponsored by another Knockers-Upper who was already established in the community, which ensured that the person who was being sponsored would not be cheated by their employer. If someone wanted to become a Knocker-Upper, they needed two forms of identification, and then they were able to begin their career; one form of identification was a personal letter of recommendation, and the second was an advertisement, which was also expected to be signed by a Knockers-Upper who had been working for more than ten years. There were many different types of Knockers-Uppers that could be seen in the Victorian era. Some were just regular people who had nothing better to do and did this for the sake of money. Others were criminals who would use their low-level occupation as a cover-up to commit murder or other serious crimes. The most common groups of Knockers-Uppers, who would be seen throughout London at that period, were peddlers, street vendors, and costermongers.

During the Victorian era, in London, it was a popular practice to have Knocker-Uppers at work. Many people hired these people to help them wake up on time or even get someone to wake them up if they were late for an appointment. These people would receive the main form of payment for their job: beer, money, or tips. Many had a consistent job that allowed them to make a living off of their occupation and had no desire to pursue any other career opportunity aside from this one. Still, there were also many that did not have other employment options and turned to a Knocker-Upper as their only source of livelihood.