Romeo and Juliet, Lancelot and Guinevere, Tony and Maria — all of these fictional lovers sacrifice their lives (sometimes literally) for a romantic passion that overwhelms them. The trope is popular, but it is not always realistic. These real life lovers made great personal sacrifices for love. Sacrifices they later profoundly regretted. 10. Frank Sinatra…
Author: Jill Summerville
The 1973 children’s educational program Schoolhouse Rock! featured cartoons and catchy songs explaining the fundamentals of math, grammar, and the functions of the United States government. The song for the cartoon about the US Electoral College contains the lyric, “Everyone who graduates becomes the president.” Thus far, most presidential candidates who have won the Electoral College…
Whether or not someone’s name is in a history book varies depending upon who is writing the history. All of the people on the list below championed civil rights in the United States. Not all of them are as well known as the people who were mentioned in the sidebars of our social studies textbooks,…
During his 1492 journey to find what he believed would be a more expedient sea route to the Indies, the Genovese sailor Christopher Columbus kept a journal meant to serve as a record for the financiers of his voyage, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain. He writes that he made port on “the most…
Often, what constitutes deplorable behavior is determined by the sociocultural and sociopolitical norms of a particular time period. All of the people on this list were publicly condemned in their own time for offenses that most people would consider forgivable within the societal value systems of contemporary Western culture. But in their time, they suffered…
According to Jean Kim, M.D.’s 2017 article in Psychology Today, “Why Do People Follow Tyrants?”, an effective tyrant recognizes and responds to certain fundamental human desires. The tyrant’s strength and authority may allow him or her to present himself or herself as a parental figure, caring for an entire nation. Sometimes the nation’s parental figure…
Maps reveal the world around us. They also reveal how we see that world and how our interpretation of what we see changes over time. The art of cartography is shaped by the limits of particular landmasses. It is also shaped by the limits of human knowledge, and the limitlessness of human ambition. Below is…
The bioethics of medicine changes over time. A contemporary doctor would not treat people without their consent, for example. However, that medical practice was common in Europe and America as late as the 19th century, at least for part of the population. Slaves were treated without their consent, since a slave owner’s consent was considered…
19th century English playwright Douglas Jerrold cheekily said, “The best thing I know between France and England is—the sea.” The two countries share access to the English Channel. They have however, contested almost everything else, from land rights to linguistic primacy. Below is a list of reasons for the continuing cultural rivalry between England and…
As of 2019, the British foreign intelligence agency, MI6, is seeking new hires. The name MI6 originated during World War II, when foreign intelligence was the sixth division of British military intelligence. Agent Alex Younger says that the most important qualities for a job candidate to possess are empathy and intelligence. Of course, MI6’s most famous fictitious…
The current incarnation of America’s Central Intelligence Agency was established in 1947. The CIA is a foreign intelligence agency authorized to undertake covert operations in order to protect American interests. Of course, the matter of whether a particular operation protects American interests is subjective. Whether or not the operations on the list below are justified or…
Until the mid-19th century in America, corporations’ incorporation charters—the articles that clarify a corporation’s mission—were selectively granted. Their charters were subject to alteration or revocation by the governments of the states where they were headquartered. Charters were evaluated based on how well a corporation’s practices exemplified its stated mission. In the Citizens United v. The…
Someone who is enjoying a book, a song, a movie, or a television show is enriching his or her inner world by imagining new physical, intellectual, and emotional possibilities. Sometimes, however, the world a person creates in his or her art isn’t imaginary at all. All of the places on this list are actual places…
In his novel The Colour of Magic, fantasy author Terry Prachett says, “You can’t map a sense of humor.” Perhaps not, but a cartographer can certainly have his tongue firmly in cheek while drawing a map. Not all of the maps in the list below are intended to be humorous or whimsical. Some of them…
Science fiction author Ray Bradbury said, “Science fiction is the most important literature in the history of the world, because it’s the history of ideas[.]” He may have been biased, but he wasn’t incorrect. There are two genres of science fiction. Hard science fiction is usually scientifically rigorous, while soft science fiction uses elements of sociology, anthropology,…
13,000 miles long and roughly 30 feet tall, the Great Wall of China symbolizes both the country’s military strength and its isolationism. Currently, no country has a Great Wall, but many countries are dedicated to staying isolated, often to aviod exposing their citizens to sociocultural ideas and practices disliked by their respective governments. For various…
The Roman Empire has been represented in cultural contributions as diverse as the 1959 American film Ben Hur and the 1979 British film Monty Python’s Life of Brian. The Romans are the villains of the Christians’ New Testament. Yet they are also the people who gave contemporary civilization some of its most practical architectural innovations. Anyone who…
Kissing requires the use of as many as 34 facial muscles and 112 postural muscles. A passionate kiss may burn two calories per minute. It’s fitting that delivering a satisfying kiss can be a physically demanding feat, since kissing can potentially have more emotional significance than sex does. Andréa Demirjian, the author of the book…
In his 1961 book Madness and Civilization, theorist Michel Foucault argues that an effective method for revealing a society’s sociocultural values is by determining whom its citizens attempt to marginalize. Focusing on Europe, Foucault examined which conditions were considered madness from 1500 to 1800. According to Foucault, what is classified as a psychological disorder in…
What is the most iconic image associated with the United States of America? Is it the starred and striped flag Betsy Ross allegedly sewed? Is it the Golden Arches of McDonald’s, copyrighted as a logo by franchise owner Ray Kroc in the 1960s? Though the Big Mac’s place in history has yet to be determined, some…
In his 2014 article for Elite Daily, Adam Pliskin argues that milennials are especially fascinated by celebrity culture. Unlike fans from previous generations, milennials have constant, limited access to celebrities. A computer is a standard technological convenience in most contemporary homes, and access to social media is widely available. Anyone who can access a social media…
The Roman Empire has been represented in cultural contributions as diverse as the 1959 American film Ben Hur and the 1979 British film Monty Python’s Life of Brian. The Romans are the villains of the Christians’ New Testament. Yet they are also the people who gave contemporary civilization some of its most practical architectural innovations. Anyone who…
Like all workers, bank robbers are adapting to a changing culture. According to Albert Samaha’s 2014 article for The Village Voice, “How Bank Robbery Trends have Shifted in America over the Years,” only one-third of the bank robbers who committed robberies in 2000 used guns. Since contemporary tellers are instructed to comply with robbers’ demands…
The common belief that idioms such as “saved by the bell” and “working the graveyard shift” originated due to live burials has been discredited. However, the fear of being buried alive was more than just a mythos in 19th century culture. On August 25, 1868, Franz Vestor received a patent for a security coffin that…