Many cultures recognize the work of a person that invented a great number of things. Europeans regularly invoke Leonardo da Vinci and his odd contraptions. Modern Americans look to the likes of Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison for their mesmerizing work with electricity and machinery.

The Chinese have Lu Ban. But unlike other cultures, Lu Ban’s craftsmanship and mastery was so great that they deified him and he became a folk god.

Lu Ban is an unique character because unlike other minor gods, Lu Ban was a real person. And unlike other real people, Lu Ban became a god.

Lu Ban the man

Americans are frequently taught about King George, the terrible crime of taxation without representation and liberty when learning about the American Revolution. It is easy to forget that beneath all of that, the British Empire was in part ruled by a traditional parliament that is not much different than the one that presides in England today. It was the British Parliament that voted to end the war in the America and forced the reluctant hand of the king to recognize American independence from the British Empire.

On this day in history, February 27th, 1782, the House of Commons voted in…

On August 15th, 1198, a papal bull went out to the Catholic church in Western Europe calling for yet another crusade. It had been a hundred years since Pope Urban II had called for the glorious uprising that took Jerusalem from the Muslims. In the intervening years, control of Jerusalem had once again been lost and two subsequent crusades had only limited success. Despite the failures of the most recent crusades, Pope Innocent III saw an opportunity.

Saladin, the powerful sultan of Egypt and Syria, had recently died leaving his newly founded dynasty open to attack. With the venerable man…

In the year 1212CE, against all authority in Europe, Stephen of Cloyes wandered the French countryside preaching to the common people. He claimed to have received a vision from Jesus Christ in which he was handed a letter beseeching him to gather together a crusade to retake the holy city of Jerusalem. He took his claims to the king and the church and was summarily rejected by both.

But Stephen of Cloyes did not falter in the rejection of the traditional authorities on crusades and instead continued to take his message directly to the people. …

On February 18th, 1930, Elsworth W. Bunce made history in a way that no one expected: he became the first person to milk a cow on an airplane. And the plane was airborne. It is fitting that the person to receive this historic honor was a native of Wisconsin, the Dairy State. Today, Bunce’s name is memorialized for this odd feat that took place in the skies over Missouri nearly a century ago.

Cows in flight

At the end of the year 1257CE, the Mongol Khan, Möngke, had drawn up plans to extract more control from the faltering Abbasid Caliphate. Möngke was intent on solidifying his empire’s expansion westward through Persia and Mesopotamia. However, the great city of Baghdad lay in the way. Initially, Möngke had no intention of toppling the Abbasid Empire as long as they continued to abide by past agreements.

In order to show that he was serious, Möngke sent his brother Hulagu, a fearsome warlord at the head of a massive army, to march towards the ancient city. The Mongols assumed that…

On February 11th, Japan celebrates National Foundation Day commemorating the creation of their nation. Many nations have days that celebrate important events, mark significant dates or celebrate independence but very few countries celebrate a foundation day. That is because, for the vast majority of humanity, nations come and go, land exchanges hands, people migrate and cultures shift.

The same cannot be said for Japan.

Japan has never been conquered. Many of its traditions, religious beliefs and history stretches back in an unbroken line into the mists of time. …

I want to preface this by saying I am not an astrophysicist to deter the inevitable comments that will try and disqualify my musings because I do not have a certain degree. I am not an astrophysicist, I am not pretending to be anything other than what I am. I am a writer with a degree in philosophy and a passion for thinking, wondering, questioning, and astronomy.

Sometime in the year 1950, after the end of the Second World War, physicist Enrico Fermi was visiting Los Alamos National Laboratory with colleagues. …