Random Learnings #50
Sovetsk, Russia is part of the Kalingrad enclave, physically separated from mainland Russia. It's even further separated from mainland Russia as planes can no longer fly over the Baltics but…
From Here I Can See Russia!
Sarah Palin is often misquoted as saying I can see Russia from my house! - thank you, Tina Fey - but I can say I saw Russia from my rental…
Random Learnings #49
Dexter Gordon's Wikipedia page mentioned that he was unable to perform in New York City bars or dancehalls - essentially any place that served alcohol, more importantly the places that…
Random Learnings #48
During Game 2 of the NLCS, the announcers remarked how the New York Mets' team colors were chosen to represent the Brooklyn Dodgers (blue) and New York Giants (orange), teams…
Random Learnings #47
Czechoslovakia first came into existence at the conclusion of World War I and the collapse of the Austria-Hungarian Empire. The new country immediately needed to create a working government, establish…
Random Learnings #46
"A Peasant Leaving His Landlord on Yuriev Day" by Sergei V. Ivanov I thought that Russian serfs were essentially slaves - a belief supported by many English-language references - but…
Nuclear Power Isn’t The Answer
The Brittanica Book of the Year 1972 included a special report Nuclear Power - Promise or Peril? (a oft-used title, if my. web search is any indication) which discussed -…
Random Learnings #45
"United Nations" by japedi is licensed under CC BY 2.0. I knew that China joined the United Nations at Taiwan's expense - China also getting the permanent seat on the…
Random Learnings #44
I picked up a May 1917 National Geographic magazine ( Volume XXXI, Number 5) for its the World War I reporting, and while the articles were interesting I became sidetracked…
Random Learnings #43
Lebensraum is often attributed to Hitler and the Nazis as a component of Germany's imperial and racist visions towards the east, and contributed to the Holocaust as killing the Jews…