While Spielberg guaranteed that the world would remember Oskar Schindler, there were others who also saw the plight of the European Jews and went the extra mile to save as many as possible.  While TopTenz has already mentioned Raoul Wallenberg and Chiune Sugihara there were others who rose to the challenge, taking incredible risks and [...]

Some countries like Germany, Zimbabwe, Iraq, Iran just have a bad reputation.  There are, of course, others I won’t get into (I’m looking at you North Korea).  But other countries like Holland, Canada and most of Scandinavia are looked at as the good side of our small, orbiting pile of rock.  Yet these nations aren’t [...]

In the spirit of gender equality, I am following up my list of Top 10 (plus 1) Knights of the Middle Ages with the other side of the shilling.  Although you wouldn’t know it from all the goofy movies and TV shows out there, European women in the Middle Ages (500-1500) made wide-ranging contributions to [...]

Ancient codes, or sets of laws, have been written down since around 2000 BC.  Many of these laws were harsh and would be seen as barbaric compared to our current laws, but many of them were actually just as compassionate and fair, and sometimes moreso, than the laws we have now. 10.  Animal Rights The [...]

There is something about famous paintings that sends the human mind into a world of self-imagination.  Before cameras were invented, master painters were in high demand because self-portraits were the only way to capture a lasting image.  In modern times, it can be a lengthy process for a painting to be authenticated.  Luckily, modern techniques [...]

It’s always interesting to read about people that have made an impact on history.  A large collection of strange, inspirational and unique life stories exist.  For this article I have selected ten biographies that examine a wide range of topics and experiences.  I chose individuals that provide intriguing facts and unparalleled life experiences.  Some of [...]

When being knighted entailed higher taxes and the responsibility of supplying an armed man on horseback to the British Crown, it is understandable why an individual might refuse the privilege.  But even with the modern title being strictly honorary, 2% of the 3,000 people annually chosen by civil servant committees from public and governmental nominations [...]

The Middle Ages were truly not for the faint of heart.  Most people were peasants and dirt poor.  They lived short, brutal existences, and the peasants had few rights to speak of. And did we mention the torture?  I’m not talking about waterboarding here.  This stuff was brutal.  Some people got really creative in figuring [...]

In choosing ten comebacks as the greatest of all-time some standard was necessary such an auspicious list.  My criteria involved two elements and within each element a measurement was used.  The elements were the nature of the setback and the prominence of the comeback.  The measurement for each was simply the greatness of the span [...]

This list is specifically limited to the period between the beginning of the Spanish War of Succession and the end of the Second World War, and is restricted to generals who were born in the British Isles.  There are some controversial additions and the ranking is purely my own personal opinion. 10.  Henry Rawlinson – [...]