Asia
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The Tanganyika Laughter Epidemic
Sometimes laughter isn’t the best medicine. We’ve all been there- laughing until our sides hurt. Thinking if we laughed anymore we might never stop. Now imagine a laughing epidemic. The laughter epidemic is rumored to have begun on January 30, 1962, at a mission-run boarding school for girls in Kashasha, on the western coast of Lake Victoria in the modern nation of Tanzania near the border of Uganda. The laughter started with three girls and spread throughout the school, affecting 95 of the 159 pupils, aged 12–18. Symptoms lasted from a few hours to 16 days in those affected. The teaching staff were not affected, but reported that students were…
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The Queen of Sheba
The Queen of Sheba’s visit to Solomon is one of the most famous diplomatic visits in the Bible, but we know very little about this powerful monarch. Her visit appears in religious texts sacred to Jews, Christians and Muslims, however, her name was never mentioned. We are not exactly sure where “Sheba” even is. She is described as a “Queen from the South”, who came to visit King Solomon to test his great wisdom. She brings with her a treasure trove of frankincense, myrrh, gold and jewels as well as a head full of riddles. He answers them to her satisfaction and converts her to worship Yahweh. Then she returns…
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The Great Emu War
Yes, I am actually referring to the bird. Following World War I, large numbers of ex-soldiers from Australia and Britian took up farming within Western Australia. With the onset of the Great Depression in 1929, these farmers were encouraged to increase their wheat crops, with the government promising but failing to provide assistance in the form of subsidies. Wheat prices continued to fall, and by October 1932 matters were becoming intense. The farmers prepared to harvest the season’s crop while simultaneously threatening to refuse to load the wheat. The difficulties facing farmers was increased by the arrival of as many as 20,000 emus. Emus regularly migrate after their breeding season,…
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The Vanishing Persian Army of Cambyses
When your dad is Cyrus the Great, you have a lot to live up to. He began the Achaemenid Empire and reigned over the territory from Asia Minor to India. Unfortunately, Cyrus met his match in a warrior queen named Tomyris and went to his long home. (More on her in this post: http://www.historynaked.com/tomyris-the-woman-who-brought-down-cyrus-the-great/ ) This left his son Cambyses in charge. There had been a bit of trouble when he was overseeing things for his father in Babylon. No one is quite sure, but the Chronicle of Nabonidus indicates there was an issue during the very important New Year’s Akitu festival. Possibly with Cambyses being armed during the ceremony,…
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The Harem Conspiracy
The royal court is never an easy place. Its full of intrigue and deception and absolute power corrupts absolutely. This is true today as it was in ancient times. In Egypt, no one was more powerful than the Pharaoh. However, in the Twentieth Dynasty, Pharaoh Ramses III was getting old. He had ruled Egypt for a little over thirty years, and people were getting antsy. Since he wasn’t vacating the throne on his own power, perhaps it was time to help him along. Ramses had many wives like most pharaohs, however, unlike most pharaohs he did not name a Great Royal Wife. This left the harem open to scheming and…
